Editor’s Note: The Help is one of the biggest films of the summer. But the beautiful movie isn’t one of those adaptations that lives a separate life from its source material. The movie is directed by the childhood best friend of the author and based on her book inspired by her childhood about a woman […]
Recent Posts
One of the best productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival this year is the gruesome early revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus. Director Darko Tresnjak’s enthralling production features strong performances from the likes of Amanda Lisman, John Vickery and Bruce Godfree. But much of the play’s success rests on the shoulders of one of my favourite actors, […]
Spartacus: Blood and Sand leading man Andy Whitfield died last night in his home in Sydney after battling non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for the last year (he was originally diagnosed in March 2010 then declared to be in remission in May, after two months of treatment). His role in the Starz series having been recast for season two […]
The film adaptation of the truly wonderful book One Day, predictably, leaves much to be desired. While the presence of the always sensational Patricia Clarkson (perfectly cast in the pivotal role of Dexter’s idealized mother) certainly helped the film along, the incredible miscasting of the story’s leading lady proved devastating to the adaptation. So much […]
The film adaptation of the truly wonderful book One Day, predictably, leaves much to be desired. While the presence of the always sensational Patricia Clarkson (perfectly cast in the pivotal role of Dexter’s idealized mother) certainly helped the film along, the incredible miscasting of the story’s leading lady proved devastating to the adaptation. So much of […]
Company, is a masterpiece in Sondheim’s body of work. The simple story is so nuanced and steeped in human reality that it is actually one of the composer’s most complex works. So when the NY Philharmonic announced that they’d be assembling an all-star cast to take on all the “Sorry/Grateful” contradictions of the piece, I […]
The final show of Soulpepper’s summer season baffled me a little bit. Judith Thompson’s White Biting Dog was effectively executed by first time director Nancy Palk and Soulpepper’s stellar acting company, but the point somewhat eluded me. It had its moments of poignancy, some of them very pronounced, but overall left me some mixture of […]
In our first year covering Toronto’s Summerworks Festival we saw a total of 10 vastly different productions. From the beloved to the despised; from uber professional to pathetically amateur; pretentious to earnest; new works, established favourites, ensemble projects, two person vignettes, musicals, absurdist parables, dance pieces, hits, bombs, comedies, dramas and every possible thing in […]