Michael Polubiec

I have no idea who Robert Lepage is. Shame on me. Well, I haven’t been all too familiar with any of the directors whose work I’ve discussed for this website – some famous, others not. It’s clear that my background is not in theatre. Lacking a refined perspective, I once again assert the minor (but […]

  Michael Polubiec

Tucked away within Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood, 14 Markham Street is an inconspicuous-looking building. This domestic veil, however, belies the existence of hub14 – the hotbed incubator of independent contemporary performance that is cosily nestled inside. The space may feel tight, but imaginations are by no means as confined. Currently showing inside is director and […]

  Michael Polubiec

After seeing a total of seven productions at this years SummerWorks theatre festival in Toronto, I decided to grade my reactions on an ascending scale. This began with two shows that somehow either went over my head or never really near it at all: Show and Tell Alexander Bell and Entitlement in Part 1, followed […]

  Michael Polubiec

Onwards and upwards I go along the string of shows I encountered at this year’s SummerWorks theatre festival in Toronto. I’m now in the middle section of my crescendo of impressions on the seven different shows I witnessed. I certainly didn’t soft-pedal my thoughts about the plays that impressed the least, as featured in Part […]

  Michael Polubiec

It comes as a relief to know that there is careful curation behind SummerWorks’ programming. Aside from modest ticket prices, it is even more encouraging to feel as though you’re in good hands. There is always something gambled when attending either Luminato or Fringe: your money with the former and your time with latter. Each […]

  Michael Polubiec

As soon as I sat down in the Annex Theatre for my first-ever Toronto Fringe experience, I realized that I had already made my first Fringe mistake. I failed to select a seat that would allow for an easy escape. Striding across the stage in the middle of a performance in order to leave is neither a good idea […]

In North America for the first time as well as opening the first night of Toronto’s Luminato festival, The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic is a beautiful and strange marriage of opposites that might be lost on an audience distracted by their thirst for celebrity worship. The annual ten-day Canadian celebration of the performative […]