All posts by Vance Brews

Review: Superior Donuts (Coal Mine Theatre)

Strong central performances anchor Superior Donuts, now on stage in Toronto

Coal Mine Theatre‘s third submission in their 2016-17 season, Superior Donuts is a very contradictory play. It’s a populist narrative verging on sitcom that equally explores some extremely complicated and nuanced social issues, touching on the struggles of generational differences, cultural differences, the danger and appeal of gentrification and a host of other things that if I dig too deeply into will turn this into a thesis as opposed to a theatre review.

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Don’t Talk to Me Like I’m Your Wife (Call me Scotty Productions) 2016 SummerWorks Review

Don't Talk to me Like I'm Your WifeOn the SummerWorks webpage, the rollover blurb for Call me Scotty’s production of Don’t Talk to Me Like I’m Your Wife is “If the word Feminism makes you cringe, this isn’t the play for you”. This is very good advice. If, however, you’re interested in a nuanced discussion of modern feminism, its approach to history and the importance of intersectionality not to mention a well acted and written play, this is very much a play for you.

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This is the August (Young Prince Collective) 2016 SummerWorks Review

ThisistheAugust-400x320In today’s interconnected world, communication is a predominant theme throughout our lives. Whether it’s how we talk about ourselves, how we interact with each other or simply our medium of doing so, communication dominates our modern discourse.  This is the August is a play that explores this complicated topic, along with things like gender identity, the growing divide between 2nd and 3rd Wave feminism and the exploitative nature of art itself. A heady addition to Toronto’s 2016 Summerworks Festival.

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Searching for Party (Arcturus Players) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review

Photo of Aaron Conrad, Patrick Fitzsimmons, Emma Gallaher, Dan GibbinsI wouldn’t exactly call myself a “gamer”. I like video games and spend a decent amount of time playing them, but with things like Gamergate and the often toxic environment of online gaming I generally try to distance myself from the culture outside of my own little bubble. When I sat down to watch Searching for Party I was a little nervous I was going to have to brave my way through that uncomfortable world.

Thankfully the Arcturus Players have chosen a much different direction, focusing instead on the humour and joy intrinsic to playing games and the possibilities that can arise from partaking in them.

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