Soup Can Theatre’s production of Marat/Sade is packed full of great ideas, but they’re not always perfectly realized. Sarah Thorpe’s eloquent director’s note reveals the brilliant intellectual backbones of her interpretation- how she’s modernized the text to explore the themes in ways that are both nationally historic and hauntingly current. But her setting of 1957 […]
We were working hard this Toronto Fringe, taking in a total of 16 plays ranging from dance to drag to one-man displays or neurosis. There were companies of one, companies of ten, staged readings, fully-mounted musicals, lots of laughs, a couple of tears and grades ranging from A to D. Read on for the skinny […]
Our favourite youth company is back for their 7th season this year with the incredibly ambitious Sweeney Todd. The teenagers and instructors at No Strings Theatre have been working since July 4th with masterclasses in drama, voice and dance to prepare for next weekend’s production at the Al Green Theatre (750 Spadina Ave). Tickets are […]
Even if you’re not a bard lover, this video by impressionist Jim Meskimen, featuring Clarence’s speech from Richard III, is a load of laughs and crazy impressive. Check it out.
The Independent Drama Society (IDS) closes its final season in good health with Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor at the Factory Theater. Director Christine Toohey guides the production alongside a surprisingly large and diverse fleet of assistant directors, setting the tone for the collaborative piece. The Good Doctor is a collaboration in every sense- not […]
Peter Shaffer’s Equus has seen many notable productions since it was written in 1973, including a 1976 Broadway production featuring Anthony Hopkins and Peter Firth playing Dr. Martin Dysart and Alan Strang, respectively. Most recently, I saw the 2009 Broadway revival with Richard Griffiths and Daniel Radcliffe tackling the same roles. While appreciating the production […]
The stage adaptation of E. Nesbit’s story The Railway Children (onstage now with Mirvish Productions) is all bells and train whistles with very little to sustain it. The relatively small story feels like it takes hours to tell as the cramped audience waits patiently for the inevitable conclusion, or at the very least for the […]
9 to 5 is a rousing new musical, an adaptation of the 1980 film and the recipient of multiple Tony nominations last year. The Dancap production, which premiered last night and runs until July 10th at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, features a truly remarkable cast in full energetic array against sets and costumes […]