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.
There is space for unapologeticly angry funny theatre. It’s Getting Hot in Here! at the Toronto Fringe Festival very much stakes that space out and refuses to move from it. It is a hilariously self-aware, dreamlike set of internal monologue vignettes from inside the mind of someone who is faced with a ballot box and a choice in front of them.
Continue reading It’s Getting Hot in Here! (Potato Potato) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review
An Orchid And Other Such Lilies And Lies (playing at this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival) is an interesting, “existential” style play that follows two old friends on their quest to end their lives in the middle of the desert. It’s a study on grief and how one’s perspective on life can change when faced with the enigma of death.
Continue reading An Orchid And Other Such Lilies And Lies (BodyCube) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review
Getting older definitely sucks, so if you find yourself feeling Middle Raged, you can laugh along with Gary Pearson and Geri Hall at the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival. Hall and Pearson wrote and perform this handful of sketches about parenting, sex, and body issues. Since both performers are alums of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, they definitely know what they’re doing in the comedy department.
Continue reading Middle Raged (Gary Pearson) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review
In The Commandment (playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival), God’s unhappiest prophet (Phil Rickaby) breaks into Open Mic Night to explain how he got into this situation, and bequeath unto us the latest and greatest word of the Lord. The result is somewhere along the Adams-Gaiman-Gorey spectrum, exploring what it even means to be a prophet in the modern era — and the unique duties it imposes upon an atheist.
Continue reading The Commandment (Simple Truth Theatre) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review
In Sidney Needs a Kidney (playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival), a nice young suburban couple have come to the end of the road. The spoiler’s in the title: Sidney needs a kidney, and so far they’re coming up dry. But they have a plan involving a dinner party, her sister’s boyfriend, and an unconventional method of persuasion.
Remember, it’s all for a good cause, so they’re good people. No matter what.
Continue reading Sidney Needs A Kidney (Little Fish Productions) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review