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.
I don’t think I know enough superlatives to describe Greenland, part of Summerworks 2019.
Ravi Jain’s direction, Claire Calnan, Miriam Fernandes, and Andrew Musselman’s acting, and Nicolas Billion’s script are a magic combination. It has yielded an exquisite, polished theatre gem.
Continue reading Greenland (Why Not Theatre and Summerworks ) 2019 Summerworks Review
Cliff Cardinal stuns as a storyteller in Cliff Cardinal’s CBC Special, now playing at the 2019 SummerWorks Festival. Presented by Imaginary Force and Cutline, the show delivers a melodic, soulful evening of powerful folk songs and stories, woven together with dark humor and expansive heart.
Continue reading Cliff Cardinal’s CBC Special (Imaginary Force and Cutline) 2019 SummerWorks Review
Definitions of what and who are “criminal” or “insane” have historically been tailored to benefit the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and marginalized. This fact is readily apparent as one watches Audible Songs From Rockwood at the 2019 SummerWorks Performance Festival, a song cycle by Simone Schmidt (aka Fiver) based on the case files of ten women incarcerated at Rockwood Asylum for the Criminally Insane between 1856-1881.
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Gender Reveal Party, presented by Flamingo Rampant at the 2019 SummerWorks Performance Festival, is a work-in-progress, much like the gender identities of many of its participants. Created by Mooney on Theatre senior writer S. Bear Bergman, it riffs off the idea of the “gender reveal party” that has become a major social media fad in the past decade, starting with a fateful 2008 blog post -which the blogger reportedly now regrets. In these parties, as a baby sits in utero, its parents, via the inside colour of a cake, piñata, or some other intricate ritual, communicate to their guests the assigned gender of the child.
Continue reading Gender Reveal Party (Flamingo Rampant) 2019 SummerWorks Review
We live, as they say, in an age of anxiety. The daily stream of fear from world news means that we not only shoulder our own burdens, but those of billions of others. Worry Warts, presented by Convergence Theatre at the 2019 SummerWorks Performance Festival, is a short, guided tour through our personal anxieties, helmed by a troupe of sympathetic listeners.
Continue reading Worry Warts (Convergence Theatre) 2019 SummerWorks Review