Shakespeare’s most famous drama plays in the park in Toronto

Get your summertime dose of outdoor Shakespeare by enjoying Bard in the Park‘s production of Hamlet. Playing in the Toronto Beaches at Kew Gardens, this two and a half hour play is complete with swordfights, ghosts and poison.

The premise: Hamlet’s father, who is the king of Denmark, suddenly dies. Hamlet’s uncle Claudius (Holm Bradwell) takes the throne and marries Hamlet’s mother Gertrude (Melissa Beveridge). Hamlet (James Soares-Correla) meets his father’s ghost and learns that Claudius murdered Hamlet’s father. Hamlet must now avenge his father’s death. Continue reading Review: Hamlet (Bard in the Park) →

“[A] critically acclaimed, darkly comic play”

Excerpt from Press Release:

Known for his shock-tactics and scorching critiques, Ravenhill has been called both “perverse” and “poetic”. For the first time his critically acclaimed, darkly comic play pool (no water) will hit Toronto stages as a part of this summer’s Fringe Festival.

When a famous artist invites her old friends to her luxurious pool, for one night the group is back together. But celebrations come to an abrupt end when the host suffers a horrific accident. As the victim lies in a coma, an almost unthinkable plan starts to take shape: could her suffering be their next work of art?

Featuring celebrated ensemble cast: Dora winner Oyin Oladejo, Dora nominee Chy Ryan Spain, Dora and two time Canadian Comedy Award nominee Allison Price, Daniel Roberts and Sarah Illitovitch-Goldman.

Coming off of the success of Kate and Sam Are Not Breaking Up (NNNN Now Magazine, 2015 Dora Nominee for Female Outstanding Performance) and Pieces (Shortlisted for RBC Tarragon Emerging Playwrights Competition) Cue6 continues to build their reputation as a daring indie theatre company.

For anyone who’s ever felt the poisonous sting of jealousy, or the forbidden excitement of tragedy, Cue6 invites you to wade in the darkest waters of the human experience.

Showtimes:
July 2 @ 8:15pm
July 4 @ 1:45pm
July 5 @ 4:45pm
July 7 @ 10:30pm
July 8 @ 5:15pm
July 9 @ 12:00pm
July 11 @ 4:00pm

Venue:  Tarragon Theatre Main Space (30 Bridgman 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 of Oyin Oladejo, Allison Price, Daniel Roberts, Chy Ryan Spain, Sarah Illiatovitch-Goldman by Jill Harper.

“A folksy comedy show combining Aboriginal storytelling, Russian-style character drama, audience suggestions, and more!”

Excerpt from Press Release:

Reaching deep into their very different heritages, Ben Gorodetsky and Todd Houseman bring Aboriginal storytelling and Russian character drama together to create a rich tapestry of hilarious and heartfelt improv at the Toronto Fringe!

“We love the challenge of combining these two very different cultures,” Ben Gorodetsky says. “Where the Cree stories show the power of change on a global scale, Chekhov poignantly highlights the inability of individuals to make personal change. It’s a hilarious juxtaposition and the transitions between storylines are fast, physical, mischievous and surprising. It’s genre improvisation that pays homage, rather than parodies, and the chemistry of the actual improv is intoxicating!”

The Recipe:

Take one part Cree origin story from the Aboriginal, oral tradition.

Add one part Russian character drama inspired by Anton Chekhov.

Stir in one part additional world culture—chosen by the audience at each show!

Bake for 45 minutes in a sweaty Fringe venue to create a fast, furious, and folksy improv show like you’ve never seen before!

High-speed, hilarious, multi-cultural improv from members of the world-famous, Canadian Comedy Award-winning, Edmonton improv standby: Rapid Fire Theatre.

Showtimes:

July 03 at 08:15 PM
July 04 at 12:00 PM
July 06 at 06:30 PM
July 07 at 10:00 PM
July 09 at 03:30 PM
July 10 at 11:00 PM
July 12 at 01:45 PM

Venue: Factory Theatre Studio

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 by Andrew Paul.

“An  evocative,  dreamlike  voyage  in  imagination  and dance”

Excerpt from press release: 

Montreal dance company For Body and Light has performed to outstanding reviews in New York, Montreal and throughout Western Canada. This July, they bring their stellar ocean exploration—Coming and Going—to Toronto for the first time.

COMING AND GOING is a contemporary dance performance directed and choreographed by STÉPHANIE MORIN-ROBERT in collaboration with spoken word artist and musician IAN FERRIER and performers ALLISON BURNS and LINNEA GWIAZDA.

The show’s name is a reference to the thirty foot tides that fill and empty the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. There the company forged their experience of change into a deep imaginative voyage.

From the glaciers of the Canadian arctic to the coral reefs of Belize, story, music, dance and lighting carry the audience on an hour-long tour that climaxes with dancers overwhelmed by a hurricane.

“Examine the underbelly [of] relationship[s] in this new drama about love and the pursuit of happiness.”

Sex. Love. Happiness. Traditional values face off against contemporary lifestyles and raise questions about the true nature of relationships in today’s world. Carefully constructed facades and ideals falter as the lives of three couples intertwine and they are each forced to examine the underbelly of their relationship in this new drama about love and the pursuit of happiness.

The basis for this new play came to Writer/Director Chantal Forde in a dream while on vacation. The scribbled early-morning notes became intense conversations addressing our preconceived notions of what a “healthy” or “normal” relationship might be. When the script was finally born, she and her husband Tim Cadeny, knew that the Toronto Fringe would be the perfect opportunity for its debut.

This unique cast brings together a group of actors who simply cannot stay away from the Toronto Fringe. Included are Joel Fishbane (Short Story Long – Fringe New Play contest winner); Tim Cadeny (Shevil – 2015 Fringe, QuarterLife – 2009 Fringe); Andrea Brown (POP: The Musical – 2012 Fringe, What is The Mango Project? – 2009 Fringe); and Chantal Forde (Shevil – 2015 Fringe, Sonnets for a New Century – 2011 Fringe, QuarterLife – 2009 Fringe).

It’s easy to say what you think is right. Come see the show that challenges not only what you think about love, but what you think you know about yourself.

Showtimes

• July 02 at 08:15 PM
• July 03 at 03:00 PM
• July 05 at 04:45 PM
• July 06 at 02:45 PM
• July 07 at 10:30 PM
• July 09 at 05:15 PM
• July 11 at 07:30 PM

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.

Company photograph by Tim Cadeny.