Before we announce the winners of the 2019 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Michael Ross Albert is one of my favourite playwrights full stop; the fact that he’s local, indie, and extremely prolific is just a bonus. His Best New Work-nominated play The Huns, a blistering three-hander about a […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2019 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Ryan Hollyman’s haunting and complex performance in C’Mon, Angie with Leroy Street Theatre layered everyman appeal with everyman darkness to create a troubling portrait of a clueless abuser. Ryan’s thoughtfulness in embodying his character’s hurtful actions with […]
Theatre Centre’s Progress Festival is one of my favourite annual festivals in Toronto. The programming is always sharp and smart, bringing cutting edge international performances to the Queen West theatre. I was only able to see a few shows in this year’s festival; this represents only a sliver of the festival’s programming. CAFÉ SARAJEVO Café […]
What do you get when you combine sharply written dialogue, deft direction and an all-star ensemble? Coal Mine Theatre’s production of Marjorie Prime. In 90 minutes, I was taken on a journey that challenged the way I perceived the world around me, my relationships and my ideals. For me, it was Nick Blais’ lighting design […]
We all love a David and Goliath story, and Patrick Combs’ is a good one. In 1995, he received a cheque for $95,093.35 from a junk mailing scheme. Broke in San Francisco, he thought he would try to cash it as a joke. To Combs’ astonishment, the cheque deposited, and he soon became the bank’s […]
Clowning is an art. A wise woman who has spent most of her adult life performing as a both a theatre and a circus clown once told me that clowning is an impossible art to perfect because a true clown must be able to balance wearing a variety of hats all while acting the fool. […]
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 […]
I was so excited to find myself in Vancouver during the Fringe Festival this fall (it’s crazy that there are still Fringe Festivals happening once it’s officially “fall”). Having covered the Toronto leg of the epic Canadian indie theatre circuit for years, I was curious to see how things compared out on the west coast. […]
I was so excited to find myself in Vancouver during the Fringe Festival this fall (it’s crazy that there are still Fringe Festivals happening once it’s officially “fall”). Having covered the Toronto leg of the epic Canadian indie theatre circuit for years, I was curious to see how things compared out on the west coast. […]
After I saw Brigadoon, the Shaw Festival’s magical staging of a reimagined classic musical, I right away sat down to write about the experience. At least for me, the night I saw it, the mood I was in, Brigadoon was a fully contained theatrical moment about which I had plenty to say. Another staff writer […]
Soulpepper’s summer season consisted mainly of two small-cast one-acts (plus music director Mike Ross’ “Steinbeck Through Song” concert which was, as usual, sublime): Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love, an American tragedy about love, and ‘Art’ (quotation marks included)- a French comedy about friendship. Fool for Love, helmed by reigning Critics’ Pick Award Outstanding Director Frank […]
805-4821 (A) “805-4821 is a trans coming out story made out of other stories: a dialogue from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a half-remembered swim lesson, and an 80,000 word Facebook correspondence” This is how the promotional material introduces Davis Plett’s work, directed by Gislina Patterson. I added it to my roster expecting a show that could be […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE. Emotional Labour (A) Written and performed by Jess Beaulieu and Luis Fernandes, this clever two-hander about the division of labour, both emotional and physical, in modern relationships is devastatingly relatable. It’s not subtle, but I fear if it were any more subtle it would […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE. Off the bat, because all our other Fringe reviews have letter grades right beside the title, let’s get this out of the way and just say The Huns is getting an A. But read on for too much explanation of why that grade doesn’t quite […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE. I, Malvolio (B+) Justin Otto’s performance in I, Malvolio is powerful. If you can take anything away from this review, let it be that. Otto demands the audience’s attention from the moment they enter the room. There is an air of chaos about Otto’s […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE. Omen: The Musical (A) This modern witchy musical about a post-climate change (aka post-apocalyptic) world is eerie and enchanting. All three protagonists are individual and well developed. The musical direction of the show is consistent and unique. The setting and concept of the show […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE. Fuckboys the Musical (B) I quite liked this sassy American import featuring a cast of a bunch of standout women and a couple forgettable men. It’s too long and the storytelling is pretty muddled as the show attempts to service four main characters while […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE. Death Ray Cabaret (A-) Second City stalwarts Jordan Armstrong and Kevin Matviw bring a wonderful verve to their free-wheeling Fringe show. Partners on and off the stage, the pair have a fun and easy dynamic that lets them skip between sketches without missing a […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE. The Weight of It All (A-) Gillian Bartolucci’s latest solo piece plays out more like a one-woman sketch show than a straightforward narrative. With a captivating mix of exuberant energy and relatable exhaustion, Bartolucci jumps between characters, styles, gimmicks, and perspectives as she touches […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII (B) The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Til Death is how impressive Tara Travis’ stamina is. Seven characters. One actor. It’s a feat, that’s for sure. Travis jumps, rolls, moves across […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE News Play (A-) Madeleine Brown has concocted another show with a unique, funny and disarmingly rich story. Siblings and Joy (Charlin McIsaac) and Phoebus (Greg Solomon), one a writer and the other an illustrator, are forced via lack of work, as well as blackmail, […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE. Clotheswap (A-) I love a good in-real-life clothes swap, so I was quite excited to see Amanda Barker’s and Dale Boyer’s production, Clotheswap. I was even more happy to see that I could bring my own clothes to the show and that those clothes […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE. Night Cows (A) A percussive heartbeat punctuates the soundscape of Night Cows/Les vaches de nuits. Eléonore Lamothe sits curled into a broad cowhide chair. The only other objects adorning the stage are a mobile of crows and a beautifully crafted cow skull hung from […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE. The Ballad of Frank Allen (A) “Fringe veterans performing an award-winning show” sets your expectations high; “sci-fi buddy-comedy about a tiny man who lives in another man’s beard” scrambles your expectations beyond repair. Audiences go into this show not knowing what they’re walking into […]
Take a look at our full list of 2019 Fringe reviews HERE. The December Man (B+) This December will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, where fourteen women at École Polytechnique were murdered in an act of targeted, violent misogyny (their pictures line the wall of the Eastminster performance space). One question that […]
We have all heard the story, seen the show, that centers on the phrase, “boy meets girl”. That is why it is so refreshing when a play like A Beautiful View, that offers a new narrative, is produced. A Beautiful View is sharply written and the team at Shotgun Juliet sink their teeth into this […]