All posts by John Bourke

Loot – Soulpepper Theatre Company

By John Bourke
loot

 

For some reason, even though I’m a theatre geek of long standing, have a more than passing interest in British comedy and would like to think of myself as having a certain hedonistic streak,  I had never heard of Joe Orton before this week. This is a shame really, because in Soulpepper’s Loot, he really seems to hit all those things right on the button.

 

Scorched – Tarragon Theatre

By John Bourke

Tarragon Theatre/ Scorched
My ticket for Scorched, now playing at Tarragon theatre, said “Scorched, 2nd remount”, which tells you something of the remarkable run this production has had;  First produced in Montreal in 2005, the play’s english language premeire was at Tarragon in 2007, when it recieved two Dora awards, then brought back in 2008 before touring across the country and landing back in Toronto in time for me to see it last week.

Two Stroke Roll

Review by John Bourke

Two Stroke Roll, part of Factory Theatre’s Performance Spring Festival, is a one person show written and performed by David King. There’s two different ways of looking at shows like this. On the one hand, it tends to be a very personal experience, almost voyeuristic; on the other hand, without the objective input of another person on a show, the singular focus can lead to someone perhaps not cutting or changing something that perhaps should. I mention this simply because Two Stroke Roll has a good chunk of focus, but could also benefit a little from some judicious cutting or changing.

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