1979 is a political thriller – but not like that. The (rise and) fall of one of Canada’s most forgotten and forgettable leaders sounds more like a mischievous improv prompt or DVR description for a History show than a recipe for gripping theatre – but it works. It’s easy to see why the production went […]
The new year is here and so is the new theatre season, kicking off as it always does with the Toronto Fringe’s curated winter festival. The Next Stage Theatre Festival takes place at the Factory Theatre where a heated tent stretches over the licensed courtyard to create a hub of ticket sales and line waiting […]
Tucked away in a tiny theatre in Parkdale, No Clowns Allowed is a success. Lighthearted in a macabre way (it definitely worked!), the show has moments of tenderness and seriousness while dealing with some difficult material. I was grateful for the thoughtful announcement before the show from the Stage Manager, informing the audience that the […]
From the shadows at the back of the theatre, a haggard looking man appears. He’s running, breathing hard, and as he approaches us, we see his eyes are wide with confusion and fear. “Why can’t I remember what’s happened to me?”, he cries aloud. So begins The Runner, Christopher Morris’ harrowing and gripping new play, staged […]
That’s right, I’m talking about Mirvish’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical and Tarragon’s Marshall McLuhan one-act in one article. They’re both terrible- dull, simplistic, varying degrees of ridiculous- and they’re playing in Toronto at the same time, but the two have more in common than just ruining my Wednesday nights. In Jason Sherman’s The […]
Two small, run-down apartments are the settings for two new George F. Walker plays, which taken together complete his Parkdale Palace Trilogy (begun with last year’s The Chance, which I must confess to not having seen), which are being staged at the Assembly Theatre in a double bill. Put on by Low Rise Productions and […]
The audience is silent and still. A dim light contours a man in boxing gloves and shorts, his slightly bent head and shoulders gleaming with sweat. There is a ripple of anticipation as he takes a deep breath, lifting gloved fists — in that moment, the figure is both the bow drawn taut and the […]
Pearle Harbour’s Chautauqua- presented at Theatre Passe Muraille, written and performed by Justin Miller in his Critics’ Pick Award-winning role- is what’s been missing in theatre. With the political climate, we are starving for a noble leader and Pearle Harbour steps up to fill that role. The show is set in a mid-century wartime tent, similar to what […]