All But Gone, on stage in Toronto, is a “performance of beautifully executed despair”
Canadian Stage’s production of All But Gone intersperses four of Samuel Beckett’s short plays with pieces of contemporary vocal music sung by two opera singers. Since Beckett’s plays are very different from what most of us are used to seeing at the theatre, I recommend taking a look at his work before you decide whether to see this performance. Otherwise you might come away saying, “Well, that was different,” like a puzzled woman in the row behind me.
Personally, I enjoy absurdist theatre (in small doses), so I was delighted by All But Gone. There was something especially beautiful and desolate about the opening moments of the evening. The house lights came down and performers Shannon Mercer and Krisztina Szabó began to sing long, slow notes of opera into the silence. Spotlights flickered across the audience, everyone hushed, and a tall blue curtain drew quietly across the stage: it was the kind of small but weighty moment that Beckett might have appreciated.
How We Are challenges Toronto audiences to get close to an important, uncomfortable subject
Mikaela Davies and Polly Phokeev Productions presents How We Are, a challenging and complicated show that unflinchingly explores the aftermath of sexual assault. It’s the kind of show that has me still mentally unpacking and thinking deeply about what I had seen long after I exited the performance. Continue reading Review: How We Are (Mikaela Davies and Polly Phokeev Productions)→
Graeme of Thrones brings ambitious hilarity to Toronto’s Panasonic Theatre
(This review probably contains spoilers!) Seeing Graeme of Thrones at the Panasonic Theatre last night was quite an experience for my Game of Thrones-loving soul! What I thought was going to be pure parody turned out to be more.
Graeme (Ali Brice) is just trying to get his play mounted — with no budget, and without getting sued by HBO (where the real Game of Thrones is aired). When he hears that a theatre big-name may be in the crowd, he does his best to entice the “investors” to donate to his show — an homage to the super popular fantasy series based on the books of George R. R. Martin.
On stage in Toronto’s Kensington Market is a play ripe with creepy small town horror
All But Gone, on stage in Toronto, is a “performance of beautifully executed despair”
Graeme of Thrones brings ambitious hilarity to Toronto’s Panasonic Theatre