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: The Terrible Parents (The Cabaret Company)

Gavin Crawford The Terrible ParentsThe Terrible Parents is worth investing in, now on stage in Toronto

Family dynamics are a messy, murky business. Family alienates and unifies us, sometimes simultaneously. Sky Gilbert’s The Terrible Parents, currently playing at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre, is a domestic horror story that does just that. It is dressed up to amuse and entertain, but there’s deep pain and pathology pumping through its wounded heart.  Continue reading Review: The Terrible Parents (The Cabaret Company)

Review: Disgraced (Mirvish)

disgraced-photoMirvish presents Ayad Akhtar’s provocative, award-winning play Disgraced in Toronto

Yesterday I had an exchange with an acquaintance about the infamous tweet by Black Lives Matter Toronto’s co-founder Yusra Khogali. He was quick to call “reverse racism” after I suggested that his not being a person of colour meant that he didn’t understand the context of Khogali’s tweet. It got heated. Issues like systemic racism and how it has manifested in contemporary power structures are increasingly being discussed, and that’s why a play like Disgraced feels so immediately relevant. It speaks profoundly to the political climate of today. Continue reading Review: Disgraced (Mirvish)

Review: Caught (Theatre Passe Muraille)

Photo of Sabryn Rock, Meegwun Fairbrother and Jakob Ehman in CAUGHT by Michael CooperCaught is an intense interrogation drama playing at the Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto

Caught, the latest production at the Theatre Passe Muraille backspace, is 75 minutes of interrogation intensity that drags up aspects of blame, entitlement, racial tension, gender tension, gaslighting, assault, and consequence to the here and now in painful and glaring ways. It’s intense and uncomfortable and far from a leisurely night at the theatre. For all of these reasons, Caught is worth seeing.

Continue reading Review: Caught (Theatre Passe Muraille)

Review: Isis and Osiris (Voicebox: Opera in Concert)

Toronto’s Voicebox: Opera in Concert premiered new Canadian opera Isis and Osiris: Gods of Egypt

02The seats of the Jane Mallet Theatre of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts were practically full; an amazing turn-out for a Sunday matinee. Attendees talked with hushed excitement as the orchestra tuned their instruments, preparing for the lights to dim. Within moments, I would be treated to the final showing of Isis and Osiris: Gods of Egypt. The premiere of the new Canadian opera and finale of Voicebox: Opera in Concert‘s season. Continue reading Review: Isis and Osiris (Voicebox: Opera in Concert)

Review: Matt & Ben (Fancy Bits Theatre)

mattandbenToronto’s Fancy Bits Theatre takes on Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in Matt & Ben

’90s tunes pervade the boozy atmosphere as you enter the Imperial Pub Backspace for Fancy Bits Theatre’s Matt & Ben (originally by Mindy Kaling & Brenda Withers), with drink in hand if you so choose. On stage, the main attraction is a soiled sofa with snacks littering the cardboard furniture and headshots covering the walls in hilariously narcissistic fashion. This is Ben Affleck’s apartment in the early ’90s, and we are about to witness a miracle.

Continue reading Review: Matt & Ben (Fancy Bits Theatre)