My first foray into the Toronto Fringe Festival was the play Lilith, produced by RubeCo, and playing at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse. Lilith made me appreciate how a good story does not need to be embellished with an elaborate setting or special theatrical tricks.
All posts by Karen Seeley
Review: Out the Window (The Theatre Centre/Luminato)
Out the Window explores a first hand account of local police brutality, on stage in Toronto
There were a couple of things that intrigued me about Out the Window, playing as part of the Luminato Fesival in partnership with The Theatre Centre, playing at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre. One is that it tackles the controversial topic of police violence, and another is that it refers to an incident that occurred locally in Toronto. The Political Science major in me wanted to know more details of what has since become political.
The story of what happened is literally seen through the eyes of playwright Liza Balkan, who came forward as a witness to the death of Otto Vass at the hands of the Toronto police, and relates her experience of the justice system.
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Review: It’s A Goddamn Stupid Life (Imaginary Solutions Co.)
Speculative Trump-inspired comedy takes to the Toronto stage
The Political Science major in me was excited to see the play, It’s a Goddamn Stupid Life, now playing at the Solar Stage at Wychwood Theatre. It promised political satire in the near future (2025) when Trump has somehow managed to get a third term in office.
This play is not specifically about Trump, but about the political climate surrounding him, as seen through the story of Harvey Ubu (Damien Gulde) and the sex robot he has created, Mary Ann (Andrea Werhun), as well as the main character Dave Kafka (Neal Armstrong), a creative who just wants to be a jazz musician and is trying to put a perfect band together. These characters are perfect vehicles for taking a shot at the prevalence of misogyny and other capitalistic ills in society.
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