*sigh* It’s now been 2 years since Stratford put on a Shakespeare production truly worthy of the festival stage. Last year’s Cymbeline was pretty good and there are 2 near-great productions in this year’s lineup (Othello and Merchant of Venice) but nothing with the excitement of 2011’s fabulous Twelfth Night and thrilling Titus, or the […]
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The straight plays are usually the weakpoint of a Stratford Festival season. With the musically minded Des McAnuff at the helm for the last few years and an untouchable legacy with Shakespeare, usually the musical and classical productions dominate. But in Antoni Cimolino’s first season as Artistic Director, the plays were stronger than ever (though, […]
This is getting a little ridiculous. Once again this year, the best productions at The Stratford Festival were musicals. Now, unlike last year, it’s not actually that big a deal. New Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino didn’t stack the deck with four musicals against three Shakespeare like the 2012 season; he gave Shakespeare (and straight plays) […]
Four episodes into the new season, things are still looking very grim on The Walking Dead, even by the standards of a zombie apocalypse. The mysterious illness is still ravaging the prison with no signs of abating. Herschel is still alive in the quarantine building and trying to comfort the sick, including Dr. Caleb, the […]
A while ago, while watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I found myself seriously wondering if I was over superheroes. It’s blasphemy, I know. But I just felt like their stories had lost the ability to really entertain me. And I wonder if the whole Marvel thing – the ambitious, multi-picture, world-spanning insanity of it – was […]
Tucked away within Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood, 14 Markham Street is an inconspicuous-looking building. This domestic veil, however, belies the existence of hub14 – the hotbed incubator of independent contemporary performance that is cosily nestled inside. The space may feel tight, but imaginations are by no means as confined. Currently showing inside is director and […]
Since the wedding weekend in How I Met Your Mother world is spanning the whole season, I figured I might as well enjoy the last season as it arrives instead of longing for the independent episodes. “Platonish,” however, reminded me what I’ve missed about seasons past. First, I want to rehash why the Ted/Robin/Barney love […]
At this point, it is boring for me to tell you that 12 Years a Slave is a fantastic movie. Still, spoiler-alert, it is. It’s not, by far, a perfect movie, but it is a fascinating one. At this point in time, the “slavery was bad” Oscar-bait film has become cliché, but that doesn’t […]