I leapt at the chance to see The Templeton Philharmonic’s SummerWorks show, An Evening In July, a site-specific show about two eccentric sisters planning a garden party. I had to! Y’see, I fell head over heals in love with them back in March at the Sketch Comedy Festival. Brianna Templeton and Gwynne Phillips are masters of finding the poignant truth lurking beneath outlandish behaviour. Continue reading An Evening In July (The Templeton Philharmonic) 2015 SummerWorks Review
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.
That Synching Feeling (Outside the March) 2015 SummerWorks Review
Outside the March’s That Synching Feeling, playing in Toronto as part of the SummerWorks Festival, explores the paradox of the Information Age: through digital communications technology we’re now more connected to other people than ever before in the history of humankind and yet we’re increasingly isolated and alone.
However, being alone is not the same as being lonely… Continue reading That Synching Feeling (Outside the March) 2015 SummerWorks Review
multiform(s) (Amanda Acorn) 2015 SummerWorks Review
Five strong female dancers took The Theatre Centre BMO Incubator stage in an abstract contemporary dance number that was both physically demanding and also quite intense. Choreographed by well-known choreographer Amanda Acorn, the SummerWorks production multiform(s) was a fluid, dynamic piece that showed a great deal of willpower and endurance.
Continue reading multiform(s) (Amanda Acorn) 2015 SummerWorks Review
Seams (The Seams Collective) 2015 SummerWorks Review
Seams is a play steeped in history. If your taste is for well-made, conventional theatre, this SummerWorks entry by The Seams Collective is a solid choice .
Set in a Moscow theatre in 1939, Polly Phokeev’s play follows the lives of six costume makers during the troubling political and social climate of Stalin’s Soviet Russia. As these characters tear fabric apart, then sew it back together again, love and hate are woven together. Continue reading Seams (The Seams Collective) 2015 SummerWorks Review
Obeah Opera (Nightwood Theatre/b current)
Obeah Opera is a powerful a capella story on stage at the Young Centre in Toronto
The theatre is no stranger to the Salem Witch Trials, a series of prosecutions that took place between 1692 and 1693 over accusations of witchcraft that led to the execution of several people. Obeah Opera, playing at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts as part of PANAMANIA, focuses the narrative on the perspectives of the Caribbean slave women who were among the first accused. It does so by blending theatre, dance, and various African-American musical styles into one “epic” a cappella theatrical experience.
The result was a theatre that leapt to its feet the instant the lights came up, and applauded so long that the company had to come out for a second bow.