It’s not often that you see a parody of a parody; the style is a difficult skill to master. First, the audience needs to understand the source of the original parody, and only then, the audience needs to understand the references to the original parody. Honestly, it’s difficult to separate what’s the parody of what. […]
The National Ballet of Canada is a fascinating place. It’s where national treasures like Karen Kain and Rex Harrington earned their world-renowned reputations and are now guiding the current wave of tremendous talent as Artistic Director and Artist-in-Residence. It’s home to some of Toronto’s most beloved performers, some of the world’s most talented dancers and […]
Shakespeare in the Park doesn’t have to– and shouldn’t– be artistically confined by the fact that it takes place in the summer, and the Public Theater is commendable for often putting on shows that seem in argument with the very theater in which they take place. But sometimes, when the thermometer goes way up and […]
Last night I covered my very first Dora Awards. For those of you who don’t know, The Doras are sort of like Toronto’s Tonys, celebrating the best in Dance, Opera, Independent Theatre, General Theatre and Theatre for Young Audiences. The night started out with a VIP cocktail reception in the basement lounge of the Sony […]
I was running around downtown Toronto like a madwoman Tuesday night, and not just because Single Thread Theatre’s The Loyalists Actually involves running (I know, I made that face too). I was mostly running because I saw two different site-specific shows in one night. I was at Campbell House (Queen & University) for 7pm to […]
Last night I took in a one-act site-specific double feature of The Loyalists in Victoria Memorial Square and Sockdolager at Campbell House, though the two have literally nothing in common apart from being set in Toronto in some century other than this one. I started off the night with The Templeton Philharmonic at Campbell House […]
Soulpepper was founded by friends. World-renowned, big-name, highly successful friends, but friends nevertheless. And to this day, Soulpepper is run by friends. You can see it when Albert Schultz knows the name of everyone in the lobby or when Derek Boyes uses his day off from You Can’t Take it With You to watch his friends perform […]
Look, I find some of what Rent teaches suspect, because I’m used to relying on intellect (and intellect says that investing in junkies, strippers, squatters and ATM RobinHood-ers isn’t necessarily wise), but I try to open up to what I don’t know*. I’m a twenty-something goodie-two-shoes who has never once not been able to pay […]