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.
Second City brings their latest main stage sketch comedy revue to Toronto audiences
Second City launched their latest revue for the spring and summer and their team of talented and immensely funny improv comedians are excited to keep Toronto laughing. The Best is Yet to Come Undone is a hilarious night of culturally relevant, timely, and, well, woke sketch comedy that will leave you cackling in your seats and eager to tell your friends. A healthy dose of audience participation means no two shows will ever be exactly the same.
Thought-provoking Ionesco play arrives on the Toronto stage
Douze Citrons have chosen a timely moment to mount their production of Ionesco’s Rhinoceros at the Aki Studio. A quaint french town is turned upside down as its residents start changing into Rhinoceroses. The change happens slowly at first, and the animals seem to cause little harm, but soon life in the town comes to a standstill as more and more of its inhabitants transform. As the pressure mounts, the choice to remain human becomes less and less attractive. Continue reading Review: RHINOCEROS (Douze Citrons)→
“Stunning” and “relevant” Punk Rock takes to the Toronto stage
The Howland Company’s production of Simon Stephen’s Punk Rock holds incredible power. The material itself is already strong, and the expert cast and creative team just pushes it that much further. It is quite literally one of the most “stunning” plays I’ve personally ever seen (second to Buddies In Bad Times’ 2011 production of TheNormal Heart). Consider all the school shootings that have happened in the last year, and the stakes in Punk Rock couldn’t be higher.
Sharp, insightful, “unfinished by design” play explores identity on the Toronto stage
What is it like to be mixed-race in a society that seems equally fixated on getting you to choose a singular self and asking, “no, where are you really from?” That’s the question plaguing the central characters of Mixie and the Halfbreeds, now being presented by fu-GEN Theatre at the Pia Bouman School, Scotiabank Studio Theatre. As in the quest for identity, there’s no straightforward answer.
Noise arrives on the Toronto stage at the Annex Theatre
The Randolph College for the Performing Arts production of Noise opened on Tuesday at the Annex Theatre. This is the first English performance of Maria Milisavljevic’s play Beben (“Quake”), originally written in German. It was first translated by Milisavljevic with David Jansen for a staged reading in 2016. It’s been further updated by Director Birgit Schreyer Duarte and the student cast for this production.
The translating and updating included adding Canadian and Toronto references, which made the text more engaging. The play is in two acts with an intermission, and I have to admit that at the end of the first act I was struggling to understand what was happening. I had an easier time following the changing narratives and was engaged with the play in the second act. By the end, happy ending not withstanding, I was actually feeling kind of depressed. Continue reading Review: Noise (Randolph College for the Performing Arts)→
Second City brings their latest main stage sketch comedy revue to Toronto audiences
Thought-provoking Ionesco play arrives on the Toronto stage
“Stunning” and “relevant” Punk Rock takes to the Toronto stage
Sharp, insightful, “unfinished by design” play explores identity on the Toronto stage
Noise arrives on the Toronto stage at the Annex Theatre