Reviews of productions based in Toronto – theatre includes traditional definitions of theatre, as well as dance, opera, comedy, performance art, spoken word performances, and more. Productions may be in-person, or remote productions streamed online on the Internet.
Late-night overthinking and intrusive thoughts… Google rabbit holes of illnesses you do not have… Insomniac, produced by Blue Glass Theatre, playing on-demand at the 2021 Virtual Toronto Fringe Festival, follows one woman’s late-night rants about her trouble sleeping and the contrasting and often unhelpful sleep aid advice found on the internet, like don’t look at your phone but use this sleep app! Or, make a cup of herbal tea, but avoid any bright lights at night… How is one to do so when pouring scalding hot water?!
Dance of Torn Papers, produced by Nowadays Theatre, is a 360˚ experience of two short works by playwright and director Mohammad Yaghoubi, playing on-demand at the virtual 2021 Toronto Fringe Festival. The double bill is a combined 30 minutes, with two different video options of watching in either English or Farsi, or with subtitles of each language for either video.
The 360˚ VR experience gives audiences the ability to be in the room, to choose where they want to look with the direction of the mouse, making you intimately a part of the experience. Past virtual reality shows I’ve seen leave the camera in one spot, but in this work, the actors move the camera with them to different places in the room, creating an even more lifelike ambience to the performance.
bloodrite (Other He/Arts) takes on the history of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, one of history’s most notorious serial killers who reportedly enjoyed torturing young girls and drinking their blood in the 1500s. Over the years, Báthory has served as the inspiration for many a vampire tale. Hers was a gruesome and bloody life, one that we often remember with a blurring of history with horror-fantasy (while Báthory was arrested for these crimes, for example, claims that she bathed in blood seem to have been exaggerated). As such, it’s fascinating material for adaptation. Continue reading bloodrite (Other He/Arts) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review→
The Death and then Life of Douglass Perish (playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival) is a goofy absurdist play that is more wry smiles than belly laughs. The plot is simple: After being told by his doctor that he has been dead for three weeks, Douglass Perish returns home to his wife, Lilian, and his best friend, Glenn, to break the news. Undeterred by the fact that Douglass is still walking among them, Lilian and Glenn plan Douglass’ funeral and begin to move on.
Asylum, produced by New Story Productions, is playing on-demand at the virtual 2021 Toronto Fringe Festival. The punchy theatre-dance work is only seven minutes in length. It follows Amir (played by Armon Ghaeinizadeh) in his process of applying for asylum in Canada. Amir first left Iran precariously on a school visa to join a dance program in Canada. This piece focuses on the middle ground of first leaving Iran and the possibility of being forced to go back to a culture that has a long and complex history with dancing, and where anything outside of heterosexual marriage is punishable by law.
