Sitting in the audience of a dance performance, feeling fully enveloped by the movement, is one of the most delicious experiences I can think of. The Cuban based Malpaso Dance Company brought to Luminato 2018 three mesmerizing performances that, along with the superb accompaniment of Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble, suspended time […]
A theme you will find in my reviews of Luminato shows is that I tend to feel like the festival is not really for me. I have fairly conventional theatre taste and fairly passive political beliefs (at least among the liberal consensus of my community) so Luminato’s artsy, brazen, avant-garde vibe is really just not […]
Luminato 2018 promised to interrogate the issues of human-rights, justice and inclusion, and Swan Lake/Loch na hEala does not disappoint with its dark themes of loss—of innocence, of purpose, and of hope—rape, suicide, police brutality and populist politics all feature. Written, directed and choreographed by Michael Keagan-Dolan, performed by Teac Damsa dance theatre and accompanied […]
This dance-opera conceived and designed by co-directors Michael Greyeyes and Yvette Nolan and librettist Spy Denommé-Welch investigates the emotional history and contemporary cultural significance of Canada’s residential school system. The production itself is multi-faceted, combining orchestral music, a choir, opera, and modern dance. The story divides into three movements: in the first, the dancers enter […]
Cineastas I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this Spanish-language exploration of the lives of filmmakers but what I found was a profoundly moving and wonderfully inventive piece of ensemble theatre. The cast was extraordinary in their versatility and emotional depth (Javier Lorenzo in particular pulled at my heartstrings in multiple roles) while the […]
The reason I chose Chamber Magic as one of the few Luminato shows to review this year was that it promised to be simply enjoyable in a way that most of the over-lofty festival fare isn’t. I was totally down to sit in my mandatory cocktail attire and be amazed by some trickery and a […]
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 […]