The pomp and circumstance of the pageantry world takes to Toronto’s EnWave Theatre in Major Tom

When you see Major Tom (playing the EnWave Theatre as part of WorldStage), you don’t watch Victoria Melody perform nearly so much as run into her at a dog park: she smiles in recognition, and you start chatting.  She has the sort of personality which, with nothing more than a wink and a well-chosen anecdote, brings you into her world. Vicky’s going to talk, and you’re going to listen–and you’re going to enjoy every minute of it.

And this particular story is fascinating: she walks us through more-or-less a year in the life of a dog fancier who, feeling it unfair that her basset hound (the titular Major Tom) must be primped and trained and perfumed and tweezed into a perfect specimen in order to compete at dog shows, decides to begin entering beauty pageants herself–with all the attendant weight loss, relationship strain, pink-ribbon runs, spray-on tans, and charity calendar shoots.

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V-Day Toronto’s Emotional Creature explored the many issues concerning young women around the world

Making its triumphant Canadian debut at the Young People’s Theatre, Emotional Creature is a poignant look at the various struggles endured by young women all over the world. This V-Day Toronto production (presented in conjunction with Nightwood Theatre) employs song, dance and dialogue to explore a wide range of issues – from trying to fit in to escaping a horrible life of sexual slavery.

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Toronto Dance Theatre explores human movement and motion at the Winchester Theatre

Leaving the Winchester Street Theatre, it struck me that a converted church seemed fitting for what I had just seen. Working with all of the Toronto Dance Theatre company members, Ame Henderson’s Voyager was almost religious in its dedication to their theme.

The question posed in publicity about Voyager was “What would happen if you never stopped moving?” My initial gut response, albeit a pessimistic one was ‘nothing, we never stop moving’. Our hearts beat, our lungs pump, and our synapses fire we are constantly in motion. After seeing the show I realized what was missing from these press releases and e-blasts was the idea of constant motion at a single tempo.

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Candid love letters explore the distance in correspondence in Cher Menteur/Dear Liar at Toronto’s Berkeley Theatre

In Cher Menteur/Dear Liar, the Théâtre français explores the–often very convoluted–romance between the famous George Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell, a leading actress at the turn of the 20th Century. Their relationship was turbulent, swinging from infatuation to revulsion and back again. Historians believe that, while it may have been the greatest romance in both of their lives, the ties between them remained unconsummated. Both married other people, and although the two exchanged ideas and took inspiration from one another, in smaller or greater ways, throughout their lives, their only notable joint project was Shaw’s Pygmalion.

Cher Menteur/Dear Liar (presented in French, with English surtitles) explores this relationship through their correspondence, itself a point of considerable tension between the pair. Fortunately, both Shaw and Campbell were witty fiends, and the playfulness inherent in these letters–even when things are on the rocks–shines through, more than a century later.

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The music and theatrics of Bollywood enlivens Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille in Same Same But Different

Same Same But Different, now onstage at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille, is two plays in one. Both acts are capable of standing alone as completed works, and have done so to acclaim in the past. With timeless themes forming a shared backbone, this fine night of theatre shows us both sides of the same rupee.

Same Same But Different is the brainchild of uber-talented Anita Majumdar. Majumdar wrote, choreographed and stars in the play. She’s onstage for the vast majority of the two acts, and the total running time is about 2 hours and 40 minutes. That might sound like a recipe for “we’re going to grow tired of this woman”, but trust me, you won’t.
Continue reading Review: Same Same But Different (Theatre Passe Muraille and ATP in assoc. with Nightswimming) →