Mouthpiece and Little Death take the stage at the Theatre Centre in Toronto as part of The RISER Project

I had the pleasure of seeing Mouthpiece and Little Death, two performances from The RISER Project by Why Not Theatre, in one night. The RISER Project is a collective effort to help small and independent theatre productions run their shows without the burden of financial costs. With the help of a $100,000 grant from the Toronto Arts Council’s Open Door Program, The RISER Project can shine the spotlight on some unexpected productions. There are four shows in this year’s line-up: Mouthpiece by Quote Unquote Collective, Little Death by Little Death Collective, Mahmoud by Pandemic Theatre, and Paolozzapedia by Bad New Days Performing Arts.

Mouthpiece is a performance piece starring Amy Nostbakken, Norah Sadava, and a bathtub. Nostbakken and Sadava both play the inner thoughts and expressions of one woman. The show goes through the day of this woman who has just experienced the loss of her mother as well as the loss of her voice. The dialogue jumps from the process of the woman arranging her mother’s funeral, to inside her mind where reality and imagination blend together.

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“Intense” violence and grief takes centre stage at the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto

Playing at Toronto’s Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Tom at the Farm is the most stressful play I’ve seen in the past year. This troubling thriller about grief, deception, desire and homophobia was written by Michel Marc Bouchard and was poetically translated by renowned literary translator Linda Gaboriau. Continue reading Review: Tom at the Farm (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre) →

Steven Cohen’s performance-art piece Chandelier on stage in Toronto sheds some unintended light

Here’s a question for you: ever wanted to see a micro-example of pervasive racism on a Canadian stage? Well, if you ask me, Canadian Stage’s Spotlight South Africa festival has the perfect show: Chandelier at Berkeley Street Theatre.

Performance artist Steven Cohen describes his work thusly: “by my moving in a chandelier-tutu through a squatter camp being demolished-and filming it–that’s what I’m doing…a digital painting of social reality…” Essentially, Cohen is attempting to “shed light on what is seldom seen, by creating amid destruction.”

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