+

Comedians Berni Stapleton and Amy House take the Tarragon Theatre Stage in Toronto

How many Newfoundland comedians does it take to entertain a Toronto audience? Well, apparently the answer is two. Taking a hilarious look back at their careers and their 35-year long friendship, comedy veterans Berni Stapleton and Amy House performed their sketch revue show, Berni and Amy Rises Up: The Importance of Being Foolish, to a packed house of eager spectators Wednesday night.

This dynamic duo dished out an eclectic brand of off-the-cuff comedy complete with the dirtiest of limericks and Shakespearean soliloquies thrown in for good measure.

Continue reading Review: Berni and Amy Rises Up: The Importance of Being Foolish (Berni Stapleton and Amy House) →

Like a Generation explores the social impact of media on stage in Toronto

People invest a lot in the media they consume as kids: the stories, the characters, and the ideas. Coyote Collective’s Like a Generation playing at Dancemakers Studio 313 wonders if those same stories don’t somehow invest in us: in our lives, our characters, and our ideas.

Continue reading Review: Like a Generation (Coyote Collective) →

The Supine Cobbler, playing in Toronto, takes a “non-judgmental” approach to abortion

Playing “out by the tracks” at 35 Strachan, It Could Still Happen‘s show The Supine Cobbler is timely. Earlier this week on Twitter, the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion went viral, in response to the US House of Representatives voting to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, America’s largest women’s health care services provider. The fact that women still have to battle both stigma and legalities to have the right to decide what their own body does seem, frankly, outdated.

Continue reading Review: The Supine Cobbler (It Could Still Happen) →

Marat/Sade is delightful and chaotic on stage at the Young Centre in Toronto

Soulpepper presents Marat/Sade, written by Peter Weiss in 1963 and originally performed in German. The production explores the persecution and assassination of French revolutionist Jean-Paul Marat at the hands of Charlotte Corday in a play performed by inmates in the Asylum of Cherenton, which is directed by the Marquis de Sade.

There’s a lot going on and plenty to take in with this play within a  play, and not having known much background on the play, I didn’t know what to expect. Two and a half hours later, I can tell you it’s one of the best productions I’ve seen in a while and the most fun I’ve had during a Soulpepper production.

Continue reading Review: Marat/Sade (Soulpepper) →