This week, the theme centres around gods, fairies, and ghosts. Whether these stories adapt fairy tales or feature elements of various mythologies, all of these picks have something to offer that’s just a little beyond this world. Check ’em out under the cut. Continue reading Cheap Theatre in Toronto the Week of March 18th
Rounding out March are a number of shows that range from fairy tales to scathing cultural commentary. Here to help you parse through the rich end-of-the-month additions to the city’s theatre scene is our Editor Samantha, whose picks you can find illustrated in red under the cut! Continue reading Playlistings in Toronto for the Week of March 28th
Blithe Spirit has had at least a dozen commercial and non-commercial productions in Toronto in the last decade. Noël Coward’s script is funny, bitchy, progressive and spooky, and its structural features — a single set, a small cast, worthwhile roles for actresses over the age of 25 — make it an attractive choice for producers as well.
The plot is straightforward: in an English country village, a remarried widower accidentally conjures up the spirit of his first wife, making him a sort of spectral bigamist. Neither wife is altogether pleased with this arrangement, and both are determined to have him to themselves — at any cost.
iBlithe seeks to “re-invent” Blithe Spirit for the digital age, bringing it forward 70 years to find new relevance, cut some of the padding, and make it work in a post-iPhone world.
Continue reading Review: iBlithe (The iPlayers/Red Sandcastle)
The Crackwalker, now on stage in Toronto, is the definition of a committed performanceOpening night of Judith Thompson’s The Crackwalker, playing at the Factory Theatre, was one of emotion: like every emotion that human beings can feel and some I might have felt for the first time. I laughed, I was shocked, and I was reflective. At some points I wanted to jump on stage and either comfort the characters or cuff them on the back of the head.
Needless to say, I didn’t. However, Theresa, Sandy, Joe, and Alan are characters that are so hopelessly flawed that they can’t be anything other than real. We know these people. They are our friends and our family, and that is why this show is so great. It is rooted in reality and elicited a real, visceral reaction in me.
Soulpepper’s Blood Wedding is a visually engaging mixed bag, now on stage in TorontoSoulpepper Theatre plays with cool genres in their interpretation of the first play in Fredrico Garcia Lorca’s popular Rural Trilogy, Blood Wedding. But while the production demonstrates some interesting ideas, there was a certain je ne sais quoi missing that prevents it from being exceptional.