There aren’t a lot of companies left like Shakespeare Bash’d in the Toronto theatre scene. They’re indie but they’re experts- a valued production category largely washed away by the pandemic and just starting to be rebuilt by newcomers fresh from theatre school and vets slowly re-emerging after a long hiatus. In this unsteady landscape, Shakespeare […]
Puccini is the star of Madama Butterfly so it’s appropriate that, at nearly every turn in their current production of the ultra-famous opera, the Canadian Opera Company does right by the music. Backed by the always excellent COC orchestra and chorus, the principal players in the production deliver beautiful performances with nuanced, steady vocals. Skilled […]
Last Landscape (Bad New Days in association with Common Boots Theatre at Buddies in Bad Times through Jan 26) The surface joy of this inventive and thoughtful piece allows the audience a meditative break from the noise of the modern world. Almost entirely wordless, Last Landscape sees a company of five labourers use the detritus […]
Created and originally performed by some of Soulpepper’s most legendary Academy graduates-turned-resident artists, Alligator Pie will always be a testament to the company’s multi-disciplinary strength, spirit of invention, and dedication to fun. A wild romp of a non-linear kids show adapted from Dennis Lee’s beloved book of poems, Alligator Pie has made its long-awaited return […]
Interior Design (Tarragon Theatre) The first play in this week’s roundup features the most complicated exploration of the myriad ways we terrorize each other as it centers on a quartet of friends who presumably (reportedly, ultimately) do love each other. Rosa Laborde’s script about four old friends fighting (or not) to stay friends is a […]
Despite the Assembly Theatre’s proscenium setup and the show’s relatively conservative (though definitely present, fair warning) use of audience participation, 13 Plays About ADHD All At the Same Time is an immersive experience. The first work in a long time from one of the city’s most interesting creative minds, 13 Plays is writer/director Alec Toller’s […]
Co-written by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan and directed by Lauzon, and originally produced in 2022 at the Stratford Festival, this Canadian Stage remount depicts the story of a fictional residential school in Northern Ontario in 1939. An English teacher, anticipating a visit by King George VI, enlists her students in a production of All’s […]
Theatre As fall formally begins and the major Toronto theatre companies launch into their 2024/25 seasons, two star-studded and atmospheric tragedies take centre stage. Each directed by their host company’s reliably inspiring artistic director, Crow’s Theatre’s Rosmersholm (Chris Abraham) and Buddies in Bad Times’ Roberto Zucco (ted witzel) both offer short but heady translations […]