Review: ‘Starf#ckery’ (David Benjamin Tomlinson)

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David Benjamin Tomlinson dishes the dirt on celebs in his solo show Starf#ckery at Toronto’s Queer Pride 2015

As part of the Queer Pride 2015 line-up, Canadian Comedy Award-nominated writer and performer David Benjamin Tomlinson presented his dirt-dishing solo show ‘Starf#ckery’ in The Cabaret at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre on June 25.

Tomlinson has logged over a decade as a staff member and red carpet stalwart at the Toronto International Film Festival. While not many people have had his particular, star-studded experiences as a TIFF vet, anyone who has been involved in the running of a complex event can relate to his stories.

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Review: Apocalypsis (Luminato Festival)

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Apocalypsis features 1000 Toronto performers on stage at the Luminato Festival

Apocalypsis, on stage now at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts as part of Toronto’s Luminato Festival, is a multidimensional, multifaceted journey for the mind and senses. The two-hour performance features 1000 local performers from actors and dancers to singers, musicians, and conductors of both professional and amateur backgrounds to create this experience.

Apocalypsis was created by Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer. This marks only the second time the piece was performed in its entirety since its premiere in 1980.

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Adventures of a Supervet Tech – Toronto Fringe 2015 Press Release

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“Secrets of the Veterinary World Revealed!”

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Excerpt from press release:

How do you get a semen sample from a Pomeranian? Sandra Lean-Leighton takes you through the back door of your local vet clinic. With true stories, she introduces you to feisty pet owners, quirky vets and loveable animals – and the veterinary technicians who look after them all.
Through the eyes of her caped alter-ego, SuperVet Tech, Sandra pays tribute to the unsung heroes of the veterinary world. “Vet techs are nurses for animals,” she says, “but so much more. We do x-rays, medications, lab analysis, small surgeries, owner counselling, you name it. The problem is no one knows who we are or what we do. I intend to change that.”
Combining her careers as a professional actor and a Registered Veterinary Technician, Sandra delights both theatre buffs and animal lovers alike. Her audiences are treated to original music and video, dramatic monologues, and hilarious scenarios. This ground-breaking show is a first for the veterinary world and is not to be missed!

Showtimes:

July 1 10:30 p.m.
July 3 5:15 p.m.
July 4 11:00 p.m.
July 5 5:15 p.m.
July 7 4:45 p.m.
July 10 7:30 p.m.
July 12 2:15 p.m.

Venue: Al Green Theatre (750 Spadina Ave.)

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office (cash-only), starting one hour before showtime.

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.

Photo provided by company.

Waiting in Line – 2015 Toronto Fringe Press Release

“[A] fast paced social commentary on the ‘social welfare culture’ that has been created in Ireland”

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Excerpt from press release:

Presented by Honest Arts Production Company, ‘Waiting in Line’ is a fast paced social commentary on the ‘social welfare culture’ that has been created in Ireland over the past twenty five years.

Performed by Pius McGrath, Eva O Connor and Johanna O’ Brien. Directed by Tara Doolan. Honest Arts Production Company combines Artistry and the latest in 3D mapping technology in this fast paced, thought provoking, physical theatre piece. Nominated for Best Set Design at the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2015.
Honest Arts toured to EdFringe in 2013 with ‘The Mid-Knight Cowboy’ which received rave reviews and was also performed on Broadway NYC.
‘The Mid-Knight Cowboy’ The Scotsman – “…..McGrath is a talented performer, shifting through the generations with little more than subtle adjustments of speech and body language.” Please note this show is suitable for audiences 14+
“Our purpose is to tell original contemporary Irish stories with a universal message. It is important to showcase ‘Waiting in Line’ so that we can contiune to lead the way in these technological developments in theatre and showcase our modern creative capabilities and culture.”

Showtimes:

July 02 at 06:30 PM
July 05 at 07:00 PM
July 06 at 05:00 PM
July 08 at 11:00 PM
July 09 at 11:00 PM
July 10 at 02:15 PM
July 12 at 05:15 PM

Venue: The Factory Mainspace

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office (cash-only), starting one hour before showtime.

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.

Photo provided by company.

The Inventor of All Things – 2015 Toronto Fringe Press Release

“A storytelling piece. About forgotten Hungarian Physicist Leo Szilard”

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Excerpt from press release:

Leo Szilard…

First to think of the Atomic Bomb.
For five years the chain reaction was in his head alone.
He was the driving force towards the Manhattan Project.
He blackmailed the White House into secrecy, thus keeping key facts from Berlin
And he then did the most to stop the bomb being used.
So he was ruthlessly pushed out of Physics by an anti-Semitic General.
Who’s decades’ long loathing is the chief reason this amazing and very funny man is almost forgotten.
A Fringe show unlike any other.
A step into the unknown.
A big story of huge historical reach.
A real deal with a devil?
And a comedy, which is true, and ends in Hiroshima?
How do you sell a show about a man no-one has ever heard of?
How Fringey is the Fringe? Not as Fringey as everyone think it is. But how Fringey? Lets find out.
Refugee, genius, joker, sole survivor of his regiment, eccentric, name-dropper, Martian, Einsteinian sidekick, eventual spouse. 

Pompous, self-indulgent, indefatigable. Wouldn’t give up. Or shut up.
Instigator of charities, Washington Lobbies, Manhattan Projects, nuclear secrecy.
Jem Rolls harnesses the narrative power. Of a story. Where a man. A very unusual man. Has in his head. For years. Only his head. The scariest idea. Any human being has ever had.
Told in five narrative slices. Taking us through the key years of 33-45. With many extraneous details to convey the range, humour and times of this extraordinary man.
Extensively researched. In Budapest, Oxford and more.
This show makes a number of seemingly original and contentious statements. Like “The Three Great Lies of General Groves”. Or “Szilard as Number One Nazi Bomb Stopper”. Etc.
Yet these are in the sources, chiefly the two best books: Richard Rhodes, The Making Of The Atomic Bomb; Bill Lanouette, Genius In The Shadows.
Only no-one has put them together and bigged them up in this fashion.

Showtimes:

Wednesday, July 1, 2015 – 10:30pm
Friday, July 3, 2015 – 3:00pm
Monday, July 6, 2015 – 8:00pm
Tuesday, July 7, 2015 – 3:00pm
Thursday, July 9, 2015 – 7:30pm
Friday, July 10, 2015 – 8:45pm
Sunday, July 12, 2015 – 12:00pm

Venue:  Tarragon Theatre Mainspace

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office (cash-only), starting one hour before showtime.

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.

Photo provided by company.