The company, which works to bring African theatre to Canadian audiences, presented a double bill by playwright Femi Osofisan: The Engagement and Flood. Coming from one writer, the two plays are remarkably different.
Art vs. Love vs. Life is a drama written by Jon Nelson, and which interestingly stars two of WriteNOW’s organizers, Deanna Palazzo and Jennifer De Lucia. Jimi Shlag plays the main character Jay, an artist weighed down with family and responsibility. Continue reading Review: WriteNOW! Festival, part 2 – pivotal(arts)→
With a title like A Hamburger in a Pita, you know you’re going to be in for some laughs, which is exactly what I was in the mood for after trudging up to the Toronto Centre of the Arts on a rainy, cold night this week. Thankfully, this play did much to lighten my weather-dampened spirits.
A Hamburger in a Pita is a world premiere by a local playwright, Nina Shenhav, that tells the story of bickering neighbours, one a family of secular Canadian Jews and one a family of Israeli-Canadian Jews. (And I’m sorry to admit that I would be hard-pressed to explain the differences between the two, but the general idea is that these two households don’t see eye-to-eye.) Continue reading Review: A Hamburger in a Pita (Teatron Theatre)→
Highway 63: The Fort Mac Show, playing at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace, offers a great chance for Torontonians to see what life is like for Canadians in other parts of the country.
The show brings attention to a timely environmental issue too. It’s hard to open a newspaper (or click on a news site, I guess) without hearing about the Alberta Oil Sands, but I’ll admit to not really thinking much about the people who call that region home. When we sat down in our seats, my friend Sarah and I both thought that we would be in for a heavy-handed political play. Instead, what we got was a fast-paced, humourous piece of theatre that talks about a heavy issue in a light and accessible fashion. Continue reading Review: Highway 63: The Fort Mac Show (Architect Theatre)→
The Mill, a four-part theatrical creation playing at the Young Centre until January 29th, is a bold venture. Like The Ring Cycle or pretty much any show on television, it aims to keep audiences coming back for more. And after watching the first segment on Wednesday night, I can say with certainty: “Yes, please, I’d like some more.”
The production is made up of four plays written by four playwrights to tell the story of a fictional haunted Ontario mill. It spans over 150 years, with each play set at a different point in the mill’s history. I took in Part One: Now We Are Brody, written by Matthew MacFadzean. Continue reading Review: The Mill – Now We Are Brody (Theatrefront)→
