Monthly Archives: January 2020

Review: Mother’s Daughter (Soulpepper)

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The daring third installment of the Queenmaker series explores the rise of Bloody Mary

Soulpepper has mounted the third play in writer Kate Hennig’s Queenmaker Trilogy, Mother’s Daughter is an enthralling and tense historical drama on stage at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.

This play checks all the boxes for me: the writing is tight and Hennig weaves an interesting and engaging story with these characters from the Tudor era. The performances are great across the board and the technical aspects and set design are certainly impressive. It’s a great show, and I do recommend it. Continue reading Review: Mother’s Daughter (Soulpepper) →

Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theatre Rusticle)

It may be cold out, but Theatre Rusticle’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is here to heat you up

Picture of Kwaku Okyere and Alexandra Montagnese in A Midsummer Night's DreamTheatre Rusticle has given new life to Shakespeare’s fantastical comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Their production, now on at Buddies in Bad Times, feels like an antidote for sorrows of the soul. It’s like a burst of summer love in the dead of winter.
It’s breathtakingly dreamy, intensely physical, and unrelentingly playful.

Continue reading Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theatre Rusticle) →

Toronto Playlistings for the Week of January 20, 2020

Shows that Caught Our Eye in Toronto for the Week of January 20, 2020

Not that I am a winter superfan, but I admit I had been yearning a bit for a crisp white snowy day. With the weather the past few weeks, it had been hard to remember what season it is!  I do miss the idyllic winter I remember from childhood. And my kids missed making snowmen and tobogganing… and the hot chocolate and marshmallows afterward.

The thing adult me enjoys most about winter though is all of the amazing theatre. And we are in the midst of one of the best theatre seasons in awhile (in my opinion!). This week it’s our erstwhile Publisher Megan’s opportunity to let you know what shows this week have her itching to hit a theatre this week. Check out Megan’s ‘red’ listing of things that caught her attention and head out to see a show! Continue reading Toronto Playlistings for the Week of January 20, 2020 →

Review: Legally Blonde: The Musical (Hart House)

Picture of Emma Sangalli and ensemble in Legally Blonde: The Musical

Legally Blonde: The Musical is a delight

With sparkling pink enthusiasm, Legally Blonde: The Musical brings all the feminism and glitter of the original film and novel to the stage for Hart House Theatre’s 100th anniversary season. A wonderful homage to the original, this production addresses issues of sexual harassment, academic exclusivity, and touches (very, very lightly) on class differences. Continue reading Review: Legally Blonde: The Musical (Hart House) →

Review: Sweat (Canadian Stage and Studio 180 Theatre)

Photo of Ordena Stephens-Thompson, Ron Lea, Kelli Fox - three people toasting in front of a bar sitting on bar stoolsSweat may not be perfect, but it’s important and worth seeing

I wasn’t exactly sure why, but I knew walking out of Sweat, playing at Canadian Stage‘s Berkeley Theatre, that it was going to be a hard piece to write about. In fact, I already knew it at intermission.

It’s a solid production. It was a lovely way to spend an evening, but I was having a hell of a time getting this review written. After having written bits and pieces of this it over the past couple of days, but never managing anything cohesive, the reason finally struck me as I ambled down my stairs: I wanted to like this piece more than I did.

Everything about this production was fine. It was all good. Good directing, good acting, good design, all of it good. But none of it took my breath away. And I could tell it had the potential to.

Continue reading Review: Sweat (Canadian Stage and Studio 180 Theatre) →