Annie is a spectacular family treat just in time for the holidays, playing at Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre
On hand for the first performance of Annie at Young People’s Theatre, my small companion and I filed in between a kindergarten class and a band of gangly Grade 8s and I wondered – is this going to work? Will this production appeal to such a big range of kids? Well, yes.
This production of Annie, clocking in at 80 minutes plus a five-minute curtain speech, is the TYA or Theatre for Young Audiences version – it’s mostly songs: complex subplots are dispensed with. The worrisome abduction of Annie is deleted altogether and replaced by a version in which Mr. Warbucks’ contacts at the FBI discover Rooster and Lily’s ruse before they get anywhere with dear, orphaned Annie. It’s a solid production, just the sort of thing a whole family can safely enjoy together, and quite a nice stepping stone for younger theatre patrons — between kiddie shows and full-length musicals.
Dancers get animalistic in New Animal playing at Toronto’s Enwave Theatre
In a quiet lobby at the Enwave Theatre I was hesitantly excited to see New Animal. I love seeing Canadian artists from out of town. By seeing these touring shows I get a taste of what else is going in our massive country. New Animal is a snap shot from Vancouver’s 605 Collective.
This piece really is all in the title. New Animal, you know what to expect. Animalistic behaviour dressed up in people clothes. It was vicious and violent. All the elements worked together to add to the voice of the work. Continue reading Review: New Animal (605 Collective)→
Exceptionally performed and written, The Sacrifice Zone is playing at Toronto’s Factory Theatre
It has often been said that in the face of adversity, there are only two courses of action a person may take: fight or flight. The Sacrifice Zone, now playing at the Factory Theatre, examines the fallout experienced by one community in the wake of a tragic industrial accident.
Toronto’s Campbell House transforms for an immersive theatre experience in A Room of One’s Own
Back at Campbell House for A Room of One’s Own and a taste of 1928 I went, curious to see how my experience of Girton College would differ from my experience of the same historic home as a hand-wavy, Regency-esque haunted house from two weeks ago. Campbell House stood in charmingly for both, and A Room of One’s Own also proved charming.
Upon my arrival, I found fires were crackling, hors d’oeuvres being passed, a (cash) bar for collecting a glass of wine and retiring to the sitting room to enjoy while a cellist played. The cello was a little much for the small room, but the effect was pleasant overall in its sense of leisure.
Funny friendly banter gets personal in Winners and Losers playing at Toronto’s Berkeley Street Theatre
For some people Winners and Losers, which opened at Berkeley Street Theatre last night, will remind them of an evening spent with family or friends debating and arguing a wide range of subjects. In the beginning the topics are innocuous but they get political and then personal as the evening goes on and the need to win asserts itself.
For others the evening will build to a stomach-clenching crescendo of nastiness.
