Blithe Spirit is “a playful night” of theatre on stage in Toronto
The Gerrard Art Space is alive with the ghosts of Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit. The show is presented by the newly formed Mortar & Pestle Productions, and was chosen by director Melissa Beveridge “to introduce the company on a playful note.” I enjoyed the opening night performance of this quirky comedy.
This is also the first time the Gerrard Art Space has been used for a theatre presentation. The venue is a small, storefront space that I almost walked by before retracing my steps and walking into the bright room to be greeted by an intimate and eclectic set up. Continue reading Review: Blithe Spirit (Mortar & Pestle)→
Just for a Moment, on stage in Toronto, comes off as “confusing” and “repetitive”
Should we pursue our dreams over those we love? And if we choose our dreams, what type of person does that make us? Things Falling Apart’s Just for a Moment by Tien Providence, playing at the Pia Bouman Theatre, examines the question of dreams, love, sacrifice, and selfishness by reconnecting two people separated by geography and connected by their past.
Unfortunately, Just for a Moment is not as good as it should be, with a strong emotional core and some cracking dialogue. Instead, it’s more like a promising work in progress still mired in structural difficulties.
The documentary is the Maysles brothers’ 1975 film Grey Gardens about mother and daughter, “Big” Edie and “Little” Edie Beales. The Beales are reclusive upper class women, aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy, who live in a deteriorating mansion, Grey Gardens, with many cats, raccoons, and fleas, in East Hampton. They have definitely known better times.
The theme of this week’s budget-friendly theatre spotlight is separated lovers: whether by gruesome death or fatal flaws, all these shows feature pairs of lovers who, for whatever reason, have complicated relationships with the idea of happily ever after. Check ’em out under the cut! Continue reading Cheap Theatre in Toronto the Week of February 22nd→
Contempt, now on the Toronto stage, is “impressive on many levels”
When I heard about the subject matter of Contempt, on now at The Storefront Theatre, I immediately knew I had see it. The premise – a woman hiring someone to have sex with her disabled, virgin, adult son – is one close to the heart of a sex workers’ rights activist like me.
So, once again this week, I went in to a theatre with high hopes. However, given the other representations of sex work I’ve seen in both film and theatre, I was very cautious with my optimism. I was right to be cautious, but I was also very satisfied by the end.
Blithe Spirit is “a playful night” of theatre on stage in Toronto
Toronto’s Acting Up Stage Company presents a superb production of the musical Grey Gardens
Contempt, now on the Toronto stage, is “impressive on many levels”