At about the fifteen minute mark of seeing this show, a thought crossed my mind that whined, “Oh (insert expletive) me, is this gonna be art with a capital (insert expletive) A?” But what I found myself instead was a state of deep intimacy, emotional connection and an environmental love. From the theatre performance group […]
After two years of cancellations, a series of tentative theatre-ish offerings, and more than a few false starts, Toronto’s theatre companies are coming back. The journey towards a normal theatrical experience has taken place a little bit then seemingly all at once as my once-bare calendar suddenly doesn’t have a night off for weeks. Of […]
I don’t think it can be overstated what a pleasure it is to return as an audience member to a live dance performance or how magical it is to attend a well curated program presented in the High Park Amphitheatre. Making my way to the venue on a Thursday evening to meet up with a […]
So, full disclosure, when it comes to plays that are societal/global issue- focused, from a purely creative standpoint, I find to be hit or miss. It’s either that the artistic platform that they have is not being used enough so I don’t see the difference between the performance and someone speaking at a rally, or […]
Toronto’s High Park is a theatre again. After only a few performances of socially isolated dance pieces last summer, Canadian Stage is back this season, not only filling their outdoor amphitheatre with its first real theatrical productions in two years but lending out the space to co-producers and collaborators for a season of programming that’s […]
Red Sky Performance’s AF is true to brand a force of nature. The rhythm is urgent, the energy is youthful, and the choreography showcases the athleticism of the dancers. The driving beat of the vocals and percussion carries an urgent intensity throughout the work, with the dancers using percussive movements heavily influenced by locking and […]
How to Fail As a Popstar… Is it a love letter or is it a break up song? After watching Vivek Shraya’s debut play, now playing at Canadian Stage’s Berkeley Upstairs Theatre, and mulling it over for the better part of a full day, I’m still not sure. I’m also not sure it really matters. […]
There is no doubt that when Daniel MacIvor enters the stage, he does so with seasoned confidence. He appears a bit agitated while dressing the stage, a picture here, a nice scarf there, perhaps even pandering a bit to an audience that is eating it up, quick to laugh at his antics. The mood shifts […]
Minorities has a provocative set, mannequins placed across the back of the stage are costumed in various traditional Chinese clothing, with red duct tape placed across eyes, mouths and torsos. The backdrop is a large red screen with a projection of line drawn figures filling out a crudely constructed crowd featuring Chairman Mao in the […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2018 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Frank Cox-O’Connell is a multi-hyphenate theatre artist who came up through the Soulpepper Academy and has gone on to help create some of the most interesting work in the last decade of Toronto theatre. He’s […]
Choreographer Crystal Pite’s work is always deeply thrilling—her ability to bring an audience into a transformed alternate reality is her trademark. In Revisor, her second collaboration with writer Jonathon Young, we are witness to a darkly surreal world that is presented to us both as farce and warning. Revisor is a militaristic period fantasy, heavy […]
What does it mean for a performer to take on a role? Prince Hamlet, Ravi Jain’s radical reframing of the Shakespeare classic remounted here by Canadian Stage and Why Not Theatre, juggles contradictory answers to that question. Jain describes his mission as “challeng[ing] what stories are being told and who gets to tell them”, which […]
Every season there are a few shows that diligent theatre-goers know not to miss. They come in various forms- remounts of proven hits, highly anticipated new works, sometimes a rarely produced text, or just a really well-cast classic- but they bring with them a sense of anticipation and a boatload of sky-high expectations. Right now […]
This can be a difficult time of year for people. The pressures of holiday shopping, the long days without much sunlight, work and family obligations, all conspire to ratchet up the pressure, especially for those who suffer from anxiety and depression. So it’s heartening to see Canadian Stage programming a show about depression that’s ultimately […]
Billed as “music theatre”, Njo Kong Kie’s first production in his residency with Canadian Stage is more of a concert with multimedia aspects than it is a piece of theatre. Inspired by his experiences picnicking in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, composer-pianist Njo Kong Kie cleverly uses this juxtaposition of life and death to create music that […]
Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information, which premiered with Canadian Stage on Thursday, April 12th, is a fascination meditation on Love, Information, and the many places these two concepts meet. Under the direction of Tanja Jacobs and Allistar Newton, any production of this play is no small feat. A production has anywhere between 51 and 76 scenes and […]
The Overcoat: a musical tailoring (Canadian Stage with Tapestry Opera & Vancouver Opera) This new opera is a strong achievement for Tapestry- a smallish contemporary opera company that suffers for exposure while staying admirably dedicated to their fresh-feeling operatic ideals (James Rolfe’s score is pretty and the opera is light, modern and distinct in a […]
Toronto theatre is navigating tricky times by making great art this winter. It’s a boom of full-throttle theatre-making, reflected most acutely in midsized-to-large companies taking on the sort of challenging, headline-making contemporary work that brings people to the theatre and inspires them to come back. It’s not all great, but it is all ambitious and […]
Declarations, a new show by celebrated Toronto Playwright Jordan Tannahill, is yet another testament to the author’s ability to present innovative, new theatre. A fascinating meeting of text and movement—of the ephemeral and what remains—Declarations is a thoughtful, evocative exploration of form, body, text and grief. “This is the thing; This is not the thing.” So begins Declarations, as […]
I went back and forth on the title of this On Stage in TO roundup, the options being “small to big” and “best to worst” because both descriptions apply to the shows I’m about to discuss in the order in which I’m going to discuss them. Read into the pattern what you will- perhaps small, […]
The best word I can think of to describe The 7 Fingers’ new show triptyque is magical. I know, I know, cheesy. But when a show can really make me feel, bring me into a zone where the rest of the audience fades away… I mean, that’s magic. The 7 Fingers return to Toronto for the 30th […]
Red Sky Performance’s Backbone, playing at Canadian Stage from Nov 2 to 12, is the first production of a two year residency at Canadian Stage—to be followed up in 2018 by Trace. This multi-year residency is the first of its kind given to a dance company by Canadian Stage, and it seems most appropriate that […]
The final offering of the Canadian Stage Spotlight Festival: Australia was The Return by Circa, a genre-defying combination of cirque and opera. The stage is shared equally between the circus artists and the live chamber ensemble, with the former occupying stage right, and the latter stage left. An imposing black wall spans the width of […]
Meeting by Antony Hamilton and Alisdair Macindoe Sharing the space with 64 custom designed (Macindoe)…
There is probably no more mundane a premise for a show then to present a slide-show of family photos while recounting that family’s personal history. However, William Yang’s Blood links is a compelling and emotional documentary. Yang’s affable story-telling style takes the audience on an autobiographical journey of one man (Yang) seeking his identity through […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2016 MyTheatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series…