The Centre of the Universe (B) The Centre of The Universe, staged between the taps and front windows of everybody’s favourite dive bar, “The Lab” is a gripping telling of the post-internet apocalypse. It builds steadily to its genuinely frightening and shocking climax on the shoulders of a couple of strong performances. Lea Russel and […]
Veterans of recent war in Afghanistan and Iraq come home, having to confront the violent memories from their past, and an uncertain future. Swirled together with a categorical misunderstanding of their sacrifice, unmet needs, complicated moral and financial obligations, and the pride of having risked life and limb for their country – surely the lot of […]
The inaugural “LOVE and Basketball 3 on 3 Tournament” lands in the HoopDome at Downsview Park on March 15th. Several hundred ballers and supporters will come together to raise money for Leave Out Violence, compete against Jonas Valanciunas in a game of ‘bump’, listen to community spokespeople including Jamaal Magloire of Raptor fame, and to […]
Forgiveness caught my attention the first moment I saw it because it wasn’t called a play, nor was it deemed to be a performance piece. It was called a “Theatrical Poem.” I wondered about how a theatrical poem would differ from theatre and/or from a poem. I must admit that I couldn’t make much of […]
The Untitled Feminist Show, by Young Jean Lee, is an hour of beautiful and thought-provoking movement. It’s an eclectic mixture of elements sifted together so that trying to pull it apart into its constituent elements feels wrong, especially given the smoothness – or even gentleness – of the staged transitions. The music ranges from electro-pop to […]
The Coyote Collective presented Labour at the Passe Muraille Backspace last week. The show, written by Eric and Ryan Welch, attempted to represent the monotony, loneliness and despair that can come with the routines of manual labour. To establish the scene in the warehouse, the collective used repeated physical movements and the sound of a […]
You’ve got to check out The Radio Show. If you don’t have any idea what it’s about and walk into the theatre, you’d see the powerful unity of dance and some really tremendous artists moving their bodies in impressive, interesting and gorgeous ways. Or maybe you’d see the dance as a comparison between the frustration […]
Factory Theatre martyr Ken Gass’ newest project, Canadian Rep Theatre, premiered its first production this month. Directed by Gass, Pacamambo is stunning, the first moment the audience is allowed into the theatre. A narrow, off-kilter-rectangle of an acting area is squeezed between two banks of audience seating and – right in the middle of everything […]