‘The Jungle’ is “heartfelt, heavy, moving and funny”.The Jungle premiered last night at Tarragon Theatre and it was a punch to the gut: very real and very much told with eyes wide open. Billed as a Toronto love story between an immigrant from Moldova and the son of Chinese immigrants, it wrestled with what it really means to be working class, and if getting ahead is systemically possible in a capitalist society.
This October, The Theatre Centre launched a new festival, COMEDY IS ART, in support of comedy in Canada. Comedy is not currently recognized as its own art form in Canada, which has limited the amount of government funding available for comedians. In its inaugural year, the festival ran from October 1 to 5, and featured 8 shows with over 40 artists. I was fortunate enough to spend an evening watching Good Morning, Tonight!, a stand-up comedy show produced and hosted by spirited comedians Karis Anderson and Aidan O’Loughlin.
Continue reading Review: Good Morning, Tonight (Karis Anderson & Aidan O’Loughlin)
The Book of Life is “captivating and powerful” storytelling, now on stage in TorontoRwandan playwright and performer Odile Gakire (Kiki) Katese and Canadian director Ross Manson have created a healing work of theatre with The Book of Life, presented by Canadian Stage at the Marilyn and Charles Baillie Theatre. Written and performed by Katese, the show gives human face to the mass lives lost in the devastating 1994 Rwandan genocide.
random acts of dance has taken their third annual Your Dance Fest to Wychwood Theatre at Artscape Wychwood Barns. The event offers accessible, intimate views of various styles of dance, and is a wonderful ode to the possibilities of expression through movement.
The event features dance workshops and two dance performances repeated throughout the festival: Program 1 and Program 2. Each of these consists of four original dance pieces choreographed and is performed by a roster of artists. I watched Program 1, which featured contemporary dance.
Continue reading Review: 2019 Your Dance Fest Program 1 (random acts of dance)
Cliff Cardinal stuns as a storyteller in Cliff Cardinal’s CBC Special, now playing at the 2019 SummerWorks Festival. Presented by Imaginary Force and Cutline, the show delivers a melodic, soulful evening of powerful folk songs and stories, woven together with dark humor and expansive heart.
Continue reading Cliff Cardinal’s CBC Special (Imaginary Force and Cutline) 2019 SummerWorks Review