Always a theatre lover Sam realized in middle age that there's more to Toronto theatre than just mainstream and is now in love with one person shows, adores festivals, and quirky venues make her day.
The 50th Anniversary Production of Jesus Christ Superstar is playing at the Princess of Wales Theatre until January 2, 2022. Fifty years, I can hardly believe it. I didn’t see the show then but, oh, I listened to the music!
acts of faith – a Factory Theatre production – is playing online on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, December 2, 3 and 4, 2021 at 7:30 PM. Tickets are free of charge! You do have to register.
Playwright David Yee wrote acts of faith during the pandemic with the intent that the audience would watch it remotely. I saw it last year and it was the first play I saw that had been written and staged for a virtual audience. It was an exciting introduction to the possibilities of digital theatre and made me hope that theatre companies would keep developing digital pieces, even after the pandemic. Continue reading Preview: acts of faith (Factory Theatre)→
No Change in the Weather, a musical set in Newfoundland, is currently playing a limited run at the Mirvish CAA Theatre. The pandemic provided Terra Bruce Productions with the opportunity to revise and hone the production which toured Canada from Newfoundland in 2019.
The plot is built around the wake for matriarch Peggy O’Brien (Kelly-Ann Evans). Her son Bill (Steve Ross) and friends take her coffin from the funeral parlour cum tanning salon. They transport it across the water in a less than sturdy boat to her house on the small island of God’s Back Pocket. Peggy was the only person left living there. On the way across they sing a rollicking version of I’s the B’y, complete with umpteen verses. Continue reading Review: No Change in the Weather (Mirvish and Terra Bruce Productions)→
Project-a-Sketch is part of the Primetime Festival. In an earlier review I mentioned that one of the things I like about digital Theatre festivals is the opportunity to see performances from other parts of the country. Mind of a Snail Puppet Co. – Jessica Gabriel and Chloe Ziner – is based in East Vancouver and that’s where the show was performed.
Once Upon a Time is an African theatrical storytelling production performed and developed by Jacqui Du Toit. It’s part of the Primetime Festival. Something I like about a digital festival is I can see performances from places other than Toronto. We have the pandemic to thank for the growth of digital theatre.