Powerful Cuckoo is “an emotional sensory experience”South-Korean artist Jaha Koo brings his intensely personal experience of the IMF bailout in Korea, and the cultural fallout of that traumatic event, to the stage for Progress Theatre Festival in his astoundingly memorable play, Cuckoo.
Continue reading Review: Cuckoo (Progress Festival / Jaha Koo)
Ashley with a ‘Y,’ is created by Ashley Botting and is the kind of show that is compact enough to have one-night engagements easily. Most recently, it played for one night at the newly-renovated Paradise on Bloor, which now brings in live comedy and music shows along with films. It brings old Hollywood to life – if old Hollywood was having an existential crisis.
Ashley with a ‘Y’ started as a Fringe Festival show in 2018, was voted best comedy show of 2018 by Now Magazine and well-loved by our reviewer. I can see why. Botting, a Second City alum, is hilariously self-deprecating and sweetly debaucherous as she wears a sparkling diamond necklace and croons about hangovers and one night stands.
With sparkling pink enthusiasm, Legally Blonde: The Musical brings all the feminism and glitter of the original film and novel to the stage for Hart House Theatre’s 100th anniversary season. A wonderful homage to the original, this production addresses issues of sexual harassment, academic exclusivity, and touches (very, very lightly) on class differences. Continue reading Review: Legally Blonde: The Musical (Hart House)
They’re Listening is a quirky science fiction production from indie Toronto-based theatre company Echo Productions. It’s currently playing at The Collective Space, a community performance, event, and workshop venue. (Be warned, the entrance to the venue is around the back of the building and easy to miss).
Echo Productions’s goal is to produce socially relevant works for the Millenial generation and for audiences who wouldn’t normally view theatre. And They’re Listening is just that. The play is set in a post-apocalyptic world with action sequences modeled like video game adventures. Leveling up, health bars, and other video game features are projected onto the back wall of the stage. Continue reading Review: They’re Listening (Echo Productions)
Opéra Concept MP brings Another Brick in the Wall to Meridian HallAs a Pink Floyd fan and an opera novice, I wasn’t sure what to expect going into Another Brick in the Wall: The Opera, produced by Opéra Concept MP and playing at Meridian Hall (formerly the Sony Centre). This performance is adapted from the 1979 rock opera “The Wall” (and the movie of the same name), conceived and written by Pink Floyd’s bassist Roger Waters.
Continue reading Review: Another Brick in the Wall: The Opera (Opéra Concept MP)