bloodrite (Other He/Arts) takes on the history of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, one of history’s most notorious serial killers who reportedly enjoyed torturing young girls and drinking their blood in the 1500s. Over the years, Báthory has served as the inspiration for many a vampire tale. Hers was a gruesome and bloody life, one that we often remember with a blurring of history with horror-fantasy (while Báthory was arrested for these crimes, for example, claims that she bathed in blood seem to have been exaggerated). As such, it’s fascinating material for adaptation. Continue reading bloodrite (Other He/Arts) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review→
The Death and then Life of Douglass Perish (playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival) is a goofy absurdist play that is more wry smiles than belly laughs. The plot is simple: After being told by his doctor that he has been dead for three weeks, Douglass Perish returns home to his wife, Lilian, and his best friend, Glenn, to break the news. Undeterred by the fact that Douglass is still walking among them, Lilian and Glenn plan Douglass’ funeral and begin to move on.
Asylum, produced by New Story Productions, is playing on-demand at the virtual 2021 Toronto Fringe Festival. The punchy theatre-dance work is only seven minutes in length. It follows Amir (played by Armon Ghaeinizadeh) in his process of applying for asylum in Canada. Amir first left Iran precariously on a school visa to join a dance program in Canada. This piece focuses on the middle ground of first leaving Iran and the possibility of being forced to go back to a culture that has a long and complex history with dancing, and where anything outside of heterosexual marriage is punishable by law.
There’s still a few days left to check out the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival! If you want to make the most out of your theatre-going this week, here’s a look at a few rave reviews.
These are shows that blew our writers’ minds, got them talking, kept them enthralled, stuck with them, and made their editor write a list of exciting descriptive actions.
While we always encourage audiences to take risks at Fringe, here are some sharp picks that especially paid off for our team:
