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.
The Soulpepper team brings Idomeneus to the Toronto stage with visually stunning staging
Idomeneus, written by Roland Schimmelpfennig and translated by David Tushingham, now the latest Soulpepper production on stage at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, is an intensely mesmerizing hybrid of spoken word and movement set to a stunning cinematic backdrop. It’s a captivating tale brought to life by a chorus that fully embodies the script at hand. But, for me, the visuals are what had me sold.
Canadian play talks memory, storytelling, and voice, now on stage in Toronto
Michael Healey’s The Drawer Boy, currently running at Theatre Passe Muraille, is one of the most produced Canadian plays of all time. It features a familiar societal conflict: urban versus rural, actor versus tractor. Somehow, in all my theatre education, I had missed seeing this play thus far, and was excited to hear that Passe Muraille was bringing it back in honour of its 50th season.
What makes The Drawer Boy so enduringly popular with theatregoers, I think, is its exploration of the power of story and theatre; in particular, how story is so inextricably linked with memory and identity. When we change the stories we tell to and about ourselves, we can’t help but change who we are.
Big laughs in stylish comedy, now playing on the Toronto stage
Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a comedy that gets funnier after funnier with each scene. Playing at the Scarborough Village Theatre, this story will make your own sibling relations seem perfectly functional.
Wistful Sonia (Deborah Jarvis) and complacent Vanya (Chip Thompson) are stay-at-home siblings to whom nothing exciting ever happens. Things run amok after their psychic housekeeper Cassandra (Carolyn Williamson) warns them of housing doom and gloom. Sure enough, their movie star sister Masha (Martha Breen) waltzes in to visit, introduces her young bimbo boyfriend Spike (Holm Bradwell), and announces she wishes to sell the family home. Masha is the one who has been paying for its upkeep, while Sonia and Vanya have spent the past 15 years caring for their elderly parents, now deceased. Continue reading Review: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Scarborough Players)→
Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival brings laughs to the Toronto stage!
The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival is on this week until March 11th, and it’s an absolute romp. If you get the chance, then you have to check out at least one of the many hilarious shows being put on throughout the city. I was lucky enough to see two at the Comedy Bar this past weekend.
Leaning on a high-chair, watching sketches with a pint of beer is very much my speed. Sketch and stand-up comedy are my jam, and I was very excited at the opportunity to kick back and give an overview of the festival, repping Toronto’s fantastic scene with locations you’ll rarely see in theatre reviews. There’s always something going on in the city, and I’d recommend a visit to one of our many comedy clubs anytime, but Sketchfest really is something to catch while you can.
Hart House Theatre presents The Bard’s bloodiest tragedy, on stage in Toronto
Titus Andronicus, the bloodiest and possibly most infamous of Shakespeare’s tragedies is onstage now at Hart House Theatre. You won’t see this show being put on very often, so if you’re up for some particularly repulsive content, this is your chance.
To be honest, I knew little of Titus Andronicus going into this review, and I made a conscious decision to keep it that way. It seemed like a real treat to experience one of the bards’ tales with a fresh perspective. My guest Arun, despite being a seasoned actor who’s been in multiple Shakespeare productions, went in with a similar mindset. We were both excited going into Hart House theatre.
The Soulpepper team brings Idomeneus to the Toronto stage with visually stunning staging
Canadian play talks memory, storytelling, and voice, now on stage in Toronto
Big laughs in stylish comedy, now playing on the Toronto stage
Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival brings laughs to the Toronto stage!
Hart House Theatre presents The Bard’s bloodiest tragedy, on stage in Toronto