All posts by George Perry

George has always been passionate about theatre, but didn’t know it. As a young boy he was mesmerized by professional wrestling. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper was an early role model. Shortly thereafter, the explosive histrionics of Pete Townshend would supersede this Canadian icon. George’s attention later turned to American theatre. Jello Biafra became a seminal influence. The “Do It Yourself” ethic was firmly embraced by Perry, and he ventured into the vast repetoire of artists like Paul Westerberg and Steve Albini. As a young adult, he was re-introduced to the works of Townshend. His then girlfriend, Michelle, was hugely impressed by the theatrical production of The Who’s “Tommy”. He meandered through factories, schools, border towns and Michigan for a very long time afterwards. He eventually landed in Toronto. All these influences were brought together in one kettle when George discovered Mooney on Theatre. He understands and personifies that theatre is indeed for everyone. To further this end goal, he contributes.

Review: Dirty Pakistani Lingerie (Masala! Mehndi! Masti!)

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Aizzah Fatima

Dirty Pakistani Lingerie was one of the highlights of the fantastic Masala! Mehndi! Masti! Festival at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre.

Aizzah Fatima plays six Pakistani-American women in her solo performance. The women vary in ages and life stages, but Fatima makes them all believable. She finds common thread between the very different women and cultures.

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Danforth (Black Tea Productions) SummerWorks 2011 Review

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The Danforth is a vibrant Greek neighbourhood in Toronto. Danforth is also the name of a play debuting at SummerWorks, written by Adam Hunter Collier.

Danforth is a “day in the life”, a snapshot of a tightly knit group of friends and family. Most of the characters are young males. As a result, there’s a lot of chest-thumping and locker room humour. There are lots of boys talking about cars too.

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Zugzwang (Pedant Productions) SummerWorks 2011 Review

Zugzwang starts with a blast and hooked me right away. A man gets our attention as he enters from the back of Factory Theatre.  It’s clearly obvious that “it is ON!”

He makes his way to centre stage quickly and becomes even more compelling.  He tells juicy stories about an unlikely subject: chess!

That man turns out to be Simon the Arbiter (Andy Trithardt). He is the ringmaster in this three ring circus. The main act is chess, but others include friendship, girlfriends, dishes, OCD and chain-smoking.  In other words, you don’t have to be a chess geek to enjoy Zugzwang.

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I’ (Pulse Theatre Collective) 2011 SummerWorks Review

The play I’ is like a mass SummerWorks hallucination. It’s the story about a young woman who checks into a small room in Paris to write the World’s Greatest Play. Who doesn’t suffer from that recurring fantasy?

Emmanuelle Zeesman plays Writer. Shortly after being “tucked into” her room by Concierge (Michelle Polak), she meets her idol, I (David Macniven). There’s a bit of a Freudian id, ego and superego relationship between the three.

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Hannah’s Turn (Snap Productions) 2011 SummerWorks Review

Hannah’s Turn explores the relationship of Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger. It’s a typical love story of a teacher and a student. The twist is that Arendt is Jewish and Heidegger is a card-carrying Nazi. The Goeth- Institut and SummerWorks cooperate towards bringing this play to stage.

Arendt (Severn Thompson) was seven years younger than Heidegger (Richard Clarkin). Both are regarded as important philosophers of the 20th Century. Both Thompson and Clarkin are important 21st Century Canadian actors.

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