An Excellent, Pitch-Black Comedy At Toronto’s Unit 102
Martin McDonagh‘s one-act play A Behanding in Spokane could easily be a tricky play to pull off. This is a very dense work, a black comedy in McDonough’s style full of subtly interconnecting stories, shifting motivations, and the playwright’s characteristic wordplay–obscene, philosophical, absurd–that needs a team of talented actors with good direction and set design to pull it off.
Happily for Torontonians, Unit 102 Theatre, which is putting on A Behanding in Spokane at their storefront theatre at 376 Dufferin Street just south of Queen Street West, has done just this.
Five Fingers is a rewarding challenge for Toronto audiences.
I’m hesitant to say that Five Fingers is a powerful piece of theatre because I don’t feel those words do it justice. Five Fingers is an experience like none other I’ve ever had.
Five Fingers is a story of domestic violence told in the domestic sphere. It is performed at a site-specific location, a home in the Annex, and the company invites up to ten audience members in to watch the performance. The quarters are cramped adding to the feeling of being caged in the space with the dysfunctional couple.
Steve Cohen Sparkles with Chamber Magic at Toronto’s George Brown House
I straightened my bowtie and tucked in my pocket square this evening to see Steve Cohen perform his show Chamber Magic at George Brown House for Luminato, where the dress code is as fancy as the attendees (let’s just say that for this evening anyhow, his sobriquet The Millionaires’ Magician was well deserved). The show, a classic parlour magic display designed for close audiences, sent me running home to the interwebs to try to figure out how some of his tricks had been performed. I’ll say only this: even online, magicians are pretty tight-lipped.
Clay and Paper Deliver a Fantastic Day in Toronto’s Dufferin Grove Park.
The cold rain on Sunday morning concerned me, as I was looking forward to spending the afternoon outside with my partner and our adorable son. June 16th was both our 6th anniversary and his 11 month birthday and we were going to Clay and Paper’s Day of Delight in Dufferin Grove Park. There aren’t many events where I can kill two birds with one stone and spend time with my new family while also reviewing for Mooney. Day of Delight fulfills this double duty perfectly. Continue reading Review: Day of Delight (Clay and Paper Theatre)→
Barristers get Bardy with this year’s Lawyer Show at the Berkeley Street Theatre in Toronto
The Lawyer Show is one of my favourite theatre events of the year. Staged annually at Berkeley Street Theatre and produced by Nightwood Theatre, the play features an all-lawyer cast who volunteer their time to rehearse for three months.
Clay and Paper Deliver a Fantastic Day in Toronto’s Dufferin Grove Park.