Increasingly, some of the most solid theatre on the Toronto scene has come from companies you could classify as “Indie 2.0” (technically an Equity term but one I’ve decided to allocate a bit more freely). These are companies that operate along indie lines, with small-ish budgets and casts, but use union artists. The effect is […]
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 […]
As the director of the new show “Nothing to Hide” at The Pershing Square Signature Theatre astutely points out in his Playbill note to the audience, there are two types of people who watch magic: those who simply enjoy the spectacle and those who try to figure out the secrets behind the trick. Despite the […]
Walking into Baro Theatre’s opening night production of Danny And The Deep Blue Sea on Saturday night felt more like walking into an underground, bare-knuckle boxing match than into a theatre. The concrete floors, exposed pipe and fore stage, red-lit bar gave the theatre its gritty feel. Director Aaron Willis and his production team didn’t […]
When I first spoke to Red Light District Artistic Director Ted Witzel in preparation for his 2010 production of Woyzeck, three things stood out to me. The first was his obvious intelligence and sense of artistic adventure- he’s a jumble of 8-syllable words and avant-garde German theatrical philosophy. The second was a heightened social conscience- […]
As America’s economy begins to slowly emerge from a painful recession, who isn’t in the mood for some lighthearted musical numbers about sailing into administrative success on waves of charisma, luck, and savvy fix-the-system know-how? Boston University on Broadway (BU on Broadway) provided some musical fun with their November production of How to Succeed in […]
Choreographer Jose Navas is the clear winner of Innovation-Off 2013, the National Ballet of Canada’s 4-piece showcase of new work (actual title: just Innovation). Navas’s Benjamin Britten-scored ensemble piece Watershed is up first in the lineup and packs the biggest artistic punch. The 20-minute collaboration between creator and dancers is full of invention and beautiful […]