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.

Review: Photog (Boca del Lupo)

By Dana Lacey

Uncompromising and raw, Photog uses new media to give a glimpse into the world of conflict photojournalism.

Jay Dodge by Sherry J. Yoon

The first rule of conflict photography: never let your boss know you’re anything but “normal.” The second rule: don’t get killed.

Photog is a new-media mash-up of true stories from conflict photojournalists, quoted verbatim but told as first-person events by the fictional Thomas Smith, played by writer/performer Jay Dodge.

The project began in Brooklyn, 2008, when theatre company Boca del Lupo interviewed a number of conflict photographers about the nature of their experiences trying to reconcile the worlds they photograph with the worlds they live in. In a series of raw and revealing revelations, photos and videos, they talk about privilege, about feeling disconnected from the world, about following the sound of gunfire instead of running from it. It was commissioned as part of the Harbourfront Centre’s Fresh Ground program.
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Review: The Admirable Crichton (George Brown Theatre School)

Admirable indeed is the performance of The Admirable Crichton playing at the Young Centre in Toronto

By Sam Mooney

The Admirable Crichton - George Brown Theatre SchoolThis is the first production I’ve seen by the the George Brown Theatre School and it certainly won’t be the last.  Pat, my companion for the show, and I both thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

The Admirable Crichton is the story of an earl who believes in equality – when it suits him.  His butler finds these views horrifying – believing that everyone has a place and should follow the rules of society.  The family and servants are shipwrecked and the butler becomes the leader for the time they are stranded on an island.  There is nothing subtle about the social commentary but enjoyable anyway.

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Review: The Skulls of Posada (Double Double Performing Arts)

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by Jenna Rocca

I always love to immerse myself in other cultures. So many different communities from all over the world have formed hubs in our beloved City of Toronto, making themselves available to one another from which to learn and to enjoy.

So I was very excited about joining in the Mexican fun at the Day of the Dead Festival at Harbourfront Centre this past weekend. This was a celebration that always beckoned to me and that I felt akin with, even though I’m Italian and our views of death are highly morbid.

The Skulls of Posada was a special performance put on once each day of the festival (November 6th and 7th). From the director’s note: “The duality of Life and Death is a basic concept among all cultures, but Mexicans embody it in a very peculiar way: passionate, fatalistic, solemn, farcical, humorous [sic], irreverent, disrespectful, are just a few of the adjectives […] that depict Mexicans’ way of living… and dying.” Continue reading Review: The Skulls of Posada (Double Double Performing Arts) →

Review: Glengarry Glen Ross (Column 13)

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By Dana Lacey

Column 13’s Glengarry Glen Ross will have you handing over cheques you didn’t intend to write. Just don’t let your significant other know.

Robert Bellissimo, Jonah Allison, Brandon Thomas, Mischa Jay Cheeseman, Adam Bradley by Andrea Tingley

The first step to enjoying Column 13′s production of Glengarry Glen Ross is to remember that the 1992 movie version (based on a 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning play) is packed with big-name, untouchable, uber-masculine actors — Pacino, Baldwin, Spacey, Lemmon – and features a whole lot of dull, dragged-out and often confusing scenes mixed with explosive, expletive-ridden dialogue. Now, imagine that movie stripped of the boring bits and you’ll get a better idea of what you’re in for.

Column 13’s version of the play skips straight to the goods: at one hour, it’s short, loud, hilariously action-packed and will have you swearing like a sailor for the rest of the week. Continue reading Review: Glengarry Glen Ross (Column 13) →

Review: Lenin’s Embalmers (Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company)

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by George Perry

Toronto’s Al Green Theatre serves up a Bolshevik on the rocks, with lots of twists

Lenin's Embalmers

Vladimir Lenin’s body is on display at Red Square in Moscow.  Lenin’s Embalmers, meanwhile, is on display at The Al Green Theatre in Toronto.  We have The Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company to thank for bringing this play to Spadina and Bloor.

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