Reviews of theatre, dance, opera, comedy and festivals. Performances can be in-person or streamed remotely on the web for social-distancing.
The multiverse, a set of infinite parallel universes that comprise the entirety of everything that can possibly exist and the idea that seemingly minor decisions can have hugely divergent effects has been explored extensively in science fiction but It’s Always You, playing as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival, toys with the idea in a musical romantic comedy. Continue reading It’s Always You: A Musical (WigglyDolly Productions) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review
Kicking off Fringe with an inter-temporal bang!
What do you get when you combine time travel, social commentary and an introspective look at one gay man’s coming of age story? Well, you end up with Do These Pants Make Me Look Fat’s contribution for this year’s Toronto Fringe entitled, The Effects of Time Travel on Neurotic Homos.
Based on the premise of what would happen when a person’s past and present selves are brought together, this play, which runs at the George Ignatieff Theatre, chronicled one gay man’s regrets and triumphs during a 20-year span.
What if the Canadian government banned the sale, production and consumption of alcohol and imposed a modern Prohibition? Would you rise up for your right to imbibe? Theatre Brouhaha’s production We Are The Bomb, playing at the Paddock Tavern as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival, explores this scenario in a hilarious farce. Continue reading We Are The Bomb (Theatre Brouhaha) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review
Mo and Jess Kill Susie is the first play I have seen at The Toronto’s Fringe Festival 2013. It might also be the best play I’ve ever seen at Fringe. It’s a site specific play with performances happening at the lower level of Trinity-St. Paul’s. When the play finished, I dried my eyes then contacted my editors. My message was simple: I love this play!
The cast of three is all female, and the audience was at least 80 per cent female on the night I attended. Don’t get the wrong idea though: Mo and Jess Kill Susie is anything but a stroller convention. This could very well be the most intense, violent play I have seen.
Continue reading Mo and Jess Kill Susie (Harley Dog Productions) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review
Radio :30 opened tonight to a full house so if you want to see it make sure that you arrive early to get tickets.
I’m not sure that there is a ‘typical’ Fringe show but if there is Radio :30 isn’t it. It’s a fine example of what a Fringe show can be when it grows up. Chris Earle wrote Radio :30 and performed it at Fringe in 1999. Since then it’s won both a Dora and a Chalmers award. Continue reading Radio :30 (the night kitchen) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review