It is hard to deny Ray Bradbury‘s influence on pop culture. Most students in the US have at least read his seminal classic Fahrenheit 451 and even The Martian Chronicles remains one of the most cited short story collections among science fiction fans and general literature readers alike. That is why it is so exciting […]
Bedroom Farce Soulpepper isn’t trying to hide the fact that this is their “something nice and easy for the subscribers” show of the year. Artistic director Albert Schultz all but called it exactly that in an interview earlier last month. Is it depressing as hell to see something this trivial pack the house while Accidental […]
What a turnaround. It is not often that a show can improve so much between its Acts. From the first Act’s close, it seemed like High Society was an extremely middling production, which is not at all expected from the Old Vic. However, the change is unexpected and grand. It is not clear whether the […]
M’dea Undone (Tapestry Opera) This world premiere one-act opera from Tapestry is smart and character-driven with a cleverly modern libretto by Marjorie Chan and superb performances from its 7-person cast, including Jacqueline Woodley as a refreshingly savvy and complex Dahlia and the brilliant Lauren Segal in the title role of the scorned wife of aspirational […]
Mad Max: Fury Road is a shot of adrenaline in the heart. It’s jolting from start to finish – with guitars that shoot fire and mutants who steal blood and cars with spikes and a dystopian world so dark it makes other dystopias look rosey by comparison. It has a plot that can best be […]
Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis’ bold dismantling of the betrayal of Jesus envisions a purgatorial world known as “Hope” where even the most easily damnable deserve consideration and possibly even salvation. It’s a hugely ambitious play with a massive cast of characters- gods and saints and devils, icons and angels and people- an anachronistic allegory that […]
Tom at the Farm (Buddies in Bad Times) This gorgeous and disturbing piece of personal theatre from Canadian playwright Michel Marc Bouchard is one of the first truly great productions I’ve seen this year. Making its English language debut through Linda Gaboriau’s poetic and honest translation, Tom at the Farm is staged with searing insight […]
Creditors (Coal Mine Theatre) The final piece in Coal Mine Theatre’s fantastically successful inaugural season is a dark domestic drama from August Stringberg set in a 19th century world of rampant misogyny and even more rampant psychotic jealousy. The solid production benefits greatly from director Rae Ellen Bodie’s background in dialect coaching (there’s a clarity […]