How to Fail As a Popstar… Is it a love letter or is it a break up song? After watching Vivek Shraya’s debut play, now playing at Canadian Stage’s Berkeley Upstairs Theatre, and mulling it over for the better part of a full day, I’m still not sure. I’m also not sure it really matters. […]
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is the smashiest smash hit to ever smash on Broadway and it has subsequently inspired a cult-like devotion that strains the limits of the word “cult-like” (the intensity is there but the breadth of the fandom defies limitation). It’s a consensus masterpiece- a dense, inventive, skillful revolution of form cheekily set against the […]
Hannah Moscovitch’s Secret Life of a Mother is a raw and compelling portrait of the darker side of motherhood – one rarely acknowledged in polite conversation, forcing the arts to shoulder the burden of challenging these long-standing taboos. Moscovitch herself is the titular mother but the lead in this one-woman (but many-women) show is Maev […]
The Canadian Opera Company designed a playful Winter Season…
Theatre Centre’s Progress Festival is one of my favourite annual festivals in Toronto. The programming is always sharp and smart, bringing cutting edge international performances to the Queen West theatre. I was only able to see a few shows in this year’s festival; this represents only a sliver of the festival’s programming. CAFÉ SARAJEVO Café […]
Ellie Moon’s This Was the World, now playing at The Tarragon Theatre, Extra Space, endeavours to take on the notions of white privilege and white fragility, and does so unapologetically. It is a study of Professor John Taylor (R. H. Thompson). John is not your overtly racist uncle (or aunt/brother/cousin) that makes family dinners awkward. […]
A few days before going to see Shakespeare BASH’d’s production of Cymbeline, an article title flashed before my eyes as I scrolled through my Facebook feed, “Can Shakespeare still surprise?” Coincidentally, the post had come from Shakespeare BASH’d’s Facebook page, and as I was just about to watch the show, I chose to bypass the […]
What do you get when you combine sharply written dialogue, deft direction and an all-star ensemble? Coal Mine Theatre’s production of Marjorie Prime. In 90 minutes, I was taken on a journey that challenged the way I perceived the world around me, my relationships and my ideals. For me, it was Nick Blais’ lighting design […]