Magician Nick Wallace certainly knows how to entertain and mystify a crowd and he does exactly that with his show Strange and Unusual, playing at the 2019 Next Stage Theatre Festival at the Factory Theatre. Having previously stumped the legendary magic duo Penn and Teller, Wallace brings his show of mysticism, magic, hypnosis, and fortune telling to a Toronto audience bringing with it, laughs, gasps, applause and a good dose of cringe.
Lauren & Amanda Do It, presented by Toasted Theatre Company at the Next Stage Theatre Festival, bills itself as a frank discussion about sex in a province where sex ed is currently in crisis. Pared down from its hour-long iteration into a 30-minute performance in the Factory Theatre Antechamber, it’s styled as an ever-changing talk show, with a rotating roster of guests.
Hosts Lauren Cauchy and Amanda Logan, aided by sprightly, bright original music and participation from Alli Harris, determine each night’s topic by spinning the “Wheel of Fucking.” The wheel has topics ranging from “Fetishes and Fantasies” to “Masturbation,” the latter being our fortune for opening night. Even if the wheel spin is the same two nights in a row, we’re assured that there will be different material for returning customers. (Three nights in a row, perhaps not.)
Franco Nguyen is thirty years old and lives with his mother. The Toronto-based comedian’s complex relationship with his Vietnamese immigrant mom is the basis of his touching comedic memoir Good Morning, Viet Mom, now playing as part of the 2018 Next Stage Theatre Festival.
