Reviews of theatre, dance, opera, comedy and festivals. Performances can be in-person or streamed remotely on the web for social-distancing.
By Megan Mooney
I’ll admit it. I’m having a bit of a hard time finding the words for this review. Somehow I feel like just saying “Robert Lepage’s Lipsynch is phenomenal and if you ever get the chance to see it you should go” doesn’t seem to be enough. But it sums up how I’m feeling. And it seems so big it’s hard to find succinct words to describe it.
But I’ll try…
By Megan Mooney
Continuous City, a production from The Builders Association, is a critically acclaimed ‘multi-media experience’ that plays internationally. It is making it’s Canadian debut at LuminaTO this year. You can expect lots of video and some pretty cool folding screens.
by Sam Mooney
The house lights were still up when Catalyst Theatre’s Nevermore, The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, started at the Winter Garden Theatre last night. It took the audience a couple of seconds to realize and to settle down but once they settled they were hooked. Nevermore was co-commissioned by LuminaTO as part of their celebration of Edgar Allan Poe and last night was the Toronto Premiere.
By Sam Mooney
Go see 5 O’Clock Bells!
Tonight I saw the Toronto Premiere of 5 O’Clock Bells, a one-man, eight (or 9, maybe even 10 – I lost count) character play written and performed by Pierre Brault about the life of jazz guitarist Lenny Breau.
I loved it. I was literally buzzing when I left the theatre – still am. Best 75 minutes I’ve spent in a while.
Before tonight I knew nothing about Lenny Breau. His name was familiar but I couldn’t remember where I knew it from. My son-in-law reminded me that Randy Bachman refers to him often – “the great Lenny Breau” – on Vinyl Tap. It didn’t matter than I knew nothing about Breau’s life or music, 5 O’Clock Bells stands on it’s own.
By Kathy Morgan
From the moment we walked into the lobby and were awash with the music of a fantastic Klezmer band, I had a feeling it would be a fun and quirky night. I absolutely wasn’t disappointed. The New Waves Festival, a free Luminato event running at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, features hundreds of artists in dozens of events going on in all of the nooks and crannies of the building.