Just about a month after fringe, we’re at it again, covering every show at this year’s SummerWorks Festival. This week’s “Caught our Eye” listings consist of some of our writers’ favourite shows so far. Hopefully their recommendations inspire you to get out and catch some shows before the Festival is gone for another year.
George Perry: George’s favourite SummerWorks production so far has been Kaspar & the Sea of Houses. It is a mature play that is provocative play on many levels. It deals with important issues like the meaning of work. Also, Jacklyn Francis is a captivating actor, one of George’s favourites.
Wayne Leung: Wayne Leung’s favourite show of the festival so far is Still Life. It’s about a group of 20-somethings in Toronto coming to terms with a hate-based attack. With a pithy script, superb acting and an interesting structure as a series of flashbacks, the play is a relevant, thoughtful and thought-provoking look at contemporary relationships in the face of homophobia.
Heather Bellingham: Heather Bellingham recommends seeing Malaria Lullaby because it turns the disease experience into an aerial dance that includes robots, mosquitoes and chickens. There’s good music and it will definitely give you something to talk about!
Dorianne Emmerton: Perhaps In A Hundred Years is a delightful, non-linear narrative romp through modern anxiety expressed via 80’s music, interrogations on Marxism and very heartfelt real-life revelations from the performers.
Sonia Borkar: Sonia loved One, a magical show based on the Greek tragedy that speaks of the love between Orpheus and Eurydice. This is a show that combines ballet moves with fabulous acting, gripping sound effects, magical sets and perfect lighting to deliver a visually stunning show.
S. Bear Bergman: is well known to be a sucker for a good storyteller, adored Tommy Taylor’s You Should Have Stayed Home, and honestly can’t imagine that anyone wouldn’t (except for Toronto Special Constable J Milrod).
Winston Soon: Winston Soon had a hard time picking a favourite show this year. Each show seemed better than the next. So rather than picking one, Winston decided to pick the show that is most appropos with the SummerWorks mission statement. SummerWorks claims to be about taking “artistic risks” and no show felt riskier than White Rabbit, Red Rabbit. It is a stage, an actor, and a script that no one in the room has seen. By the end, everyone has taken part in an experiment that feels as unnerving and wrong as the Iranian government that inspired the piece.