The thoughtful and hilarious God of Carnage is playing at Toronto’s Studio 180 Theatre
I really love the Off-Mirvish Series. It’s an opportunity to introduce a Mirvish audience to a different type of show from blockbusters like Les Miserables. This season, its second, was launched with a presentation of God of Carnage, a Studio 180 Theatre production at the Panasonic Theatre.
And what an excellent start it was. I found it a thoroughly satisfying night of theatre. There were moments of intense discomfort and moments of absolute hilarity. It’s a combination I loved.
Chicago mobsters take center stage in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui playing at Toronto’s The Great Hall
When I read the play listing for The Red Light District‘s production of Bertolt Brecht‘s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, the premise of mobsters in 1930s Chicago monopolizing the vegetable industry in the only way the mob knows how — intimidation, brute force, and an increasing body count, I was sold. It’d be like watching The Sopranos on stage I thought, but more Al Capone and tommy guns.
Reaching out to my theatre types in search of my plus one, my friend Grace chimed in, “I love Brecht!” she told me. Considering I didn’t know much about the German dramatist who wrote the play in the span of three weeks during 1941 when he was in exile in Finland, I knew that bringing Grace along would shed some needed light on this production.
It was time for me to get schooled on Berlin-style cabaret and epic theatre.
Disco Pigs explores an intense and inseparable relationship at Oz Studios in Toronto
Disco Pigs is a movie and play written by Enda Walsh about a boy and a girl born within one second of one another. They develop an uncanny relationship, become inseparable and are the proverbial two sides of the same coin. It’s a fascinating, intense production on stage at Oz Studios in Toronto.
Disco Pigs is set in contemporary Ireland, so don’t expect Irish clichés like leprechauns and shillelaghs. Instead, expect fantastic acting from Claire Burns and Bryan Demore. The language they use is a bit different than the typical Torontonian, but it is inviting, almost intoxicating. It’s almost like a cross between Roddy Doyle type dialogue and A Clockwork Orange.
Three actors explore gay identity in The Gay Heritage Project playing at Toronto’s Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Three young gay performance artists take an in depth look at what it means to be gay and the legacy left behind from the trail blazers of queer culture in The Gay Heritage Project. In a 90-minute production of skits filled with a respectful combination of comedy and thoughtfulness, Damien Atkins, Paul Dunn and Andrew Kushnir explore gay heritage and if the idea of a heritage for the gay community actually exists.
Arriving at Buddies in Bad Times with my friend Momo and his partner Jamie, we took our seats in front of a stark stage, with a raised backdrop used for projections. The sides were lined with chairs — more than necessary for the three performers. When I considered how minimal the stage was, I realized that these actors would rely solely on themselves with the help of sound and projection to carry the length of the show without intermission.
A complex story of parenting, mental illness and policing play out in The Valley at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre
There’s a painful moment in Tarragon Theatre‘s The Valley when time stops. “I don’t know how to feel better,” says one of the characters.
I won’t tell you which one (I’m not even sure I remember). The play features a cop, a teenager and two mothers.
It’s about the hot button issues we hear about in the media all the time – mental illness, parenting, policing. There’s a complex overlap between those of us hurting and those aiming to serve and protect (whether at home or on the streets). Pain is real to all of us. Continue reading Review: The Valley (Tarragon Theatre)→
