Reviews of theatre, dance, opera, comedy and festivals. Performances can be in-person or streamed remotely on the web for social-distancing.
The Final Trick of a Shoddy Magician (playing the Annex Theatre as part of the Fringe Festival) gets so, so much right. There’s an outstanding show–and an outstanding performance–at the core of this piece.
But by aiming to be something bigger and better, and by completely missing that target, the product ends up being less than the sum of its parts.
Continue reading The Final Trick of a Shoddy Magician (Act 3.6.1 Productions) 2013 Fringe Review
Having been previously trained in the Indian classical dance form, Bharatanatyam, I was intrigued to see Paromita Kar dance to a similar dance form called Odissi. Dressed in a beautiful traditional attire, Paromita graced the Theatre Passé Muraille stage with delicate hand gestures and strong foot work.
The most interesting part of Corpus Matris was Paromita’s expressions! Have you ever seen someone make funny faces to a baby? Where the eyes seem to expand and the mouth takes on a whole new shape. Similarly, in laughter yoga, facial muscles are used to create a variety of different expressions. And that is exactly what Paromita did in her performance. From showing us her big bold eyes, to showing her passionate rage, it was entertaining to watch this classically trained dancer.
Continue reading Corpus Matris (Nrittanz) 2013 Toronto Fringe Festival
Play Actually–a non rom com from Idiot Presents, playing at Fringe, is a collaboration by a real life straight couple, Tim Monley and Katy Houska. They explain that they came up with the show as an anathema to Disneyesque saccharine romantic comedies.
It features a series of sketches that mostly involve Suzy, a woman with social difficulties who relies on advice from a dating book in her desperate attempts to get a man, and Gavin, who spends most of his time in a virtual world called Better Life where he has a girlfriend named Trinity who may not actually be female IRL (in real life).
Interspersed with these the audience becomes attendees at a pickup artist’s workshop and are also privy to the actors having spats and directly addressing us to explain and/or excuse aspects of their relationship and of the production. Continue reading Play Actually–a non rom com (Idiot Presents) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review
Kevin Armstrong’s Opera For Heathens is playing at the Tarragon Theatre, Solo Room at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Opera For Heathens should be playing in a concert hall or a German open air stadium circa 1989
Have you ever wondered what Mozart would sound like had he been heavily influenced by Johnny Cash? Similarly, what would Donizetti sound like under the influence of Metallica or Rossini under the influence of Bugs Bunny?
Continue reading Opera For Heathens (Kevin Armstrong) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review
I was really, really excited to see Excuse You at the Fringe this year. I love funny shows, I love memoir/biographical shows, and I love storytelling. As it turned out, Excuse You is a funny, fast-paced 50 minutes of comedic theatre and storytelling. Unfortunately, the show is 90 minutes long.
Let’s cover the show’s good points first, shall we? The cast is sturdy and game, with Erynn Brook (as Deborah) giving the whole business a little extra shine with her talent for character and accents and Chai Lavie, as Tony, holding it down as her classic foil, the Male Chauvinist Pig. And by golly they all tried.
Continue reading Excuse You (Theatre On A Thought) 2013 Toronto Fringe Festival