Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre presents The Bakelite Masterpiece, a play about art forger Han van Meegeren
Cheating, fraud and plagiarism are bad, right? Well, what if an art forger makes an ogre and a despicable group of people look like buffoons? Do the ends justify the means? That’s just one of the tantalizing questions at the core of The Bakelite Masterpiece, now on stage at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre’s Extraspace.
Based on the true story of Dutch art forger Han van Meegeren, The Bakelite Masterpiece explores the nuances and subtle distinctions between right and wrong. Fifty Shades of Grey? That’s nothing. This play explores 50 shades of the human condition!
30 People Watching by Toronto’s Subtle Vigilance, is a play about the murder of BC teen Reena Virk
Based on the 1997 murder of Reena Virk, 30 People Watching is based on the story of the South Asian teen who was brutally assaulted and killed in Victoria, BC by several youth including Kelly Ellard. By creating the characters Rita and Chelsea, the show focuses on the unheard voices of Virk and Ellard. The play imagines what Rita and Chelsea would have said in the past and present. It’s an intriguing concept however, I couldn’t always feel the emotions behind the characters and that left me feeling a little disconnected to the play.
Toronto’s Aluna Theatre’s What I learned from a decade of fear isa thought-provoking play about terrorism
Aluna Theatre’s What I learned from a decade of fear is a thoroughly fascinating, complex interrogation of the concept of global terror. I came to the performance prepared to be challenged, stimulated, and frustrated and it delivered in abundance on all three fronts.
My Treasure Island!!!, presented by Johnson Girls, is unapologetically hilarious theatre
On Wednesday night, I stepped out of the cold and into a production of My Treasure Island!!! at the Theatre Passe Muraille backspace. Presented by Johnson Girls with the support of Passe Muraille, this show is an adaptation of a book – Sara Levine’s Treasure Island!!! – about a woman’s obsession with a book – Robert Louis Stevenson’s exclamation mark-free classic Treasure Island. It takes the audience on a fun adventure and offers some gasps and laughs along the way.
Drink With Death: a morbid cabaret brings the songs of the dead to Cameron House in Toronto
When the dead decide to have a drink with the living, it quickly turns to revealing personal truths in song. Or at least it does in Drink with Death: a morbid cabaret, presented by Romana Soutus and Christopher Weatherstone.
