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.
Canadian Stage presents the Toronto premiere of Nina Raine’s award-winning play Tribes.
We rely on tribes to build our sense of identity. Liberal or conservative, iPhone or Android, Leafs Nation, Ford Nation, LGBT, metalhead, vegan; these are groups that people use to identify others who share common values. British playwright Nina Raine’s play Tribes is a timely examination of our bent toward tribalism. In our digital/web culture we increasingly segregate into individual tribes; online communities become echo chambers where we seek affirmation for our world views. But does this reliance on tribalism inhibit our ability to actually connect with people?
Introducing new audiences to contemporary opera, Tapestry hosted Songbook in Toronto
On February 1, Tapestry hosted Songbook, a program of operatic excerpts and shorts. Tapestry is an opera company devoted the performance of new works. Pieces on this program were written within the last fifteen years. Songbook is the culmination of New Opera 101, a training program offered by Tapestry that provides emerging singers and collaborative pianists the opportunity to work with some of the leading experts in the field of contemporary opera. Participants in this year’s two-day intensive worked with Kristina Szabό, Dr. Christopher Foley and Michael Mori. Continue reading Review: Songbook (Tapestry)→
Stunning voices and exceptional talent take the stage in A Masked Ball at Toronto’s Four Seasons
Since the use of sound is so central to our expectations of an opera, Jossi Wieler and Sergio’s choice to use silence at the opening of COC’s 2013-2014 production of Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) by Giuseppe Verdi was arresting. It is hard to say exactly how long the page Oscar, played by Simone Osborne, took a leisurely stroll around the stage before the opening strains of the overture began; the silence was pregnant with possibility and anticipation.
Mirvish presents a new production of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis in Toronto
“One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin.” So begins Franz Kafka’s absurdist novella The Metamorphosis which has been cleverly adapted into a surprisingly moving production by British theatre Lyric Hammersmith and Icelandic theatre company Vesturport. Metamorphosis is making its Canadian premiere in Toronto at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. Continue reading Review: Metamorphosis (Mirvish)→
Two prisoners explore faith and morality in Jesus Hopped the A Train playing at Toronto’s Unit 102 Theatre
Do you like emotionally charged prison scenes? How about authentic street dialogue and thoughtful debates about faith, religion and mortality? Then head over to Unit 102 Theatre at Queen and Dufferin in Toronto to see Jesus Hopped The ‘A’ Train. This play is refreshing food for thought, has phenomenal acting and is particularly well-written.
Written by acclaimed playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, Jesus Hopped The ‘A’ Train includes all those elements. Mounted by Unit 102 Theatre, this play also has riveting acting and a harsh, cold “in your face” staging and lighting that make for an excellent night of theatre. The boldness works well, as the play mostly takes place within a prison. Continue reading Review: Jesus Hopped The A Train (Unit 102 Theatre)→
