All posts by Stephen Lubin

Goodbye To All That (Mirabilis) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review

Photo of [insert actors names]

Right off the bat, Goodbye To All That  (playing in the Passe Muraille Mainspace at the Toronto Fringe Festival) has a great name going for it. It also sports some great dialogue and fantastic acting.

The show tells the story of a wayward man who falls in with a ragtag group at the Cabaret Voltaire in the midst of WWI. Through them, he learns of Dadaism as a form of expression. The show’s timeline is non-linear, but the plot is still concise and easy to follow. This play is a perfect example of dramedy, with an even balance of both the comedic and dramatic in it.

Continue reading Goodbye To All That (Mirabilis) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review

Review: 4.48 Psychosis (NSK Theatre)

Picture of Richard Veltri and Alina Starkov4.48 Psychosis Captures a State of Mind, Now Playing in Toronto

NSK Theatre is mounting a short run of Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis in Toronto’s Storefront Theatre. 4.48 is a harrowing portrayal of depression and suicidal ideation, and the last work Kane produced before taking her own life in 1999.

I’ve heard 4.48 described as a very long suicide note being performed onstage. The play is not written with characters, just lines that could be divvied up between any number of actors. For this reason, any production of 4.48 will necessarily have a healthy dose of dramaturgy. So if the subject matter isn’t enough to make this a complex piece, this is a show that often forays into abstraction. Continue reading Review: 4.48 Psychosis (NSK Theatre)