Imagine Star Wars, but if it took place inside human reproductive organs. Now imagine that novel concept, performed in a one-man-show by a combination of Neil Patrick Harris and Eddie Izzard, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what Sperm Wars, put on by Active Salad Productions as a part of this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival, is.
Continue reading Sperm Wars (Active Salad Productions) 2014 Toronto Fringe Review
I’ll come right out and say it – I’m a puppetry virgin. Outside of the children’s shows I vaguely recall seeing when I was little, and Avenue Q, I have honestly never seen a puppet show. Cirqular, created by the Artichoke Heart Collective, and playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival, was my first foray into that world. The most accurate way to describe my experience was a combination of feeling confused and impressed.
Continue reading Cirqular (Artichoke Heart) 2014 Toronto Fringe Review
I’m a huge fan of apocalyptic and dystopian fiction. So when I heard about Here After, playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival, I thought the show would be right up my alley. I couldn’t have been more right.
The show, presented by Upstart Theatre, imagines a world in which human bodies can never die. Minds, on the other hand stop thinking for more than a few seconds, and they go completely blank.
Continue reading Here After (Upstart Theatre) 2014 Toronto Fringe Review
From Press Release
“A BICYCLE BUILT FOR TWO”
Socially-Relevant Theatre Troupe Gets Personal at the Toronto Fringe Festival
Founded in 2011, Theatre of the Beat (TOTB) has quickly gained a reputation as a socially-relevant, group of road warriors, that don’t shy away from the tough topics. Having performed across the country in theatres, high schools, churches and prisons, the troupe has played to a variety of audiences, always inspiring dialogue and discussion.
The newest addition to the troupe’s growing repertoire is entitled A Bicycle Built For Two. It’s a thought-provoking comedy which follows three couples at various stages in their relationships: engagement, the empty-nest, and separation. The result: a light- hearted crack at the realities of human relationships, the institution of marriage and the nebulous art of relationship maintenance.
“Relationships begin, relationships grow, and sometimes relationships end,” says director Rebecca Steiner. “This is a play about relationship – and being the relational creatures that we are, it’s about how we interact with each other – and that’s inherently comical. ”
“Over the past ten years, relationship issues between couples have been the second most frequent reason people seek counselling,” says Waterloo’s Shalom Counselling Services executive director, Wanda Wagler-Martin. “We decided it was time to do some health promotion and education.” With a reputation for challenging theatre, and given the troupe’s success rate, Shalom Counselling decided to commission TOTB to write a play that would act as a catalyst for discussion. “It had to be a comedy,” says playwright Johnny Wideman. “Laughter disarms. It allows you to raise the questions people are too afraid to ask.”
“Controversial and thought-provoking, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.” -City TV (Toronto, ON)
“This theatre company is one to watch.” – CBC Manitoba
**** “As hilarious as [they are] intellectually astute.” -NOW Magazine (Toronto)
**** “Tight and energetic.” – Winnipeg Free Press (Winnipeg)
July 03 at 11:00 PM
July 05 at 12:00 PM
July 06 at 08:45 PM
July 07 at 03:00 PM
July 09 at 07:00 PM
July 11 at 01:45 PM
July 12 at 09:15 PM
Tickets are $10 at the door, $12 in advance
Musical adaptations are far from a new concept. In fact, most musicals these days are adaptations of popular movies, books or plays. The Common Ground: A Musical Dissertation, currently playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival, expands the art into new territory by putting a theatrical spin on – you guessed it – a scientific dissertation.
In this case, Ken McNeilly transformed his 400-page thesis on the struggles faced by the children of LGBT-identified parents into a musical. And it’s the show’s academic roots that both anchor it in powerful truths while restricting it from becoming the rallying cry for children of LGBT-identified parents that it could become.