Bad Habit Productions put on a versatile and dynamic Orlando, Sara Ruhl’s adaptation of the Virginia Woolf novel, in the BCA’s Deane Hall. Directed by Daniel Morris, the show’s performances were enhanced by a mobile set constructed in the round, by sumptuous costumes, and by warm and cool washes of color (orange, blue, and yellow) […]
There is something universally appealing about J.M. Barrie’s ode to enduring childhood, Peter Pan, and the imaginary world of Neverland located “second to the right, and straight on till morning.”* A beloved children’s classic, my appreciation for Peter Pan started at a young age – as demonstrated by this Halloween picture from 1989 (with my […]
On the cusp of second wave feminism and nearly a decade into Apartheid rule, Athol Fugard created a female character that would, against all odds, defy the roles society would try to force her into. Queeny, played by Masasa Mbangeni, holds the center of the action while the remaining characters orbit around her. James Ngcobo, […]
The Queen will see you now. Another West End transplant has made its way to the U.S. in the form of playwright Peter Morgan’s The Audience, and it has brought a much-celebrated leading lady, Helen Mirren, to Broadway. While Dame Mirren’s performance as the Queen is captivating and anyone with even a slight bit of […]
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 […]
way·ward (wāwərd) adjective difficult to control or predict because of unusual or perverse behavior. “I’m so glad you’ve taken an interest in our farm,” director Becky Johnson exclaims in character at the top of Cult Wayward, the all-female improv show at the Bag Dog Theatre. This new addition in the Wayward series did not […]
Improv is risky business for a theatre-goer. Sometimes the freshness, urgency and unfiltered, uninhibited whimsy that can be so thrilling results in not a lot more than broad havoc and jokes that could use a re-write. But when everything does come together just right, there’s nothing like it. In Toronto, the closest thing to a […]
Max Baker’s new play Live From the Surface of the Moon at The Wild Project is a frustrating and uncomfortable glimpse at Midwestern suburbia in 1969, juxtaposing vast technological advancements with the backwards sexual and social norms of the time. While Baker’s premise is an intriguing one, his play suffers from a lack of focus […]