The drama club at the St. Catherine’s all girls school is struggling to put on their first play, Sophocles’ Antigone. This all-girls Catholic school in the ’90s has their work cut out for them in staging this famous tragedy but if the struggles in the play alone weren’t enough, their male director is caught in a scandal right before opening night. Playing at this year’s digital Fringe Festival, Antigone, As Presented by the Girls at St. Catherine’s (An Excerpt), presented by Monologue Slam Canada, is a coming of age story that deals with all the pitfalls of growing up.
All posts by Samantha Wu
Swallow This Skin (Unhushed Theatre Collective) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review
Swallow This Skin by the Unhushed Theatre Collective, currently playing as part of this year’s Digital Fringe Festival, currently exists as an audio play. It details the life of the dancers at a run-down Toronto strip club in the few hours before they open for another night.
Stylized similarly to The Vagina Monologues, this audio play is peppered with provocative monologues that touch on topics from racial fetishization and sexuality to reproductive health and religion. When a former dancer returns to the stage and a customer lingers around after last call, this night spirals far from being an average night at the club.
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Daphne’s Inferno (Bad Seed Productions) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review
Daphne’s Inferno by Bad Seed Productions, playing virtually at the 2021 Digital Fringe Festival, is a take on the classic tale of Dante’s Inferno. Daphne (Barb Scheffler) wanders into a strange little coffee shop, the Inferno Café, while looking for her husband. There she is greeted by the barista Virginia (Jillian Rees-Brown). When Daphne tries to leave, she sees that the door is blocked. Virginia informs her that she cannot leave the way she entered; the only way out is through.
As Daphne gathers her thoughts and prepares for her journey, she is greeted by the mysterious Lucy (Erin Eldershaw) who informs Daphne that she is indeed at the gates of Hell and in order to find her way out she must traverse through the circles of Hell.
In doing so, Daphne is forced to confront the darkest chapters in her life, from her abusive father, her horrendous high school relationship, to her sexual abuse at the hands of a neighbor. But when she hears the tragic truth from from her daughter, she finds herself at the edge of no return.
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Review: The Mad Ones (Russo Richardson Productions)
The Mad Ones is a virtual musical about the internal struggle before a Big Life Decision
The Mad Ones, a virtual musical by Russo Richardson Productions, is an emotional story about embracing a big life decision and the internal struggle leading up to that. Filmed remotely and presented as a Zoom call inside Samantha Brown’s mind, this performance managed to successfully utilize the limitations of producing a show during a pandemic to their advantage.
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Review: AF (Red Sky Performance with Canadian Stage)
AF celebrates Anishinaabe prophecies through dance, by Red Sky Performance with Canadian Stage
Red Sky Performance in residence at Canadian Stage presents AF, a mind-blowing journey through dance and movement, projections and sound. Directed by Sandra Laronde, and choreographed by Thomas Fonua, AF explores the seven fire prophecies of the Anishinaabe that have shaped the lives of people on Turtle Island. Each prophecy is shown through a series of movements utilizing contemporary dance and physical storytelling. Paired with an intensely visceral soundtrack, this performance will leave you spellbound.
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