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\Theatre Passe Muraille’s latest 90-minute mainstage offering tells a long life story in the short moments that precede death. A reverential bio-play about a man of both god and science, playwright Adam Seybold’s The De Chardin Project tells a fascinating story but makes its subject far less fascinating than the world he observes and changes. […]

 

Studio 180 is a great company that consistently produces interesting, well-executed work. It’s therefore extremely unfortunate that no one seems to see their shows. The new Theatre Centre is rarely full but there have been performances of NSFW where it’s been nearly empty and, if it weren’t for a stray mid-run Facebook post, I wouldn’t […]

 

I woke up on November 27th 2014 at the age of 25. Now, as I sit drinking a Stella at a jazz bar in Kensington Market (Shafton Thomas Group, Thursday Nights at Poetry– you should go!) , I’m back somewhere near where I started. But for a few hours there in the middle- between 1 […]

Upcoming concerts: Performing from their 2013 CD Symphony! at Oshawa’s Regent Theatre (Nov 28) and Flato Markham Theatre (Nov 29), accompanied by the Ontario Philharmonic, conducted by Maestro Marco Parisotto. December 4, at Toronto’s Koerner Hall as Part of the Sultans and Divas concert featuring mezzo-soprano and CBC radio host Julie Nesrallah; soprano Miriam Khalil; […]

Warning: Extreme negativity ahead. Why don’t you read Rachael’s piece about all the Friends Thanksgiving episodes instead? Tapestry Briefs: Booster Shots (Tapestry) Conceptually, this evening of short opera scenes tied together with corresponding shots of curated liquors was a brilliant idea. How do you battle every simplistic but not altogether unfounded accusation of “long, boring, old, […]

 

This Thanksgiving, I decided to watch all 9 Thanksgiving episodes of Friends in order to finally determine: “Why does Ross, the largest of the Friends, not simply eat the others [for Thanksgiving]?”* Here are the lessons I learned: – The first instalment, The One Where Underdog Gets Away, features one of those “early sitcom family […]

 

Birdman leads the Independent Spirit Award (ISA) Nominations with 6, Boyhood, Selma, and Nightcrawler follow closely with 5 nominations each. For those keeping score, Foxcatcher was not eligible in any of these categories, while Imitation Game was, and was snubbed. Harvey Weinstein has bigger fish to fry, but ISA winners over the last few years […]

 

Sextet (Tarragon) This new theatrical dramedy from Morris Panych is a six-person character piece that plays out almost in real time between three motel rooms occupied by a string sextet on tour during a snow storm. It’s emotionally complex but conceptually simple, a combination that pretty much always reaps great rewards, particularly with a cast […]