With her love of theatre, dance and writing, Ashima Suri jumped on the opportunity to write for Mooney On Theatre. Ashima is an award-winning established dance artist with her own dance theatre company called Limitless Productions. In her own work, she uses art as a tool for social change. As a reviewer, she seeks out shows that speak to the diversity in the community. She loves to watch innovative shows that break the norms and challenge the audiences.
I admittedly was a bit scared when I walked into the Westside Montessori School for the site-specific Toronto Fringe Festival show, Eraser. What is more daunting (or exciting) than going back to visit your childhood?!
I still had mixed feelings when one of the actors, Michael Pintucci, approached me and a few others for a tour of the school before the show started. The unknown of what to expect had my heart racing. With that being said, Michael kept the others and I at ease and soon enough, I felt like I had become one of the students going through this incredible childhood journey with the cast.
I was pretty excited to take my daughter (a 2 and half year old) to her first ever Toronto Fringe kids show. Not knowing what to expect going in, I left the theatre an enthusiastic fan of the talented duo Sonshine & Broccoli, who star in the musical play I Want to Be.
The thing I love about The Toronto Fringe Festival is that you never really know when you will get that glimpse of a gem. That special something that makes you go ‘wow’. Getting Odd was that special gem for me. This was the last show I watched after a long day of fringing. I had no idea what to expect. But by the end of the show, I was walking away humming to the Beach Boys song ‘Wouldn’t it be nice’. If I wasn’t in public, I’d probably would have started dancing too! Now Getting Odd is not a musical BUT there are some catchy song and dance numbers in it that are playful and fun. Needless to say, Getting Odd was a thrill ride that had me at the edge of my seat throughout the play.
Five strong female dancers took The Theatre Centre BMO Incubator stage in an abstract contemporary dance number that was both physically demanding and also quite intense. Choreographed by well-known choreographer Amanda Acorn, the SummerWorks production multiform(s) was a fluid, dynamic piece that showed a great deal of willpower and endurance.
Canadian Stage wows Toronto audiences with the “emotionally gripping” The Other Place
When I first read the description of The Other Place, I was expecting to walk into an emotional thriller that would have me at the edge of my seat. Instead, I was taken into another journey that wasn’t quite dark and mysterious but informative and at times emotionally gripping. The talented cast and the creative set design by Judith Bowden were the highlights of this Canadian Stage production.
I was pretty excited to take my daughter (a 2 and half year old) to her first ever 
