Bad Guys Finish First is a one-man show being put on by Backyard Spaceship Productions at Theatre Passe Muraille’s Mainspace. Normally, I tend to steer clear of one-man shows, but seeing as it’s the Toronto Fringe Festival I thought, why not. This show is written by and stars Gavin Williams as Baxter Bentley and let me tell you, this man’s compelling performance had me hooked immediately.

Continue reading Bad Guys Finish First (Backyard Spaceship Productions) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review →

One of the reasons I picked God Is a Scottish Drag Queen as one of my Fringe shows to see – besides its name – was that the press materials said that it was created by the performer, Mike Delamont, in collaboration with Jacob Richmond from Ride The Cyclone, and I had heard such rave reviews about Ride The Cyclone. By the time I actually went to see the show this afternoon I had forgotten that entirely, and my expectations were based on the title alone, so I was a little bit surprised when it started and I began to realize that Mike Delamont didn’t seem to be actually Scottish, or actually a drag queen.

But I hadn’t expected him to actually be God, so I wasn’t disappointed enough to ruin my enjoyment of the show. That was good because he’s a pretty funny guy. Continue reading God Is A Scottish Drag Queen (Mike Delamont) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review →

I’m glad that I saw Newborn Theatre’s production of Teach Me. I hesitate to say that I enjoyed it, the subject matter is difficult and I doubt that audience enjoyment is what Rachel Gantz had in mind when she wrote it or what Victoria Urquhart had in mind when she directed it.

The play is set in the detention room of an all girls high school. Stacey (played by Jessica Brown) and Lauren (played by Mara Zigler) start talking about Mr. P (played by Robert Rainville) the math teacher, the only male teacher in the school.

Continue reading Teach Me (Newborn Theatre) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review →

Children’s theatre is such a tough needle to thread – amuse people of wildly varying tastes and intellectual abilities, sing, dance, don’t scare anyone so much they pee their pants. Every foray into a theatre with a kid is a bit of a crapshoot anyway, since their fears and likes and level of patience is so variable, and the line for Honest Aesop’s Fables was basically full of parents thinking “Please o please, gods of Fringe, let this go well!”

Spoiler alert: it goes well.

Continue reading Honest Aesop’s Fables (Taradiddle) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review →

I must confess that I simply do not “get” dance, and so am not the ideal audience for this show.  When I sat down to write this review of A Glance At Chinese Performing Arts by the Chi-Ping Dance Group & Chinese Collective Arts Association which is playing at the Tarragon Theatre Mainspace, I wasn’t exactly sure what to tell you about it. And so, it is with the utmost humility that I tell you anything at all.

If you’re considering this show as part of your Toronto Fringe experience, you’re likely interested in dance, Chinese culture or both.  In which case, you’re sure to get something of value out of the experience. Continue reading A Glance At Chinese Performing Arts (Chi-Ping Dance Group & Chinese Collective Arts Association) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review →