The new Soulpepper season opened last week with Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist, directed by Ravi Jain, translated by Jon Laskin and Michael Aquilante, intensely modernized and adapted and localized by Jain and Paula Wing. The production stars Kawa Ada, a rapturously engaging and versatile performer born in Afghanistan and appearing on the […]
Jesus Christ Superstar (Hart House) Jesus Christ Superstar is a really gutsy musical. It’s about a human being named Jesus and his friend Judas who embark on a mission to do good in the world only to have things spiral out of control until the PR spin around Jesus is so dangerous that he’s held […]
The Global Cabaret Festival came to an end with a rousing late-night performance from the great Jackie Richardson. I celebrated the first seven shows on my agenda in Part 1. Now that the festival is over (hopefully not forever- Global, tell us you’ll bring the festival back for year 8!), here are the rest of […]
I’m halfway through the 7th (and final?) Global Cabaret Festival weekend down at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Here are the highlights so far: UPDATE: Read Part 2 HERE. Best Show (so far) The American Pie Songbook I know, I’m the most predictable person in the world, but the songbook show music directed […]
Enemy of the People: an open forum Florian Borchmeyer’s modern adaptation of the Ibsen play An Enemy of the People (translated by Maria Milisavljevic) attempts to instill the 1882 play with new immediacy and contemporary commentary. We’re destroying the earth! Bureaucracy will kill us all! Everyone is corrupt! Resistance is futile! It all works fairly […]
The Soulpepper Academy is one of the most consistent breeding grounds for up and coming theatre artists in the country. Albert Schultz’s proven eye for talent and an excellent combination of training and mentorship throughout the 2-year program has resulted in a slew of promising players class after class. The program keeps expanding (there are […]
Resident Artist Paula Wing writes program notes for almost all Soulpepper productions. I always read them but I usually forget them the moment I finish. Her notes on A Tender Thing, however, are not quickly forgettable but rather remarkably personal and lovely. She talks about the power of hearing familiar words in a new context […]
Soulpepper’s wildly successful 2013 production of Angels in America is onstage again this summer. After winning two My Theatre Awards in April (Best Actor- Damien Atkins & Best Director- Albert Schultz), the 6-hour epic lured us back to the Young Centre today for another round. Revisiting roles they played a little less than a year ago, […]