Madeleine Copp saw her first show when she was four years old and it was love at first sight. She pursued a bachelor’s in theatre production and design and English literature, culminating in a love for flexible, innovative, and diverse theatre artists that challenge all our preconceived notions of the stage. Her thesis, Printed Voices: Women, Print, and Performance pushed for new interpretations of closet drama from the early modern to modern period in the hopes of seeing more female playwrights included in the performance canon. Since graduating, Madeleine continues to seek out unexpected, startling, and challenging works that leave her angry, speechless, and wonderfully confused.
When the South African Truth Commission offers amnesty to those who committed atrocities during Apartheid in exchange for proof the acts were politically motivated and full disclosure of those acts, Ubu (Dawid Minnaar) tries to figure out whether he will admit his guilt and risk punishment or lie and risk getting caught. His struggle is complicated as his wife, Ma (Busi Zokufa), suspects Ubu’s nightly escapades are with another woman but her suspicions may lead her to the truth about her husband. Continue reading Review: Ubu and the Truth Commission (William Kentridge and Handspring Puppet Company)→
Unit 102 presents a vampire horror-comedy at the Theatre Machine in Toronto
What does a person do when their enemy is stronger, faster, and smarter than them by being older than them by a few millennia? Is a fight worth it? Is it pointless? Or is it something more sinister? Vampires are powerful and vampire hunters are human in Luis Fernandes’s The Hungry presented by the Unit 102 Actors Co. at the Theatre Machine.
The television commercial is a perfect opportunity for scathing satire, hilarious physical comedy, and catchy techno beats. Short, prevalent, and full of recognizable tropes and devices, I am not surprised these become the foundation for an entertaining night. The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival’s cabaret Commercial Parodies: But Wait There’s More at the Comedy Bar came with the severe side-effects of laughter, camaraderie, and a good time.
Bharatanatyam Dancing at the Wychwood Barns will Please All Ages
Theatre for a young audience has two important components: one, it must keep children engaged for its duration, and two, it must entertain the adults as well. Theatre Direct’sBeneath the Banyan Tree playing at the Artspace Wychwood Barns manages both.
With only an hour for its run time, the play packs a colourful, simple, and fun story about a young girl’s experiences after moving from India to Canada. Anjali, played by the charming and exuberant Natalia Gracious, frequently seeks comfort from the spirit of the Banyan Tree (Qasim Khan). Together they share the Panchatantra fables involving elephants, monkeys, crocodiles, mice, and peacocks. Continue reading Review: Beneath the Banyan Tree (Theatre Direct)→
