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.
Toronto comedian Ashley Botting remounts her delightful musical improv Fringe showIt’s hard to articulate a show like Ashley with a “Y” playing at the Bad Dog Theatre. Musical improv that changes with every show, totally dependent on the talent and charisma of one woman and her pianist, sounds like it could be the lead up to, well, one heck of a joke.
And it pretty much lives up to its punchlines.
Mirvish transfers smash hit musical Come From Away to a new venue: Toronto’s Elgin Theatre
***NOTE: All performances are cancelled between Saturday, March 14 through Sunday, April 12 to respect social-distancing requests around COVID -19
What I like most about Come From Away is that if you want layers, you can find them; if you just want a joyful feel-good show, you can find that too.
As my show-partner Ryan said, it is “infectious and warm, and as a Canadian, you can’t help but feel proud.” I felt it too as I watched the story of how the townspeople of Gander, Newfoundland stepped up to take care of the unexpected visitors, as though I had some ownership of their story by simply living in the same country as them.
Toronto’s Progress Festival presents a tragi-comic mix of dance, theatre, and storytellingA tragicomedy mixed with a hopeful love story – Blood on the Dance Floor presented at the Progress Festival is an emotional mix of theatre, dance and storytelling. The one-man show is performed by Australian Jacob Boehm of ILBIJERRI Theatre Company. Boehm connects his identities–gay, Black and HIV positive–through a motif of blood, which defines his fears and generates discrimination against him. The work is curated by The Theatre Centre and Native Earth Performance Arts. Continue reading 2019 Progress Review: Blood on the Dance Floor (ILBIJERRI Theatre Company)
Why Not Theatre and Canadian Stage presents an ASL integrated Prince Hamlet in TorontoWhy Not Theatre along with Canadian Stage presents a version of Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet, playing at the Berkeley Street Theatre, unlike any you’ve likely seen before. Directed by Ravi Jain and integrating ASL seamlessly into the performance along with gender bent characters, this version of the Bard’s classic is jagged around the edges and very provocative. It’s simply stunning to watch.
Continue reading Review: Prince Hamlet (Why Not Theatre presented by Canadian Stage)
It was the alluring and distorted promotional picture of Danish Choreographer and Dancer Kitt Johnson that caught my eye. The image of Johnson in somewhat of a contortion dressed in a white tank top and a ski mask piqued my curiosity. I wanted to get to know the mysterious person behind the mask. And as her show Post No Bills began, I found myself yearning to learn more about Johnson’s unique contemporary dance style as she purposefully stepped on to the Harbourfront Centre Theatre stage allowing the audience into her world.
Continue reading Review: Post No Bills (Harbourfront Torque/Kitt Johnson X-Act)