All posts by Samantha Wu

Samantha is both a writer and a fan of the arts and has been able to find numerous ways to pair the two. Aside from being an editor here at Mooney on Theatre, she's a photojournalist for Been Here Done That, a travel, dining and tourism blog that focuses on Toronto and abroad and previously for  Lithium Magazine, which got her writing and shooting about everything from Dave Matthews Band to Fan Expo. She's passionate about music, theatre, photography, writing, and celebrating sexuality -- not necessarily in that order. She drinks tea more than coffee, prefer ciders over beers, and sings karaoke way too loudly. You can follow her on various social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Daily Picks from our Raves at the Toronto Fringe 2018 (July 10th)

image saying daily raves

We’re heading into the final stretch for the Toronto Fringe Festival with only 6 more days left to see as many shows as you can. What have you seen already and what are you still curious to see? Have our reviews inspired any of your decisions on what to check out? Do you agree with our reviews? Leave a comment if you have your own opinions about the shows you’ve seen.

If you’re still debating on your next pick, let us help guide you with a few more daily rave highlights.

Continue reading Daily Picks from our Raves at the Toronto Fringe 2018 (July 10th)

Daily Picks from our Raves at the Toronto Fringe 2018 (July 9th)

image saying daily raves

Happy Monday! Though for many, it’s the beginning of the work week and therefore more like the Monday Blahs, the upside is that  the Toronto Fringe Festival is in full swing. Here at Mooney on Theatre, we once again have committed ourselves to reviewing every show in the Fringe by the end of the first weekend and we have delivered! See our master list for all our reviews and get inspired on what to see next. To get you started, we’ve pulled a few more of our raves for you today.

Continue reading Daily Picks from our Raves at the Toronto Fringe 2018 (July 9th)

One Left Hour: The Life and Work of Daniil Kharms (Good Old Neon) 2018 Toronto Fringe Review

Photo of Jack Comerford in ONE LEFT HOUR: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DANIIL KHARMS by Nicole Wilson

I don’t know what I was expecting when I first read the description of One Left Hour: The Life and Work of Daniil Kharms, playing as part of the 2018 Toronto Fringe Festival. The description says “a battle between absurdity and realism” and really, this show is exactly that. Maybe somehow I expected more realism than abstract and absurdity. I was wrong. Continue reading One Left Hour: The Life and Work of Daniil Kharms (Good Old Neon) 2018 Toronto Fringe Review

The Girl in the Photograph (Quirvan Productions) 2018 Toronto Fringe Review

Photo of Andrea Cabeza & David Chinchilla in The Girl in the Photograh by Liliana Vera.

The Girl in the Photograph, written by Joel Pettigrew and directed by Victoria Urquhart playing as part of the 2018 Toronto Fringe Festival, is all too relatable. Too almost uncomfortably relatable, which I guess is why this play hits so many notes, both pleasant and not so much, and why it will stay and haunt me for a very long time. This is a tale of forbidden attraction — she’s 14 and he’s older, charismatic and dangerously slick. He knows exactly what to say at any given time to coerce, manipulate and charm his way into whoever he wants.

Continue reading The Girl in the Photograph (Quirvan Productions) 2018 Toronto Fringe Review

4’33” in Baghdad (Thought Experiment Production) 2018 Toronto Fringe Review

photo of Nicolas Royer-Artuso in 4'33" in Baghdad by Ülfet Sevdi

When reading the website blurb for Thought Experiment Production‘s 4’33” in Baghdad, playing as part of the 2018 Toronto Fringe Festival, I wasn’t sure what this show actually was. Having seen it, I’m still not quite sure? Something about an “immersive and interactive academic striptease” which is certainly clickbaity enough if you ask me. Intrigued, I went. And then I left slightly baffled.

Continue reading 4’33” in Baghdad (Thought Experiment Production) 2018 Toronto Fringe Review