Hatched begins with an iconic image, Mamela Nyamza, topless and back to the audience in a long clothespin tutu, strong and statuesque, beautifully silhouetted by the artistry of lighting designer David Hlatshwayo. The dance begins with Nyamza couruing en point across the stage, her back still to the audience and still beautifully silhouetted, her clothes […]
It’s hard to know where to start in discussing vox:lumen, which opened at the Harbourfront Center’s World Stage last week. Do we being by talking about the show itself: a dance in the dark that made light a player on stage with dancers lighting each other and themselves from a variety of sources, including flashlights. […]
The project that William Yong has undertaken with Zata Omm Dance Projects and an inspiring network of supporters is truly monumental. An experiment in sustainability of theatre (and artists), vox:lumen brings awareness to current issues of conservation in a beautiful and poignant way. The pre-show lobby is full of energy, jitters, and smiles, which […]
A Side of Dreams is a beautiful view into Metis cultural traditions of generational and ancestral healing. The evening begins with a wondrous and effective projection of a spider beginning to spin a web, through a suspended aerial hoop. The initial image and soundscape prepare the audience for the intimate and thoughtful performance to come. […]
Read Thea’s Reviews and Lorenzo’s Reviews of the NSTF. Graham Clark Reads the Phonebook I loved comedian Graham Clark’s solo show at last summer’s Fringe Festival. So did everyone else, including Fringe head honcho Lucy Eveleigh. So Lucy invited him back for the Next Stage Festival. This, in theory, makes sense (especially considering they have […]
Sextet (Tarragon) This new theatrical dramedy from Morris Panych is a six-person character piece that plays out almost in real time between three motel rooms occupied by a string sextet on tour during a snow storm. It’s emotionally complex but conceptually simple, a combination that pretty much always reaps great rewards, particularly with a cast […]
When All Is Said & Get Served (A) A highly contrasting pair of pieces choreographed by Winnipeg’s Alexandra Elliott, When All Is Said and Get Served share an hour on the stage of The Al Green Theatre and should complement the average Fringe-goer’s verbally abundant festival experience with some virtuosic physical performance. When All Is Said […]
“What I love about dogs,” Denise Clarke mummers as she begins imitating a dog’s slow building tail-wag, “is that they can’t hide their emotions.” Despite the audience’s noticeable lack of tails, we all had trouble hiding our gleeful experience of wag, which opened this past Thursday as part of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival in […]