The Shaw Festival has had some notable success in recent years with British farce. It’s a good fit for the festival- quick and physical and light while fitting squarely into the mandate that can otherwise sometimes be a bit stiff. But, like tap dance musicals before it, farce has become a bit of a crutch […]
Reuniting the core team from 2024’s One Man, Two Guvnors, this goofy mistaken identity romp is yet another well-executed bit of nonsense that serves a very specific purpose in moderation. Designer Michael Gianfrancesco’s set is so expansive and detailed that you’d swear the Shaw had an infinite production budget. Seven entrances, some hidden some […]
The best things at the Shaw Festival seem to, at least for me, always come as a surprise. So I’m shocked but not shocked to tell you that, in 2025, the Shaw show I can’t stop thinking about is Tons of Money. The farce. Of all things. I hate farce but I love Mike […]
Prince Edward County is known as one of the most beautiful places in Ontario, a prime spot for well-to-do cottagers and family beach-goers alike. It’s also one of Ontario’s transit failures, a place so completely reliant on car access that, despite years of interest, I’d never stepped foot in the area until this summer. In […]
At Mirvish Productions’ The Play That Goes Wrong, only the title is an understatement. Audiences are quickly enveloped in a fully immersive farce that never lets go- not during the curiously long intermission, and not even leaving the show as fears linger that the ‘fuh-caydes’ of the whole world could collapse at any moment. It’s […]
There’s profundity in boredom, or at least that’s what most Waiting for Godots seem to argue. It’s an impossibly dull play to watch, purposefully so; the theatre usually has at least one groaner, one snorer and maybe a blunt high schooler or two complaining that it’ll all start again after intermission and nothing’s likely to […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2016 MyTheatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Outstanding Actress nominee Brenda Robins is a Canadian theatre gem and Soulpepper stalwart whose performances always stand out for their specificity and energy. In Noises Off, Brenda stole the show with a quirk-tastic turn as frazzled actress […]
Noises Off Did we need another 70s-set backstage theatre farce mere months after Jitters? No. But Soulpepper’s production of Noises Off made me laugh louder and with more obnoxious uncontainable shrieks than anything else I’ve seen this year so I’ll welcome the repetition. Simon Fon’s fight and stunt work was still too careful and a […]