S. Bear Bergman has great faith in the power of theatre to make change, and has been putting his money where his mouth is on that one for some time. A writer, performer, and lecturer, Bear works full time as an artist and cultural worker and loves to see as much live performance as possible – making this a fantastic gig for him.
After being thrilled to bits by Chris Abraham’s Tartuffe at Canadian Stage, I will tell you truly that I had high expectations for his Julius Caesar at Streetcar Crowsnest. So high, in fact, that to balance my natural enthusiasm I brought a friend who suffers attenuated residual high-school Shakespeare exhaustion and who greeted all my protestations that it would be exciting with a grim “we’ll see.” Let the record show: I was right. This Julius Caesar is fantastic.
Described as “salty as it is sweet,” Tease has a burlesque heart beating under the “traditional theatre” trappings of the 2020 Next Stage Theatre Festival, and when the show stays true to its internal rhythm, it’s a textured and interestingly nuanced pleasure.
Kitne Saare Laloo Yahan Pey Hain, having garnered great interest in a shorter form during Soulpepper’s collection Welcome To My Underworld last spring, is a wild journey into a difficult and gripping story that emerges, slowly, under pressure. While still shaking out a few last hiccups, the show has an undeniable theatrical power.
The heartwarming story of soccer and family tradition takes stage in Toronto
Somehow, I was just the wrong age for the movie Bend It Like Beckham when it came out — too old to enjoy it as a young person, not old enough to be comfortable going to movies marketed to families. For me, Bend It Like Beckham: The Musical was a completely fresh story and experience, and generally quite an enjoyable one.
Ikumagialiit is an improvisational, elastic performance that is ‘an intense, beautiful, and terrifying experience’.
If there was a performance version of an all-star game (and that’s an amusing idea) then the North team would clearly be anchored by Laakuluk Williamson Bathory, Christine Tootoo, Jamie Griffiths, and Cris Derksen. There isn’t, but don’t despair – the quartet is already working as though there were, and has created Ikumagialiit (“those that need fire”) to show you how it’s done. The improvisational, elastic piece showed for one night at Harbourfront’s Festival of Cool: Arctic to a sold-out crowd.
The heartwarming story of soccer and family tradition takes stage in Toronto