Why Not Theatre is back for the Theatre Centre’s Free Fall Festival with I’m So Close…, an updated version of their 2008 Summerworks offering I’m So Close It’s Not Even Funny. While I unfortunately missed this first version, fellow Planker M John Kennedy put forth a thorough and very positive account here. During the interim time Why Not’s creative team have expanded on their themes, crafting a multimedia commentary on human connection in the era of globalization.
Troels Hagen Findsen reprises his role as Steve, a green-tech innovator now thrust into the world of product...
The touring production of the Broadway version of Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein is currently at the Princess of Wales theatre in Toronto, and anyone who spent their youth spouting lines from the original movie to whomever was in earshot would be well advised to check it out. In fact, anyone with a taste for the zany would find their bum-in-plush-seat time well spent.
Roger Bart and Sutton Foster; photo by Paul Kolnik
There are few Canadian playwrights as talented as Daniel MacIvor when it comes to crafting stories hinged on characters’ inner workings and emotional states - and he reaffirms that fact with his latest offering as a writer and director; Communion, now playing at the Tarragon Theatre.
The Magnetic Fields are one of those rare bands don’t neatly fall into a clearly defined category or genre, nor have they been adopted and defended by any single generation or demographic.
Brevity is the order of the day; go and see Otello at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
The Canadian Opera Company’s production of Verdi’s timeless piece, the crowning glory of a brilliant career, leaves little to be desired. Famed tenor Clifton Forbis in the title role can only be described as sublime. His voice, prowess with Verdi’s score and dramatic force combine to make his performance a masterful one. Scott Hendricks is diabolical and enticing as the evil Iago, though his rounded voice is sometimes drowned out by the orchestra or the chorus. I’m...
(l – r) (kneeling) Emanuele D’Aguanno as Cassio, Tiziana Caruso as Desdemona, Clifton Forbis as Otello, Scott Hendricks as Iago and Adam Luther as Roderigo in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Otello. Photo: Michael Cooper
The latest work from Canadian theatre icon Judith Thompson – Such Creatures – is a warm welcome home after her debut thirty years ago at the intimate backspace of Theatre Passe Muraille.
Such Creatures confronts audiences with pain, rage, fear and unimaginable choices. True to form, Thompson handles the harshest realities of human existence with sensitivity, artistry and always hope. Milder than her earlier work, Such Creatures strikes a graceful balance between accessibility and thoughtful, political theatre. Two powerful, interwoven monologues are artfully brought to life under the direction of Brian Quirt and nuanced actors Michaela Washburn...
Here's the second part of Justin Haigh adventure at Toronto’s Next Stage Festival. The Festival finishes this weekend.
Gas This intense play from writer/director Jason Maghanoy presents a familiar yet contemporary depiction of modern warfare (in this case using Iraq as his creative sandbox) by incorporating age-old ideas, such as the hyper-masculine soldier, as well as relatively new ones, such as the importance of the unfiltered recorded image (an idea that also played an important role in Maghanoy’s last play, Dust). Gas is splintered into two narratives; the first of a unit whose chain of command is thrown...
