A relationship plays out in a series of letters at the Fairview Library Theatre in Toronto
In Love Letters, the critically acclaimed play by American playwright, A. R. Gurney, two childhood friends take to the stage and read aloud the letters they have written to each other over the span of half a century. Throughout this dialogue-driven production, we learn of their long history of friendship, loss and missed opportunities. Together, this couple shows us the power in the written word and that it’s our first love that’s often the hardest to forget.
Driving Miss Daisy explores race and relation-ships on stage in Toronto
The set of Driving Miss Daisy in the Greenwin Theatre was a peaceful and immaculate home. It was clearly a place of wealth, or at least one of expensive taste. In the corner of the stage there was a steering wheel, a chair, and a back seat removed from a car. Although this part wasn’t in the centre of the stage, it was definitely at the centre of the play.
The play is about Daisy Werthan (Sharry Flett), an elderly Caucasian Jewish woman who is forced by her son Boolie (David Eisner) to quit driving after destroying her car in an accident. Boolie hires her an African-American chauffeur named Hoke Colburn (Sterling Jarvis), much to Daisy’s displeasure. Daisy resists the change, partly because of she feels like her independence is slighted, and partly because she is prejudiced against African-Americans. The play is set in Georgia in 1948, before the Civil Rights Movement. Racism is present in every scene, in the forefront and in the background.
This immersive dance performance explores pleasure from aggression on stage in Toronto
Art worlds tend naturally to implode. Whatever the medium, practitioners veer toward making work that’s best appreciated by their peers, not wider audiences. It’s an understandable impulse and can lead to exciting work, but ultimately it has a shrinking effect. After a while, only insiders pay attention.
Contemporary dance in Toronto seems to have suffered this fate. The audiences are small, the runs are short, and the money is scarce. Since 2004, Larchaud Dance Project has made a concerted effort to push back, combining mainstream influences with contemporary techniques to entice new audiences to dance. Their latest offering, Gridlock, showcases the exciting in-house style that has emerged from this effort.
The Second City Training Centre in Toronto expands their facilities for more classes and students
Since its doors opened in 1973, The Second City has been a mainstay of the comedy and performance landscape of Toronto. It’s hard to take transit at all in the city without seeing at least one poster for the organization’s Mainstage shows and it seems at times that every other comedian or improviser in the city has taken at least one class from the organization. That’s not just a sweeping statement mind you, it’s also playing the odds.
The current Second City Training Centre has over 1100 people coming in at least once a week for classes, a number that has doubled over the past five years. It’s been an impressive growth for the company and now they’re looking to grow even more, with an expansion of not only their class options but also a physical expansion of their training facility.
A relationship plays out in a series of letters at the Fairview Library Theatre in Toronto
