From the shadows at the back of the theatre, a haggard looking man appears. He’s running, breathing hard, and as he approaches us, we see his eyes are wide with confusion and fear. “Why can’t I remember what’s happened to me?”, he cries aloud. So begins The Runner, Christopher Morris’ harrowing and gripping new play, staged […]
That’s right, I’m talking about Mirvish’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical and Tarragon’s Marshall McLuhan one-act in one article. They’re both terrible- dull, simplistic, varying degrees of ridiculous- and they’re playing in Toronto at the same time, but the two have more in common than just ruining my Wednesday nights. In Jason Sherman’s The […]
Two small, run-down apartments are the settings for two new George F. Walker plays, which taken together complete his Parkdale Palace Trilogy (begun with last year’s The Chance, which I must confess to not having seen), which are being staged at the Assembly Theatre in a double bill. Put on by Low Rise Productions and […]
The audience is silent and still. A dim light contours a man in boxing gloves and shorts, his slightly bent head and shoulders gleaming with sweat. There is a ripple of anticipation as he takes a deep breath, lifting gloved fists — in that moment, the figure is both the bow drawn taut and the […]
Pearle Harbour’s Chautauqua- presented at Theatre Passe Muraille, written and performed by Justin Miller in his Critics’ Pick Award-winning role- is what’s been missing in theatre. With the political climate, we are starving for a noble leader and Pearle Harbour steps up to fill that role. The show is set in a mid-century wartime tent, similar to what […]
The Rendezvous with Madness Festival – known for its films – expanded this year to include visual art and performance. The mental health themes addressed in the festival are relevant in today’s world more than ever, and the programming was fittingly launched on World Mental Health Day. I had the opportunity to catch some of […]
Paradise Lost Lucy Peacock is a fabulous spotlight-stealing supernova as Satan in this excellent new adaptation by Erin Shields. She wears fabulous clothes, says fabulous lines, directly addresses the audience, and just generally swags the place up. But the really compelling stuff comes from Qasim Khan and Amelia Sargisson as Adam and Eve. They’re a […]
Bed & Breakfast This delightful play from Mark Crawford and the production directed by Ann-Marie Kerr currently playing at Soulpepper is wonderful for a ton of different reasons. Firstly, it’s a lovely script- both local and contemporary, light and fun but emotional and not-always-so-light. The play calls for two actors who each play a multitude […]