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.
The Dysmorphia Diet (by Ball of Clay productions playing at the 2014 Toronto Fringe) is a one-woman show that takes a closer look at eating disorders and body image issues. The subject matter is interesting, the script is smart and well written but overall for me this show fell flat. I think it has the elements to make it a great show but unfortunately it’s not yet a great show.
Continue reading The Dysmorphia Diet (Ball of Clay) 2014 Toronto Fringe Review
To be fair, Play Piano Play warns you that it is not, in fact, a play before the show even begins. But its inclusion in this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival remains confusing.
Pitched as “a blend of comedy and incendiary pianism,” this one-man act follows Czech pianist Jan Janovsky, as he strings together host of musical numbers with a loosely woven narrative of his “Czech past, Canadian present, and ambiguous future.”
Continue reading Play Piano Play (Otherhand Productions) 2014 Toronto Fringe Review
I think therefore I’m Graham (by Laugh Gallery playing at the Toronto Fringe) is a hilarious, laid back stand-up show that is best enjoyed after a couple of drinks with a bunch of friends. Luckily, that seemed to be the atmosphere on the sold-out opening night I attended. We got there about 20 minutes before the show and not only was the show fully sold-out but the waiting list was full as well, so my date didn’t get in. And I really wish he had since Graham Clark’s routine is a non-stop laugh riot with little bits of audience participation which the audience really got into.
Continue reading I think therefore I’m Graham (Laugh Gallery) 2014 Toronto Fringe Review
All in the Timing, Miller’s Son & From the Oven Productions sketch comedy offering at this years Toronto Fringe Festival, delivers a curation of sketches with wit as sharp and precisely placed as a mountain climber’s axe through Trotsky’s skull (which happens to be in the play, and it’s just one of those images that sticks with you afterwards).
Continue reading All in the Timing (Miller’s Son & From the Oven) 2014 Toronto Fringe Review
In The Emergency Monologues, paramedic Morgan Jones Phillips tells stories which definitely bear no relationship whatsoever to any actual calls he may or may not have been sent to handle, so there. The fact that he knows them all off by heart is, clearly, neither here nor there. At his Toronto Fringe Festival show, you spins the wheel and you takes your chances: maybe he’ll tell you about Edna and her Poo, or the various sundry and delightful Smells he encounters in his work, or — you lucky dog, you– the Legend of Penis Guy.
And, remember, this is fiction. Definitely, 100% pure fiction. So don’t go thinking otherwise. Not even if he winks.
Continue reading The Emergency Monologues (Drinking Well) 2014 Toronto fringe Review