Yesterday I headed down to Givens/Shaw Junior Public School to see Halcyon Youth, a new project by Variation Theatre. I had quickly read the blurb in the program and knew this was an interactive piece that involved children. That it is! The interactive part? I played a pick up game of ball hockey with fourth graders.
Once I grabbed my ticket I was asked which way I shoot. I was handed a hockey stick and was told I was playing on Michael’s team. I remarked on my lack of appropriate clothing and asked a review of the rules. “Hit it in that net” I was told by Michael (who I later realized was Michael Orlando, creator of the show). “And if we loose we riot, right?”
The Man On My Face is playing at 976 Hair Salon during Fringe. It’s a comedy about a “man child” who thinks he can become macho with a haircut and new moustache.
The creative team had a mission to develop a piece that embodies everything that is great about the Fringe. That sounds like a tall order, like they were setting themselves up for failure.
Fortunately they failed at failing. I loved everything about this play.
When you dream at night, are your dreams created by your subconscious? Are they your dreams to keep or are they owned and filed away by a Ministry? And if your dreams are stored in some cosmic database, can you search the files for someone you’ve lost? This is Mary’s quest in Hushabye, a Blood Orange Theatre production written by Anna Standish and directed by Sarah Miller-Garvin. Continue reading Hushabye (Blood Orange Theatre) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review→
Village of Idiots struck a chord with me. And there is a pun in there, yes. Auto Reverse Theatre Company’s show about fatherhood is the very first show that I have ever seen that deals with the ups and downs of being a new dad. Or a dad many times over. Or an absent dad. Over the years the Fringe has seen many a show about motherhood – the joys and the conflicts that women face in their journey. Finally a show that opens up the other side of the discussion and luckily, it truly does it justice. The relationships in this show are so very real and well developed, as an audience member I felt instantly connected to their story. Continue reading Village of Idiots (Auto Reverse Theatre Co) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review→
When Harry Met Harry is a one-man show that opened tonight to a large audience and a ton of Fringe buzz. Harry is a very tall Australian man who is obsessed with the particularities of his mundane printing job. The evening takes us on a journey through Harry’s re-discovery of his identity, an identity not defined by his occupation.
The protagonist is neurotic and paranoid that his subordinate, Bradley, might be after his more senior job. Attending a group workshop with an upbeat and undaunted interpersonal skills coach, Harry tries to survive the session without upsetting his boss, Mr. Herbert.
Yesterday I headed down to Givens/Shaw Junior Public School to see Halcyon Youth, a new project by Variation Theatre. I had quickly read the blurb in the program and knew this was an interactive piece that involved children. That it is! The interactive part? I played a pick up game of ball hockey with fourth graders.
