Mirvish Productions has been on a run of great programming for the last little while with Come From Away’s Canadian sit-down production as a quality anchor, and tours of The Phantom of the Opera and Wicked coming through town. Phantom certainly can take some criticism but I’d argue its messages about empathy and mercy ultimately […]
15 years ago, Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman adapted for the stage a novel by Gregory Maguire that was itself an adaptation, or perhaps more accurately a revision, of The Wizard of Oz. The novel was dark and strange and long, full of deeply unlikeable characters and bleak allegorical observations about a world more real […]
A theme you will find in my reviews of Luminato shows is that I tend to feel like the festival is not really for me. I have fairly conventional theatre taste and fairly passive political beliefs (at least among the liberal consensus of my community) so Luminato’s artsy, brazen, avant-garde vibe is really just not […]
Luminato 2018 promised to interrogate the issues of human-rights, justice and inclusion, and Swan Lake/Loch na hEala does not disappoint with its dark themes of loss—of innocence, of purpose, and of hope—rape, suicide, police brutality and populist politics all feature. Written, directed and choreographed by Michael Keagan-Dolan, performed by Teac Damsa dance theatre and accompanied […]
Girls Like That (Tarragon Theatre) The more I think about this fantastic ensemble piece about teenage girls dealing with the age of slut-shaming gone viral, the more shocked I am that it was written by a man. Playwright Evan Placey captures the complexities and contradictions and crushing, inescapable pressures of girlhood with such painful authenticity […]
The Overcoat: a musical tailoring (Canadian Stage with Tapestry Opera & Vancouver Opera) This new opera is a strong achievement for Tapestry- a smallish contemporary opera company that suffers for exposure while staying admirably dedicated to their fresh-feeling operatic ideals (James Rolfe’s score is pretty and the opera is light, modern and distinct in a […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2017 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Mia Raye Smith made her Toronto Fringe Festival debut with I Am Hope, a humourous and heartwarming one-woman show about living with an anxiety disorder. Skillfully portraying 19 different characters, including her grandmother and therapist, Mia […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2017 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series…