I’m A Genius Does Anyone Here Know Me? (Lois Brown) 2019 SummerWorks Review

Photo of Lois Brown in I'm a Genius Does Anyone Here Know Me

I Am A Genius Does Anyone Here Know Me is a piece of performance art, melded with storytelling. Created by Lois Brown and composer James O’Callaghan, it’s taking place as part of Summerworks  2019, and you can catch it at the Longboat Hall in The Great Hall.

Though this show isn’t the kind of thing I normally gravitate towards, it was a very satisfying experience. I also think it fulfilled what it set out to do, engage the audience in its sonic improvisations throughout. Continue reading I’m A Genius Does Anyone Here Know Me? (Lois Brown) 2019 SummerWorks Review

Des-Echoes (Daniel Bear Davis and Caro Novella) / Fadeout (Anne-Flore de Rochambeau) 2019 SummerWorks Review

Photo of two dances facing each other wearing coveralls pulled up over their heads

Two contemporary works of contrasting themes are brought to the 2019 SummerWorks Stage.  One humorous and intimate, while the other is isolating and eerie, Des-Echoes and Fadeout are strong additions to the festival.

Starting with only a bar of light highlighting the lower half of her body, choreographer and performer Anne-Flore de Rochambeau, slowly begins to articulate only her hands and fingers in Fadeout. The movement is pained and precise as if to slowly explore the space for the first time.

Continue reading Des-Echoes (Daniel Bear Davis and Caro Novella) / Fadeout (Anne-Flore de Rochambeau) 2019 SummerWorks Review

Antarctica (Syrus Marcus Ware & Toronto Biennial of Art) SummerWorks 2019 Review

Antartica at The Theatre Centre with SummerWorks 2019

The climbing summer heat and accompanying global conditions are giving lots of people cause for concern. Weaving that social anxiety into a dramatic narrative, Antarctica is being presented at The Theatre Centre as a SummerWorks 2019 production.

This piece, set in 2045, is about a hypothetical future. People from various world nations – all born in, or connected to Antarctica in some way – are tasked with trying to build a sort of “second chance” civilization in the wake of the climate crisis eroding society as we know it.

Continue reading Antarctica (Syrus Marcus Ware & Toronto Biennial of Art) SummerWorks 2019 Review

The Nine Brains of the Human Mind / those, on the surface (The School of Toronto Dance Theatre) 2019 SummerWorks Review

Emerging choreographers take the SummerWorks stage with a double bill of modern/contemporary dance. The Nine Brains of the Human Mind and those, on the surface are choreographed by Kari Labrentz and Tanveer Alam and produced/danced by The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. These work-in-process pieces are part of the SummerWorks Lab programming.

Continue reading The Nine Brains of the Human Mind / those, on the surface (The School of Toronto Dance Theatre) 2019 SummerWorks Review