Cirque Éloize captures perfectly the bustle and glamour of a 1920’s art-deco hotel in their most recent show. Performed at the St. Lawrence Centre, Hotel is a great success, pleasing audiences from giggling toddlers to circus regulars and cynical viewers. Cirque Éloize tries an interesting new tactic for the world of contemporary circus in this […]
Every year, I try to see as many new release films as I can. The idea is to see them between January 1st and December 31st but those pesky last-December releases and super limited runs usually mean I’m still seeking out a few titles into the new year (I’ll come clean- it took me like […]
From success in the UK to sinking on Broadway, The Last Ship has enjoyed a mixed reception around the world. Though not always plain sailing, Sting’s musical has launched successfully at its new home in Toronto. Director/book writer Lorne Campbell’s revamped production is by no means perfect, but boasts a number of strong performances and […]
What does it mean for a performer to take on a role? Prince Hamlet, Ravi Jain’s radical reframing of the Shakespeare classic remounted here by Canadian Stage and Why Not Theatre, juggles contradictory answers to that question. Jain describes his mission as “challeng[ing] what stories are being told and who gets to tell them”, which […]
The Father by Florian Zeller, directed by Ted Dykstra and Oyin Oladejo, is a brave close look at aging, specifically with Alzheimer’s Disease. The title character, known as André (Eric Peterson), demonstrates with great accuracy several key characteristic of living with dementia. Further, Peterson’s interpretation of the progression of some of these characteristics is carefully […]
Opera is sustainable when you can enjoy it without fully understanding it or taking it seriously. Few works rely on this more than Così fan tutte, which continues to entertain really-rather-refined audiences who would blanch at its antediluvian gender politics in a modern work. The official title translates as “all [women] do it”, and it’s […]
Oslo’s very existence is remarkable. Staging a full-length work about the most incendiary issue in foreign policy is already a major diplomatic achievement. Turning that into an award-winning Broadway hit? The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded for less. It’s no surprise that playwright JT Rogers embraces that challenge, having already brought a theatrical perspective to […]
Many Shakespeare plays present an imposing barrier to entry even for educated audiences. Directors devise increasingly inventive ways to make them accessible or relevant – or at least to have their own fun and leave their own mark on the work in the guise of doing this. Othello weds a simple plot, touching on familiar […]