Theatre Reviews

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

Review: Savage In Limbo (Bob Kills Theatre)

Bob Kills Theatre’s Savage in Limbo is a heartbreaking story set in a Cheers-esque bar playing at Toronto’s The Downstage

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The opening night of Savage in Limbo at The Downstage began without announcement. The audience was still tittering with quiet conversation when a head slowly rose from behind the stage bar. The bartender (Murk) stared straight ahead with wild eyes. I was right in his line of vision and began to wonder if I was lost in a very twisted episode of Cheers.

And in a way, Savage in Limbo is an odd version of the beloved bar-based sitcom. All the patrons know or know of each other. They confess personal stories and exchange banter. There is even the constant presence of laughter, without the painful requirement of a laugh-track. Even the tagline is reminiscent of a joke: “A virgin, a failed nun and an over-ripe Italian walk into a bar…”.

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Review: The Brady Project (Heidi Mole Productions)

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Heidi Mole’s The Brady Project is a hilarious comparison between her life and the beloved TV series, playing at Toronto’s Flying Beaver Pubaret

I’m not exactly sure what to call The Brady Project – it’s part Power Point presentation, part Trampoline Hall lecture and all fun.

Heidi Mole steps on the tiny stage at the Flying Beaver Pubaret dressed in a green cardigan and high, thick-collared button-up shirt, choices totally characteristic of the Brady Bunch‘s era.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Brady Bunch, America’s most beloved blended TV family from the 1970s, Heidi Mole wastes no time introducing them to the audience by playing the iconic theme song. Continue reading Review: The Brady Project (Heidi Mole Productions)

Review: Puppet Up! Uncensored (WestBeth Entertainment and Henson Alternative / Mirvish)

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Mirvish presents the hilarious improvisational adult puppet show Puppet Up! Uncensored at Toronto’s Panasonic Theatre

I have a fascination with puppets, and I think it’s pretty safe to say that fascination started with Jim Henson’s work. Although, I don’t think I could narrow down whether it was from Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock or The Muppet Show. When I heard Mirvish was presenting a show created by Brian Henson (Jim Henson’s son) and Patrick Bristow called Puppet Up! Uncensored, I was pretty excited.

I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I freakin’ loved it. My face actually hurt at the end from laughing and grinning so much.

Continue reading Review: Puppet Up! Uncensored (WestBeth Entertainment and Henson Alternative / Mirvish)

Review: Yukonstyle (Canadian Stage/York U Theatre Department)

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Harsh Yukon winters clash with the lives of three young people in Canadian Stage’s Yukonstyle playing at Toronto’s Berkeley Street Theatre

Yukonstyle is the second play by emerging Quebec playwright Sarah Berthiaume to be produced at Canadian Stage this season. It’s a show that seeks to override our impulse to define what being “Canadian” means, through the lens of three young people surviving as best they can through an unforgiving Yukon winter.

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Review: De Colores Festival of New Works (Alameda Theatre Company)

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Toronto’s Alameda Theatre Company’s 2013 De Colores Festival of New Works is a celebration of Latin theatre in Canada showcasing new works in development

For the first time I found myself at Theatre Direct Studios for Alameda Theatre Company’s 2013 De Colores Festival of New Works. The space, for anyone else who hasn’t been there, is a beautiful cozy theatre in the Wychwood Barns, well suited for the intimacy of the evenings’ readings.

De Colores Festival is dedicated to providing a safe place for Latin American Canadian writers to develop new works. Each night of the festival a new script or two are read along with a short work by the Nueva Voz Youth Ensemble. On Thursday, Have You Lost Something? by Flavia Hevia, and Solaz by Jefferson Guzman were presented.

Continue reading Review: De Colores Festival of New Works (Alameda Theatre Company)