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.

Afternoon Tea with Jane Austen (Orange Wine Productions) – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review

Love letters, rejected manuscripts and an intimate evening with the woman who wrote Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility…what more could an Austen fan want?

By Dana Lacey

I shoulda known better. I should have known that a play titled “Afternoon tea with Jane Austen” would be a lot like reading Austen herself – clever, occasionally insightful and frightfully boring. It was the story of Jane Austen as told by Jane Austen, who supposedly wants to debunk the kindly-sweet-and-dull aunty persona that has sprung up in the 200 years since she penned some of my high school english teacher’s favourite tomes. Continue reading Afternoon Tea with Jane Austen (Orange Wine Productions) – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →

New Talent (Theatre Erebus) – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review

By John Bourke

New Talent, presented by Hamilton’s Theatre Erebus, is a peek into the inner workings of Hamilton’s sex trade through the eyes of a single woman’s choice to become an escort.

Set in 1997 against the real-life backdrop of a massive and toxic fire in the city, New Talent features the writer and director Brian Morton as the matter-of-fact driver who introduces Christine to the world of  the escort.  Gregory Cruikshank plays Christine’s first client, a lovelorn computer technician who can’t find the time for a real relationship.

Continue reading New Talent (Theatre Erebus) – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →

The Boy Who Cried Wolf (TwoWolvesTheatreProductions.com) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should confess at the very beginning of this post that I had to leave the show early.  Not due to any fault of the production, but for reasons that will be mentioned a little later. So, keep that in mind as you read the rest of the review.

I discussed whether or not I should do a write up with my editor.  She said that normally we would never actually publish a review based on a partial viewing, but there is no time for anyone to go back, and we really want to give the show some coverage.  So, we decided to publish the review anyway.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf is part of the FringeKids! series, and is billed as a fun, modernist adaptation of Aesop’s classic fable, that is appropriate for the whole family.  It’s directed by M.E. Jenkins, with the adaptation credited to the company.

Continue reading The Boy Who Cried Wolf (TwoWolvesTheatreProductions.com) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →

The Devil and Billy Markham (Chaos Theory Theatre Company) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review

By Megan Mooney

If you don’t already know Shel Silverstein’s piece The Devil and Billy Markham, picture a raunchier, graphic, and more profane grown-up version of something like Casey at the Bat set in good ol’ Mudville.  Because of the rhythm and flow it feels similar, although, it’s certainly not something you’d be teaching your children to recite in grade school.

The piece is billed as ‘storytelling’, and it makes sense with this as the text they’re working from.  Storytelling differs from ‘traditional’ theatre because the person on stage is actively talking to the audience, and although different voices are used, there isn’t the same focus on ‘developing a character’.  In fact, for me, when it works best for me is when it feels as great as it did when my dad would read to me when I was a kid, using all sorts of different voices for the characters.

Continue reading The Devil and Billy Markham (Chaos Theory Theatre Company) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →