Performer Anand Rajaram was granted permission by author Rohinton Mistry to adapt his short novella The Scream to be performed at this year’s SummerWorks Festival. The results–especially if you are someone unfamiliar with the piece like me–are jarring, disconcerting and yet still charming.
Continue reading Rohinton Mistry’s The Scream (Anand Rajaram) 2019 SummerWorks Review
Hiraeth, playing at this year’s SummerWorks Festival, is a retrospective look at the painful and awkward times of preteen-hood on the brink of Y2K. Stylized as a sharing session during group therapy, this is a one-woman story by Mandy E. MacLean as she emotionally relives those formative years for your pleasure.
Continue reading Hiraeth (The Hiraeth Collective) 2019 SummerWorks Review
The year is 1969 — Apollo 11 is about to land on the moon leading to Neil Armstrong’s one giant leap for mankind. The Vietnam war rages on, the Black Panther movement is on the rise, Trudeau (Sr.) is in office, and in Toronto , Rochdale College, an experiment in co-op housing and alternative education, is on the brink of collapse. Playing at this year’s SummerWorks Festival, written by David Yee and directed by Nina Aquino, the graduating class of York University’s Theatre Department is prepared to take you on a journey of Rochdale‘s wild side. Continue reading Rochdale (GovCon) 2019 SummerWorks Review
Mirvish presents The Office! A Musical Parody that is packed with the same raunchy humorThe gang at Dunder Mifllin are live and with song in The Office! A Musical Parody presented by Mirvish. On stage until August 25, this tribute is made for people who love — and I mean really love — The Office. So hold on to your staplers as this two-hour spectacle is rammed full (haha that’s what she said!) with laughs, songs, some pretty obscure references, and…paper.
Continue reading Review: The Office! A Musical Parody (Presented by Mirvish)
The Oscar Wilde comedy is adapted into a fun and frivolous operetta in TorontoThe Summer Opera Lyric Theatre presents Earnest, The Importance of Being, adapted from the comedy by Oscar Wilde, in a two-act operetta playing at the Robert Gill Theatre. This witty tale of false identities and love gone awry is filled with frivolity and magnificent voices, making for a great night out.
Continue reading Review: Earnest, The Importance of Being (Summer Opera Lyric Theatre)
Soulpepper Theatre presents Sam Shepard’s highly explosive Fool for Love in TorontoThere’s a war happening in a motel room in Fool for Love, written by Sam Shepard and presented by Soulpepper Theatre. This relentless tale is both tragic and comedic at the same time — you’ll crack a few laughs at the dark humor and then cringe at the physical violence that led up to or was a result of that funny moment. This performance is downright explosive in that way.
Canadian Stage returns with Measure for Measure in Shakespeare in High Park for Toronto audiencesCanadian Stage returns to the beautiful outdoor ampitheatre in High Park for another summer of Shakespeare in High Park. This year, the two selections from the Bard are Measure for Measure and Much Ado About Nothing. A bit of a departure this year as Canadian Stage has opted to do a comedy and a, well, dramedy in Measure for Measure, directed by Severn Thompson. With witty shenanigans in a rather grim situation, mixing both period and modern costumes, this show is a fun experience under the stars.
Continue reading Review: Measure for Measure (Canadian Stage)
Frank Trotz was inspired to create Failed, playing at this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival, based on interactions he had while walking his dog in the local park. Saying hi to the regulars, he got to know a man named Stephen Briones who started telling him about his life, the life of a former junkie. At the time of their conversations, Briones was a year into his sobriety staying at CAMH. Taking the story of Briones and giving him the voice of five actors, this is his journey into redemption.
Continue reading Failed (Frank Trotz) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review
Scientology. It’s a very hot topic subject these days – science fiction in the form of a religion. Is it a cult? Do they take all your money and work their members to the bone? Do they worship aliens from outer space? Is there a special place for Hollywood A-Listers at the top of their food chain?
Leah Remini has recently become very vocal about this organization’s highly destructive practices and beliefs and now former Scientologist Cathy Schenkelberg is doing the same in her one-woman show. Playing at this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival, Squeeze My Cans, directed by Shirley Anderson, will make you laugh and reveal further truths that Scientologists don’t want you to know.
Continue reading Squeeze My Cans (Cathy Schenkelberg Inc.) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review
Luminato presents dance by Chinese choreographer Yang Yiping for Toronto audiencesRite of Spring, playing this weekend at the MacMillan Theatre as part of the Luminato Festival, is a sumptuous dance experience that is a feast for the senses. For her first Canadian presentation, dancer and choreographer Yang Liping brings this stunning piece set to the score of the same title by Igor Stravinsky to Toronto audiences.