The version of Winners and Losers showing at the 2018 SummerWorks Festival is adapted from the original play of the same name, written and performed by Marcus Youssef and James Long. Youssef and Long, like Valerie Planche and Makambe S. Simamba, are friends, artists making work in Canada, and of markedly different backgrounds (by which I actually mean backgrounds and not “background as a euphemism for race” – though also that). In the show, Planche and Simamba play a game where they throw out nouns from “TTC” to “Space Soldiers” and discuss whether they’re winners or losers.
Thaya Whitten, the subject of The Red Horse Is Leaving in the 2018 SummerWorks Performance Festival, was clearly a woman ahead of her time. The performance of her character, drawn heavily from her own writing and speaking engagements, is full of chewy, delicious ideas about art, commerce, relationships, colour, light, music, and fear. Whitten, who convened panel discussion and drew them live, who engaged people about their deep feelings and expectations around artwork, is utterly fascinating.
…And You’ll Never Believe What Happens Next, presented by Pressgang Theatre at the 2018 SummerWorks Festival, features Graham Isador telling us a story about stories. In showman’s jacket, he expertly recounts how he became Buzzfeed-ready, groomed as a purveyor of vulnerability by an editor named Sam (whose eye he caught via one popular article about overindulging at a Mandarin buffet).
Directed by Jiv Parasram, Isador details his failed and eventually successful attempts at storytelling spec work, as he gets closer and closer to the sweet spot that will elicit the most “clicks.” Wrapped up in all of this is an exploration and critique of narrative. In particular, it’s an argument about how the stories we tell and consume shape others’ perceptions of us, and our perception of our own identity. What is the face we show to other people? In Isador’s case, it’s a complex and thoughtful one.
Live theatre shows in Toronto with ticket prices of $25 or less, playing the week of July 30th, 2018. Perfect for the budget-conscious theatre-goer. Watch a play under the stars, take in progressive comedy or enjoy a musical.
