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 […]
Shakespeare’s As You Like It is my favourite play so, when the press invitation came through for the inaugural production of Crow’s Theatre’s in-person season, I was quick to RSVP. Sitting down at my first indoor Toronto venue since March 2020 to watch something billed as “a radical retelling” with a cast to be announced […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2019 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. As set and lighting designer for immersive company Outside the March’s ambitious production of Annie Baker’s movie theatre-set The Flick, 5-time Outstanding Design nominee (and 2014 winner) Nick Blais problem solved and innovated on countless fronts […]
Hannah Moscovitch’s Secret Life of a Mother is a raw and compelling portrait of the darker side of motherhood – one rarely acknowledged in polite conversation, forcing the arts to shoulder the burden of challenging these long-standing taboos. Moscovitch herself is the titular mother but the lead in this one-woman (but many-women) show is Maev […]
Julius Caesar is a tragedy for the masses. For the uninitiated, many Shakespearean tragedies are at least somewhat familiar because his work has transcended every cultural boundary: of course you know of Romeo and Juliet even if you don’t know obscure 16th century Italian poetry – or Romeo and Juliet. Others that haven’t installed themselves […]
A captivating pairing of co-productions has taken over the east end Streetcar Crowsnest venue this fall with a world-renowned but perfectly grounded everyman epic in the mainspace and an understated but otherworldly one-act song cycle in the studio. The studio piece, Dave Malloy’s Ghost Quartet, is a Crows collaboration with Eclipse Theatre Company and it […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2018 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual…
What I Call Her is a new play written by Ellie Moon and performed in partnership with Crow’s Theatre. Opening night was a great success, filled with the thrill and jitter of any new performance. Audience members greeted each other, proud parents beamed, and we all admired the wonderfully designed set. I don’t think I’ve […]
This Crow’s remount of the 2017 Shaw production of Will Eno’s Middletown, is the story of a generic town, equidistant from its neighbouring towns, with a stable population, elevation, not too big, not too small. This is, not surprisingly, a kind of metaphor, and the play is less about a grand narrative than it is an […]
Sarah Delappe’s The Wolves is one of the finest pieces of theatre I’ve had the pleasure to see. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Howland Company’s production has everything. It’s fresh, witty, heartwarming, moving and tragic. Rarely could I recommend a play so wholeheartedly. The cast consists mostly of nine female and non-binary teenagers […]
Thom Pain (based on nothing) (Theatre By Committee)…
Before we announce the winners of the 2017 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. A&R Angels was an interesting, yet very flawed production that left me questioning a lot of the decisions behind it. However, the performance by our guest today, Ngozi Paul, stood out as worth talking about and […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2017 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. I would not get a lot of pushback if I were to say that Tom Rooney is the best stage actor currently working in Canada. Obviously that’s a subjective assertion, but it’s awfully hard to argue […]
Death and marriage are all the rage on Toronto stages at the moment with four current productions totally preoccupied with one or both. The most prominent is Groundling Theatre Company’s Lear, the young company’s best-to-date by miles. The press release for director Graham Abbey‘s well-focused production claimed that the company was presenting “Lear with a […]
A&R Angels is a story about two songwriting guardian angels who use their music to pull people back from the brink of suicide. Though late in their career, their music is failing to connect with people the way it used to. They only have a few chances left to prove they still can still be […]
Coal Mine Theatre is drawn to disturbing programming about mankind’s darkest truths. Their productions are often visceral, unpleasant, gritty, caked in blood, laced with profanity and only sometimes ultimately uplifting. Orphans is all of those things except the last one. Though funny and at times even sweet, it might be the darkest display of humanity […]
The Orange Dot, a Theatrefront presentation, is all about mansplaining. If you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years and don’t know what mansplaining is, then this play is going to be an educational experience for you. If you try to prevent mansplaining in your everyday life, then The Orange Dot is […]
Anton Piatigorsky’s Breath in Between is playing in Crow’s Theatre’s brand new studio space until the end of the week but I’m still trying to figure out how it got there in the first place. Crow’s Artistic Director Chris Abraham is someone I associate, above all, with good taste. His own productions are always impeccably […]
Created by Khari Wendell McClelland, Freedom Singer is a gorgeous, thrilling, and refreshing theatre experience. The show is launching the Scotiabank Community Studio space at Streetcar Crowsnest Theatre in Toronto, and will be going on a cross-Canada tour throughout February (Black History Month). Juno-nominated singer-songwriter McClelland narrates his search to find out what he can […]
Kristen Thomson’s new play The Wedding Party opens not only the 34th season of Crow’s Theatre, but has the honour of being the inaugural production of the new Toronto theatre Streetcar Crowsnest. Those of us who have been to a few weddings (or a few dozen, as the case may be) will know that although the wedding […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2015 MyTV and MyTheatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. The only 2015 performer nominated by two different branches, Christine Horne is up for both a MyTV and MyTheatre award this year for her season-stealing Guest Actress turn on the woefully cancelled Canadian medical drama Remedy and […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2015 MyTheatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. In the semi-immersive, totally sustainable Outside the …
The Road to Paradise is certainly timely. As we continue to battle wars and tragedies of all sorts across the world, we need pieces that bring people together to reflect and dialogue on what truths lie untold, and what we can do about it. Playwrights Jonathan Garfinkel and Christopher Morris wish to create a dialogue […]
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 […]
Chris Abraham knows how to assemble a cast. The Seagull- his latest production for Crow’s Theatre, currently playing at the Berkeley- sports the director’s most perfectly constructed ensemble yet with some of Canada’s greatest actors each playing their strongest notes with a key lack of background noise to distract from Chekhov’s incisive story about art and […]