Toronto Theatre Reviews

Reviews of productions based in Toronto – theatre includes traditional definitions of theatre, as well as dance, opera, comedy, performance art, spoken word performances, and more. Productions may be in-person, or remote productions streamed online on the Internet.

Ten Years of Mooney on Theatre


Mooney on Theatre has grown a lot since my first post ten years ago today. It started as a way for me to expand my coverage of Toronto’s theatre scene. At the time I was covering shows for BlogTO and really enjoying it, but there was understandably limited space to talk about theatre. Then I was included as part of Toronto’s Mille Femmes — described as “a tribute to 1,000 artistic, creative and inspiring women from Toronto and their protégés, who embody the passion and heritage of the city” — and was told I was ‘a mentor.’ It was the kick in the butt I needed to start my own place to talk about theatre as much as I wanted.

When I hit publish on that first collection of words, I never imagined it would be what it is today.

Continue reading Ten Years of Mooney on Theatre

Review: Selfie (Young People’s Theatre)

Young People’s Theatre presents Selfie, nuanced and thoughtful – great for teens, in Toronto

I arrived at Young People’s Theatre  to see Selfie as an adult who works with a ton of teenagers and young adults (and has one of my own), skeptical in the extreme about work by adults about social media that’s aimed at teenagers. In general, I find it exhaustingly reductionist and at least five years behind schedule. Selfie, however, felt fresh and nuanced and appropriately difficult.

Continue reading Review: Selfie (Young People’s Theatre)

Review: Picnic in the Cemetery (Folga Gaang Project and Canadian Stage)

Photo of Picnic in the CemeteryPicnic in the Cemetery is beautiful but lacks cohesion, at the Berkeley Theatre in Toronto

I don’t think I’ve ever left a show quite as confused as I did walking out of Folga Gaang Project’s Picnic in the Cemetery presented in association with Canadian Stage at the Berkeley Street Upstairs Theatre.

Despite excellent parts, Picnic in the Cemetery feels it should be better than it actually is. Moreover, as an audience member, I feel like I should have liked it better than I did. It’s a show where all the excellent smothers what’s actually good.

Continue reading Review: Picnic in the Cemetery (Folga Gaang Project and Canadian Stage)

Review: Orphee (Against the Grain Theatre)

Cabaret and burlesque meet opera in Against the Grain’s take on Orphee, on stage in Toronto

I did not know what to expect from “an electronic, baroque-burlesque, descent into hell” when I took my seat at Against the Grain Theatre’s production of Orphée. I knew what to expect from the work, having seen Opera Atelier’s interpretation of the same work in 2015, but I couldn’t really imagine how an electronic, burlesque aesthetic would fit in. Continue reading Review: Orphee (Against the Grain Theatre)

Review: Prairie Nurse (Factory Theatre and Thousand Islands Playhouse)

Photo of Belinda Corpuz, Mark Crawford, Isabel Kanaan in Prairie Nurse at Factory Theatre, April 2018Prairie Nurse is “fun” and “entertaining”, playing at the Factory Theatre in Toronto

Prairie Nurse opened at Factory Theatre on Thursday. Written by Marie Beath Badian, and inspired by her mother’s immigration story, it’s a very funny play about two young Filipino nurses who arrive at a small rural, hospital in Saskatchewan in mid-winter in the late 1960’s.

The play is kind of a combination of farce and slapstick and hinges on the inability of the Canadians to tell the Filipinos apart. It’s not as cringe making as it sounds; two of the characters have no trouble knowing who’s who, two others can’t tell and feel terrible about it, and the fifth is clueless. The nurses think all the Canadians look the same. Continue reading Review: Prairie Nurse (Factory Theatre and Thousand Islands Playhouse)