From its title, you might expect fantasylover, presented by Rock Bottom Movement at the 2018 SummerWorks Festival, to be a fluffy, bright, shiny and candy-coated romp of a dance show. It’s not. It’s funny and quirky, but there’s a screaming, twitching violence beneath its veneer of butt-baring leotards; aesthetically, it’s the feminist dance equivalent of a Hieronymous Bosch painting. That artist, famous for his depictions of naked, contorted figures on a hellscape background, would have approved of these women who aren’t afraid to go grotesque.

Continue reading fantasylover (Rock Bottom Movement) 2018 SummerWorks Review →

Arriving about four minutes late for Lion Womxn, The Amy Project’s production for SummerWorks because of a streetcar backup, I had to discretely text my editor to let her know that I had indeed made it in after all, and then dig in my bag for a pen and my notebook.

About 10 minutes into the show I realized that there were going to be tears involved – mine – but I really didn’t want to dig in my bag again, looking for tissues, unless it was really necessary. It wasn’t. I did cry through a lot of the piece but they were the kind of tears I could manage without kleenex. They were tears of sadness, recognition,  regret, and admiration. It wasn’t all tears, I laughed too. Continue reading Lion Womxn (The Amy Project) 2018 SummerWorks Review →

Truthteller, presented by Lady Janitor at the 2018 SummerWorks Festival, is one of the final two shows in a series of works (the other, also at SummerWorks, is The Reckoning). This was my first Lady Janitor experience, and I believe the work stands alone. It’s Performance Art, with a capital P.A., that walks the edge of taking itself too seriously, but doesn’t quite fall off the cliff.

Part salon, part physical trust exercise, part crystals and glitter and part singalong, it succeeds or fails primarily on how willing you are to go with it and participate in the experience. If you want and are prepared for that, it’s a good time. If you’re looking for cohesion and structure instead of vignettes and moments, you may have a rough trip.

Continue reading Truthteller (Lady Janitor) 2018 SummerWorks Review →

The Extinction of Hong Kongers, playing as part of the 2018 SummerWorks Festival, is an intriguing  look at the history of Hong Kong, a Chinese-British port island that is slowly, gradually, losing its identity.  Performed with miniatures and puppetry and utilizing recycled and found materials, this unique production is presented in a combination of English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Continue reading The Extinction of Hong Kongers (Theatre du Poulet) 2018 SummerWorks Review →