Review: Here Are the Fragments (ECT Collective/The Theatre Centre)

Photo of Allan Louis in Here Are the Fragments by Dahlia KatzHere are the Fragments is an explorative deep dive into life with schizophrenia

What is it like to live with a mind affected by schizophrenia – a mind gradually colonized by voices, thoughts, and experiences not your own? These are the questions asked by Here are the Fragments, ECT Collective’s fascinating immersive theatre work currently transforming The Theatre Centre. Written by neurologist Suvendrini Lena, it’s inspired by the writing of Frantz Fanon, a French West Indian philosopher and psychiatrist, whose short but vital life and works on decolonization inspired models for both community psychology and political revolution.

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Review: Between Breaths (Factory Theatre)

Between Breaths is a breathtaking and compassionate telling of one man’s legacy

Currently playing on the Factory Theatre Mainstage, Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland‘s production of Between Breaths tells the story of the life of Dr. Jon Lien.  He was a world renowned whale researcher and conservationist known in Newfoundland as ‘The Whale Man’ for his pioneering techniques in rescuing whales from fishing nets.

Written by Governer-General Award winning playwright Robert Chafe after extensive interviews with Dr. Lien’s family, friends, and colleagues, Between Breaths is a compassionate and touching telling of the end of life story of an accomplished and complex man.

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Review: TAP:Ex Augmented Opera (Tapestry Opera/re:Naissance Opera)

Tap:EX blends opera with new age technology in their new Augmented Opera experience

TAP:EX Augmented Opera, Tapestry Opera’s latest installment of its Tap:EX series, unites form and content to explore the impact of technology on experience and memory. As my companion put it, Augmented Opera is like an operatic episode of Black Mirror, but the jury is hung on whether the technology is friend or foe. Continue reading Review: TAP:Ex Augmented Opera (Tapestry Opera/re:Naissance Opera)

Review: IN ABSENTIA (JD DANCE / DANCEWORKS)

In Absentia is an imaginative work that sparks childlike wonder

A mature fairytale in an absurd universe, IN ABSENTIA presented by JD Dance and Danceworks takes to the Harbourfront Centre Theatre. A fantastic work of dance, puppetry and lots and lots of cardboard.

The stage is riddled with cardboard boxes and slabs, over 1000 pounds of it. Boxes of all different sizes are stacked, at some points to the ceiling, into different towers and walls. Many small slabs of ripped cardboard pieces hang above the stage like a bleak baby mobile. However, the space is continually shifting as the performers move and manipulate the set through the strange spectacle.

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Review: The Unconventional Holiday Revue (The Second City)

Second City is back with their Unconventional Holiday Revue

It’s midway through November, so that can only mean it’s time for the holidays and therefore holiday theatre! The Second City has just opened their Unconventional Holiday Revue and while it’s not the strongest outing from the company in recent years it is still a solid comedic showcase.

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