Kelly Bedard

I realize that the title of this piece may be a bit misleading. To “bash” something, at least in my line of work, is to pan a production so aggressively that you run the risk of being pulled from the comp list. Luckily, Shakespeare Bash’d and I are not in the same line of work. […]

  Kelly Bedard

Brantwood (Sheridan College) It’s a shame that this immersive, site-specific, multi-narrative, multi-genre theatrical experience will be closing on May 3rd so that the century-old school in which it’s housed can do what it’s prophesied to do in the show (be turned into condos) and the cast can do as their characters do in the final […]

  Kelly Bedard

With the weather warming up and city-dwellers coming out of hibernation, the Toronto theatre community is providing plenty of places for them to go. You could head down Yonge Street to see Once (starring the always likeable Ian Lake) or to The Annex for The LOT’s Hairspray (with the amazing Matt McKay as Seaweed) then […]

Before we announce the winners of the 2014 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. This is the last Dark Matter interview, we promise (including director Alec Toller and Three Other Castmembers, we’ve interviewed pretty much everyone but the crew at this point) but what would Heart of Darkness in Space (one […]

  Kelly Bedard

The history of Shakespeare Bash’d, up to and including their current production of Macbeth at the Monarch Tavern, reveals a pattern of wonderful comedy and middling tragedy. Some of this has to do with the Fringe Festival comedies being shorter and more fun, enlivened by the festival environment. But, mostly, I think it comes down […]

  Kelly Bedard

My second day at the Toronto Fringe was a one-play affair (don’t judge, I had things to do). But here’s the FULL LIST of our festival reviews if one isn’t enough for you. Love’s Labour’s Lost (A-) I was nervous about this one. My love of Shakespeare Bash’d and their clear, thoughtful approach to the […]

  Kelly Bedard

I just spent an hour and a half with Shakespeare Bash’d Artistic Director James Wallis and his wife/collaborator Julia Nish-Lapidus. The conversation sprawled- I asked them what fans of their previous Fringe hits The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing could expect from their upcoming Love’s Labour’s Lost; they sung the praises […]

  Kelly Bedard

As you likely already know (because we talk about it All The Time), earlier this month we hosted Toronto’s inaugural My Theatre Awards ceremony. The awards have been around since 2010, but this was the first party. Because it was the first party, it took a ton of planning. In the process of all said […]