Here are all of the shows we wish we could get out and see this week! Take your pick from our list of great theatre escapes for the week of July 19, 2010:
** Shows marked with the double asterisks and in red are the ones that make Megan, our editor, wish she could clone herself so she could check them all out.
Continue reading Eye-catching Toronto live theatre for the week of July 19, 2010
By Winston Soon
Eighth Contest Ball
Fri June 25th @ Doors at 10:30pm, $10
Buddies in Bad Times
It’s been many years since I last saw “The B-Girlz”. That was back in kinder days – when aphids took over Toronto, Zelda’s was on Church Street, and the B-Girlz were three Drag Queens with outfits that seemed to serve as an inspiration later for the kids show “The Doodlebops”.
Continue reading The Best of Gowntown
by Lucy Allen
Oh, Stephen Harper. He’s been the butt of so many jokes, and yet has managed to get elected successfully without any real problem. How on earth does he do it? More importantly, after many poorly executed decisions, how does he hope to get popular again? Daniel and Steven Shehori explore this in their new show, Stephen Harper the Musical currently playing at Second City. Continue reading Review: Stephen Harper the Musical (The Shehori Brothers)
If you’re looking for an alphabetical list of all the 2010 Fringe Festival shows we’ve covered then click here.
Clicking on a play title will take you to the review.
Enjoy!
By John Bourke
It’s difficult to put a categorize what kind of a show Sex, Drugs & the Holy Ghost really is, and it’s making it very difficult to write this review. Put simply, the show is a series of three vignettes where Diane Johnstone portrays three different women, each of whom is at a different point in their life, and have very different views on, well, everything.
Sex, Drugs & the Holy Ghost (Hereafter shortened to SDatHG) was performed and written by Diane Johnstone and directed by Winnie Wong. Continue reading Sex, Drugs & the Holy Ghost (www.bourgee-bushwoman.com) – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review
By Mira Saraf
I will never for the life of me remember the correct name for this play (because of the Hollywood Movie). That’s probably intentional, but whatever the situation may be, I called it Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Smile, Eternal Friendship of the Spotless Mind and all variations in between before I actually got it right.
The psychiatric ward based comedy is about two patients who are paired together for treatment purposes (one is violent, the other passive) and who both fall for their new nurse after the old ones dies under mysterious circumstances. There is a peppering of things in between to allow us to learn about the backgrounds of these two individuals.
Continue reading Eternal Friendship with a Spotless Smile – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review
By Winston Soon
Heat does not for comedy make. This is the lesson I learned as I caught the sweltering Barfly on the Wall. It’s not that the show is flawless – far from it. I’ll get to that.
But c’mon, how in the hell can anyone be funny as they nearly slip on their own sweat and even more importantly, how can an audience find anything funny as they….well…slip on their own sweat?
Continue reading Barfly on the Wall – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review
By Winston Soon
A double bill of two long form Improv ensembles, S&P and Sega Geniuses, respectively – this show is a testament to the caliber and talent of long form improv in Toronto.
Feeling like a particularly good night at the Comedy Bar or Bad Dog Theatre, the show begins with a stage, some chairs and audience interview in an easy chair with cast member Jimi Shlag. Interestingly, Shlag lets the audience volunteer nominate herself for both sets.
Continue reading S&P and Sega Geniuses – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review
By Mira Saraf
The slip of paper of a program I received as I walked through the doors of the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace contained the usual credits and thank yous, but in addition the definitions of the terms Old Maid and Spinster from the middle ages. This was going to be different from the other shows I’d seen, this much I knew.
Gillespie started the performance wondering why she was always cast as the older single woman or lesbian and spiraled off into questioning why there are so many women choosing to be single.
Continue reading Wanted, If Not Wed – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review
by Lucy Allen
As a girl in her mid-twenties, I can relate to many of the stories told in 1/4 Life Crisis, currently playing at the Fringe. Most people in my age group seem to have gone through it, myself included. The recent phenomena has inspired musicals, movies, novels and now, a one person show. Continue reading 1/4 Life Crisis (8 Monkeys Productions)- 2010 Toronto Fringe Review