CanStage’s Season Opener Sets The Bar High: Wonderful, Exciting Theatre
Kiss and Cry opened Canadian Stage’s season last night and set the bar high for the rest of the season. I can’t remember the last time I heard such long, sustained applause for a theatrical production; it transcended the standing ovation.
The Mountaintop fictionally recalls Martin Luther King Jr’s final night, playing at Toronto’s Aki Studio Theatre
Settling in at Daniels Spectrum, Aki Studio Theatre for Obsidian Theatre’s production of The Mountaintop, I found myself completely whisked away by the set and pre-show soundscape. Late sixties pop tunes play and rain outside a window throws eerie patterns on the wall of a darkened and dismal motel room. Segments of Martin Luther King Jr.’s final speech weave in and out. It is both comforting and ominous, this opening atmosphere crafted by Judith Bowden (set), Kevin Lamotte (lighting) and Freddy Gabrsek (sound). Continue reading Review: The Mountaintop (Obsidian Theatre/Shaw Festval)→
Shelley Marshall performs her play Hold Mommy’s Cigarette in Toronto for Mental Illness Awareness Week
When Shelley Marshall suggested the interview take place at her Full Bawdy Loft, I didn’t realize until I arrived that it was, in fact, her loft; a lived-in space that she was inspired to adapt for the October run of her show Hold Mommy’s Cigarette.
The eclectic 1970’s inspired set dominated the room. She gave me a tour, showing me some props and describing the lighting design for her show, opening tomorrow. I felt like I was invited into her home, shown family trinkets, and invited to ask my questions. It’s not surprising Marshall has inspired others to open up about mental illness.
Sometimes it can be fun to go see theatre that’s entirely based on the writer’s imagination – they might be set in the real world, but the characters and events are all made up. This week’s Cheap Theatre, however, is a collection of shows that take their inspiration from real-life individuals and/or events. And you’ll be inspired by the cost! It’ll cost only $25 or less to see any of these shows! Check out the list below.
Geneviève Dufour plays Tremblay’s passionate, broken-hearted star character Albertine. Dumped by Alex, the man she longed to marry, Albertine can’t bear the fact that Alex is courting her younger, mild-mannered sister. Albertine is unhappy, and misery sure loves company. Everyone who crosses paths with Albertine — her mother Victoire, her sister Madeleine, her brother Edouard, her ex-boyfriend Alex — must be made painfully aware of every single tear she has shed. Continue reading Review: Le Passé antérieur/Past Perfect (Théâtre français de Toronto)→
When Shelley Marshall suggested the interview take place at her Full Bawdy Loft, I didn’t realize until I arrived that it was, in fact, her loft; a lived-in space that she was inspired to adapt for the October run of her show 