Tom and Erica It all starts in the darkness, a tiny stage in front of you and the shuffling of a restless audience waiting for the comedian to come on stage. The Toronto Sketch Festival was created 10 years ago with a clear mission: to make Toronto a funnier place to be. As part of […]
Eat, Buy, Repeat (The Second City) This “Guide to the Holidays” from the Second City Touring Company is charming and fun if a little imbalanced in quality. We begin with a group song about coping in the hellfire that is 2016 but the fact that no one in this cast can sing becomes a problem […]
The Second City’s latest mainstage revue is as honest as it is funny, as biting as it is charming, and as surprising as it is (mostly) consistent. Every member of the cast brings a different style and point of view to the table, all hilarious in their own right but especially effective together. Created and […]
Be sure to check out our Full List of Fringe Reviews Everything Else Is Sold Out (A) Dame Judy Dench– the five-person sketch troupe made up of Second City Conservatory alums Claire Farmer, Jessica Greco, Shannon Lahaie, Chris Leveille and Gavin Pounds- is one of those rare sure-bet comedy teams. Everything Else is Sold Out […]
Be sure to check out our Full List of Fringe Reviews Cam Baby (A) Jessica Moss doesn’t live here anymore; she’s in New York and somehow I’m just now noticing how much I’ve missed her work in the Toronto theatre scene. Moss’ signature style of quick-witted dramedy with personal themes is shared with some of […]
Be sure to check out our Full List of Fringe Reviews Tonight’s Cancelled (B+) Tonight’s Cancelled is a well-performed sketch show by Torontonian comedy darlings Stacey McGunnigle and Jason Derosse. Not being a local, I’m not hugely aware of the theatre scene in Toronto so to walk into a packed house is a good sign. […]
Be sure to check out our Full List of Fringe Reviews Bitesized (A-) As the opening monologue states, this is a show about things you love. It’s also about harder subjects (the environment, our treatment of native peoples, sexy Justin Trudeau). Through 16 short plays, the talents of this troupe are apparent – showcased are […]
It’s time, once again, for the On DVD series featuring new releases from Paramount Home Distribution and Elevation Pictures. Only, this time, there are enough great things to talk about that we’re splitting our coverage between TV and Film releases. These are the new TV on DVD selections available from Paramount. Click Here to read about the […]
From June 29 to July 10, seven of our Toronto staffers- Kelly Bedard, Duncan Derry, Kymberley Feltham, Lisa McKeown, Beth McNeil, Lorenzo Pagnotta and Whitney Richards- reviewed 100+ plays in this year’s Fringe Festival. Special thanks to the Fringe Staff & Volunteers (especially Will King in the press office who handled all our ticket requests) […]
Living in a post-Rob Ford era, you could be forgiven for thinking that all the jokes about Canadians can and have been made. But what Second City does, they do very well – injecting new life and hilarity into jabs at Trudeaumania, Tim Hortons, and Drake. Indeed, The Hotline Always Blings Twice showcases some of […]
True Blue (Bad Dog Theatre Company- improv) I lied (“everybody lies” says the poster for this show). The title of this post is Comedy Tonight but the first piece I’m talking about is not a comedy. It’s full of people you’re used to seeing in comedies- Bad Dog regulars and funny people borrowed from VideoCab, […]
The first few months of the new year are the best. The temperature drops below -40°, the ice makes dog walking nearly impossible, and the best holiday is again almost a full year away, but it’s all good because it’s the Best TV Season. For 13 or so weeks in the dead of winter, my […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2015 MyTheatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Devon Henderson and Jacqueline Twomey are the Second City-trained pair behind comedy duo “TwoSon” (TWOmey and HenderSON) whose original show The Real Housewives of Murder was one of the funniest productions in last year’s Fringe Festival. We caught […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2015 MyTheatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Five person comedy troupe Dame Judy Dench rocked the Fringe festival last summer with their original show That’s Just Five Kids in a Trench Coat!. We got the Outstanding Sketch/Improv Performance-nominated group members Chris Leveille, Claire Farmer, Gavin Pounds, […]
It’s time, once again, for the On DVD series featuring new releases from Paramount Home Distribution, Elevation Pictures and more!. TV Inside Amy Schumer: Season Three This show was great in seasons one and two but it just keeps getting bigger. The special features on this disc don’t amount to much but the rewatch value is high […]
Click Here for the Full List of our 2015 Toronto Fringe Reviews. The Dinner Table (A+) The last show I saw at the Fringe was also the best show I saw at the Fringe and it was really great to end the festival on such a high note. The Dinner Table is a beautifully curated […]
Click Here for the Full List of our 2015 Toronto Fringe Reviews SwordPlay: A Play of Swords (A) It doesn’t get any better than this, folks. Sex T-Rex hit the ball out of the park with this absolute triumph. It’s part video game homage, part Princess Bride, part Game of Thrones and has generous sprinklings […]
Click Here for the Full List of our 2015 Toronto Fringe Reviews Everyday Oppressions (B) A movement piece that explores exactly what you would expect it to explore based on the title, Everyday Oppressions is blessed with excellent dancers and some strong sequences highlighting not just oppression as an independent act but also as a […]
Click Here for the Full List of our 2015 Toronto Fringe Reviews The Weaker Vessels: Public Displays of Narcissism (A-) The Weaker Vessels offer everything you could want from a sketch show. Smart, precise, and razor-sharp, the troupe skewers our narcissistic tendencies and self-absorbed culture. Standout sketches include an exasperated TTC conductor who can’t get […]
Click Here for the Full List of our 2015 Toronto Fringe Reviews Hanger (A) Hilary McCormack is a wonderful actress- subtle, emotive, engaging and strong (further evidence of this can be found just one paragraph down). Unfortunately, Hilary McCormack is working in an industry and a time where there is not yet a suitably rich […]
With so many productions to see (and some of our staffers headed out of town to cover San Diego Comic-Con), we’ve brought on extra help this year to review more Toronto Fringe Festival shows than ever. Over 10 days, 7 critics will be tackling nearly 100 productions. Check out the full list below. The My […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2014 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. A key member of ace improvisers Bad Dog Theatre Company (our reigning Honorary Award Winners), it was actually Colin Munch’s scripted performances that first caught our attention. We saw him in two non-improv shows in 2014 and […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2014 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Kat Letwin was in the very first production we ever officially reviewed (Alumnae’s The Queens). We’ve been following her career ever since- a brilliant, unpredictable, chameleonic career- and we’ve loved almost every show we’ve seen her in […]
Read Thea’s Reviews and Lorenzo’s Reviews of the NSTF. Graham Clark Reads the Phonebook I loved comedian Graham Clark’s solo show at last summer’s Fringe Festival. So did everyone else, including Fringe head honcho Lucy Eveleigh. So Lucy invited him back for the Next Stage Festival. This, in theory, makes sense (especially considering they have […]
Toronto-based comediennes Gwynne Phillips and Briana Templeton (winner of the 2011 My Theatre Award for Best Actress) are the sketch duo behind some of the indie circuit’s most inventive and emotionally resonant work. Together they make up the perfectly named Templeton Philharmonic, the award-winning team who brought the fantastic site-specific roller-coaster An Evening in July to last […]
Hey ‘90s Kids, You’re Old (B+) Hey ‘90s Kids, You’re Old, is really everything you want out of a fringe sketch comedy show: good laughs, clever premise, and pop culture references. That said, it is very possible my great enjoyment of this show lies more in the nostalgia factor, and less in the skill of […]