Review: Broken Branches (CreateTruth Productions and Workman Arts)

Photo of Sarah Kitz and Rebecca Applebaum

Broken Branches creates  space for a discussion about sibling abuse.

I think, sometimes, it is difficult to put the truth on-stage because the nature of entertainment confines it to like and dislike.

CreateTruth Productions’  Broken Branches, in association with Workman Arts, playing at the Aki Studio bring the topic of sibling abuse to the forefront. But the heart of the story is buried under its need to speak honestly, and to not sugar-coat it’s complexities.

Continue reading Review: Broken Branches (CreateTruth Productions and Workman Arts)

Review: Yaga (Tarragon)

Photo of Claire Armstrong, Will Greenblatt, and Seana McKenna in Yaga by Cylla von Tiedemann

Yaga is a 3-dimensional exploration of myth as a cyclical being that lives forever.

We are steeped in a culture that tends to categorize women in one of three ways: the sexy young ingénue, the nurturing mother, and the invisible crone. The last category can be frustrating, but also very freeing: once a woman is no longer seen to be consumable, she can finally begin to consume. Kat Sandler’s Yaga, now playing at Tarragon Theatre, takes the Slavic legend of Baba Yaga and turns it into a supernatural small-town detective story, with delightful results.

Continue reading Review: Yaga (Tarragon)

Review: No Foreigners (Hong Kong Exile and fu-Gen Theatre Production)

photo silouette of 2 artist mannequins advertising No Foreigners playing at The Theatre Centre Toronto

“No Foreigners” is an innovative work with a beautiful dreamlike quality.

No Foreigners could be the exemplar for theatre collaboration; presented by The Theatre Centre, it’s a Hong Kong Exile and fu-GEN Theatre Production created by Natalie Tin Yin Gan, Milton Lim, Remy Siu and David Yee with April Leung and Derek Chan credited as co-creators.

The multimedia performance is set in a Chinese mall – like the Pacific Mall – and is a series of vignettes that are made by projecting small models through cameras onto a large screen. The dialogue is in Cantonese and English with English text at the top of the screen. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen before.

Continue reading Review: No Foreigners (Hong Kong Exile and fu-Gen Theatre Production)

Review: The Stranger 2.0 Above (DopoLavoro Teatrale)

The Stranger 2.0 is interactive and immersive mystery theatre for an audience of two

DopoLavoro Teatrale invites you to explore the unknown in The Stranger 2.0, a live theatre experience designed for an audience of two. Much about this adventure remains unknown, right down to the venue which is not announced to the participants until the day before. The joy and intrigue of this experience come down to your willingness to let go and be lead as far down as the rabbit hole will go.

Continue reading Review: The Stranger 2.0 Above (DopoLavoro Teatrale)