From Press Release

No Place is about a young woman finding her voice and unearthing deep family secrets just in time to bury her beloved grandmother.  Written and performed by Jillian Welsh (Second City House Co., RISK! Podcast) and directed by Shari Hollett (For the Record, Radio: 30, Second City), the show weaves interconnected stories for a brutally honest and painfully funny examination of the things we take with us and the things we leave behind.

Praise for Jillian Welsh:

“The performers are very good, especially Welsh, who seems equally at ease with comedy and drama. If she has a day job like this, I hope she sticks with the acting; she’s a natural.” – Glenn Sumi, Now Magazine review of Pressgang Theatre’s Served.

“Jillian is one of my favorite performers in this city and one of the most unique voices in storytelling.” – Paul Afalo, Confabulation Storytelling.

“A very funny talent.” – Kevin Allison, The State/RISK Podcast.

No Place

Written and Performed by Jillian Welsh
Directed by Shari Hollett
Stage manager: Ada (Last Name)
Produced by Pressgang Theatre as a part of the Toronto Fringe Festival

Details

• No Place plays at St. George the Martyr. (197 John St.)
• Tickets are $12. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes for serious Fringers.
• Tickets can be purchased online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Fringe Club at Scadding Court, and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain.
• Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.
• The Fringe Festival considers this venue to be wheelchair-accessible.

Performances

• Thursday July 6th, 08:00 pm
• Friday July 7th, 01:00 pm
• Saturday July 8th, 08:00 pm
• Sunday July 9th, 08:00 pm
• Tuesday July 11th, 08:00 pm
• Wednesday July 12th, 08:00 pm
• Thursday July 13th, 08:00 pm
• Friday July 14th, 01:00 pm
• Saturday July 15th, 08:00 pm
• Sunday July 16th, 08:00 pm

Photo of Jillian Welsh by Dahlia Katz

The Musical Stage Company presents the new Canadian musical Onegin, on stage in Toronto

I  had never heard of the musical Onegin, now on stage at the Berkeley Street Theatre produced by The Musical Stage Company, until I saw a flyer for the production stuffed in the program of a show I saw last month. The musical is based on the poem Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin and the opera by Tchaikovsky and is a tale of pride, love, and scorn set in wintry Russia. This musical is fun and lively, the cast is remarkable… but it just didn’t pull on all the right heart strings for me.

Continue reading Review: Onegin (The Musical Stage Company) →

Odd Opera presents Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Commons Theatre in Toronto

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote the music for the two-act opera Don Giovanni, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, that saw its debut in 1787. It is a story that, unfortunately, has not lost any of its relevancy over the centuries past — sexual violence, assault, emotional abuse, gender politics, and apologists for all of the above haven’t faded into history. In fact, these crimes are just as prevalent now, which makes Odd Opera‘s current production even that much more haunting.

Continue reading Review: Don Giovanni (Odd Opera) →

A wild night of questionable decisions fuels Midsummer, at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto

Just like Shakespeare’s tale of fairies run amok on the shortest night of the year, Midsummer (A Play with Songs), on stage at the Tarragon Theatre, is a story of two lost and unlikely souls finding each other and allowing whimsy, chaos, and chance propel them through one helluva night.

This ramshackle blur of events is punctuated with song, sprinkled with creatively situated audience participation, and fueled by liquid encouragement. Being in the audience feels like you’re following that one friend around on a wild bender — you’re not quite sure where he’s going to end up but it’s bound to be a chaotic ride.

Continue reading Review: Midsummer (A Play with Songs) (Tarragon Theatre) →

The hit show Banana Boys returns to the Factory Theatre stage in Toronto

Banana Boys is currently making its triumphant return to the Factory Theatre stage. Originally developed by the fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company in 2002, the show is now one of the most culturally relevant modern plays currently in production.

The show itself is a fast paced, witty, and at times raunchy look at what it means to be a “banana” — a cultural term indicating someone who is ‘yellow on the outside and white on the inside’. A displaced Asian with roots in the East but born and raised in the West. From the perspective of five young Chinese-Canadian men, they explore their struggles with career, education, love, friendship, identity, and the ever present pressure from mom and dad.

Continue reading Review: Banana Boys (Factory Theatre) →