A preview of the Toronto Fringe Festival Tent Talks and the burgeoning discussion on the importance of the indie theatre community
“Theatre is dead…Long Live Theatre!” may seem like a self-contradictory theme for this year’s FringeTent Talks (yes, it’s a pun on Ted Talks), but as Claire Wynveen, the Creation Lab Coordinator at the festival tells me, it echoes a dominant sentiment in the industry today.
Nobody should be surprised that the arts are struggling, and theatre is no exception. Most creative industries are increasingly difficult to break into, and a challenging existence once you’ve accomplished that much. However, the juxtaposition of the doomsday type sentiment with the toil that goes into many of these performances, and the increasing attendance at Fringe is very real and apparent. Continue reading Fringe Preview: Tent Talks – “Theatre is Dead…Long Live Theatre!”→
There are few of us that haven’t given at least limited thought to the end of the world, with the ominous December 21, 2012 barreling at us through crossed off calendar pages. Islands (draft89 Collective) is perfectly timed, a view of what a post-apocalyptic world could look like. Continue reading Review: Islands (draft89 Collective)→
Toronto’s Rogue Theatre brings slapstick and laughs to the classic Boeing Boeing
Boeing-Boeing is a charming comedy about a man named Bernard who has found the perfect compromise between monogamy and variety: three fiancés. All the women are flight attendants on different major airlines: Gloria (Kelly McCormack), the American girl; Gabriella (Diana Bentley), the Italian girl; and Gretchen (Brooke Morgan), the German girl.
The entire situation (on this particular day) is held together by an overworked maid, Berthe (Eleanor Hewlings), Bernard’s friend Robert (Tim Walker) visiting from Wisconsin, and a very very treasured flight schedule. The show was first performed in London in 1962 and has been a hit ever since. Feminists take note: gender roles reflect an older time – the attitude towards women is markedly different than it would be in a piece written today.
Continue reading Fringe Preview: Tent Talks – “Theatre is Dead…Long Live Theatre!” 
