Theatre Reviews

Reviews of theatre, dance, opera, comedy and festivals. Performances can be in-person or streamed remotely on the web for social-distancing.

ComMUTE (Deaf Spirit Theatre) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review

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Promotional photo for ComMUTE featuring Alexandra Hickox, Juan Jaramillo, Theresa Upton, Jose Gaspar Sanabria, Hayley Hudson, Elizabeth Morris, and Robert Bhola

Deaf Spirit Theatre’s ComMUTE (playing in this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival) is a highly enjoyable series of short plays written by Deaf playwrights about Deaf characters played by Deaf actors. This collection of plays embodies everything I love about theatre. Over the course of the hour-long runtime, there are plenty of moments of laugh-out-loud hilarity, thought-provoking social commentary, and poignant human storytelling. Something for everyone!

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Circle Back (Good Idea Bad Show) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review

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Circle Back (Good Idea Bad Show) is a romantic comedy that takes place entirely on Zoom and is part of this year’s digital Fringe Festival. Gwyneth (Lauren Maykut) is a graphic designer working out of Melbourne, and Jamie (Tabia Lau, also the writer and director) is a brand manager overseeing tobacco products. As their careers, lives and goals change over the course of several years, Jamie and Gwyneth’s paths keep intersecting as freelancer and employer. Continue reading Circle Back (Good Idea Bad Show) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review →

Balance (Pickles Digital Theatre Co.) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review

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Picture of promotional poster for the play BalanceI wasn’t sure what to expect from Christopher Elizabeth Boyd’s Balance, from Pickles Digital Theatre Co. playing at this year’s digital Fringe Festival. What I got was a heartfelt examination of life, mental health, and living within society as Boyd delves into their own anxieties, fears, and memories. Continue reading Balance (Pickles Digital Theatre Co.) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review →

Daphne’s Inferno (Bad Seed Productions) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review

Daphne’s Inferno by Bad Seed Productions, playing virtually at the 2021 Digital Fringe Festival, is a take on the classic tale of Dante’s Inferno. Daphne (Barb Scheffler) wanders into a strange little coffee shop, the Inferno Café, while looking for her husband. There she is greeted by the barista Virginia (Jillian Rees-Brown). When Daphne tries to leave, she sees that the door is blocked. Virginia informs her that she cannot leave the way she entered; the only way out is through.

As Daphne gathers her thoughts and prepares for her journey, she is greeted by the mysterious Lucy (Erin Eldershaw) who informs Daphne that she is indeed at the gates of Hell and in order to find her way out she must traverse through the circles of Hell.

In doing so, Daphne is forced to confront the darkest chapters in her life, from her abusive father, her horrendous high school relationship, to her sexual abuse at the hands of a neighbor. But when she hears the tragic truth from from her daughter, she finds herself at the edge of no return.

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