Reviews of theatre, dance, opera, comedy and festivals. Performances can be in-person or streamed remotely on the web for social-distancing.
By: Darryl D’Souza
Letters to My Grandma which is currently being performed at Theatre Passe Muraille, is a wonderful play that I thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend that you see, (whomever you are,) while you still have a chance to. Continue reading Letters to My Grandma – Theatre Passe Muraille
By Trent Scherer
Never afraid to take a different look at Shakespeare, Hart House Theatre attacks A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Jeremy Hutton once again directing Shakespeare. Continue reading Hart House Theatre's A Midsummer Night's Dream
by Ryan Oakley
Guantanamo Hotels & Resorts playing at Bread and Circus Theatre attempts to make a comedy out of a concentration camp. It’s a difficult task. Some are likely to shout: “Too Soon!”
In 1990, when Air America, a comedy about CIA drug smuggling in Laos, was released, people wondered if America was ready to laugh at Vietnam; a war that had ended fifteen years before. Is anyone ready for a comedy about September 11? And is anyone ready to laugh at Guantanamo Bay? After all, the camp is still open. It’s not just soon, it’s now.
If you might be offended by the subject matter, you will be. Don’t attend the play. This review is for those people who, like me, have a dark sense of humour. I’m ready to laugh at Guantanamo Bay and at September 11, I love nothing better than a good Hitler joke and I think that cancer can be funny.
I live in “too soon” with weekend trips to “too much.”
Having said all that, this play just isn’t that funny.
Continue reading Guantanamo Hotels & Resorts: Pandemic Theatre
The Catering Queen, playing at Tarragon Extra Space, feels like it should be required viewing for anyone who works in the arts.
Playwright Alison Lawrence (who also plays the lead character Mel) freely admits the show’s subject matter is drawn from her own life. It revolves around a group of people who work as caterers while pursuing their artistic dreams, a job Lawrence herself held for several years.
So, you’ve heard on this blog about how a show we loved (check out the review from when it was at Fringe) was picked up by Mirvish. The theatre version of a fairy tale I suppose…
Well, if you want some more back story on it check out the feature piece on the Mirvish production of My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding on W5. Then, when you’ve watched that, check out the second part, where they talk about opening night.
Enjoy!