Ilana Lucas has been a big theatre nerd since witnessing a fateful Gilbert and Sullivan production at the age of seven. She has studied theatre for most of her life, holds a BA in English and Theatre from Princeton and an MFA in Dramaturgy and Script Development from Columbia, and is currently a professor of English and Theatre at Centennial College. She believes that theatre has a unique ability to foster connection, empathy and joy, and has a deep love of the playfulness of the written word. Her favourite theatrical experience was the nine-hour, all-day Broadway performance of The Norman Conquests, which made fast friends of an audience of strangers.
Well-Born tackles the anxieties of pregnancy, now playing in Toronto
Even those of us who have never had children are acutely aware that pregnancy is difficult. It’s never all Facebook “likes” and warm, familial love; it’s hard work, fear, and even despair at times. This is particularly true in the face of the unknown: before everything is okay, all manner of things might happen. The more unknowns, the worse the fear, particularly with a missing family health history and inconclusive but worrying test results. It’s no wonder there’s a tendency to Google oneself into oblivion.
This is the premise behind Well-Born, a new play by Celeste Percy-Beauregard, presented by SoCo Theatre in association with Truth’n’Lies Theatre at Artscape Youngplace. The play is raw and frantic, sometimes very funny and sometimes deeply unsettling, much like the process of pregnancy itself.
“Searing” play, Dalton and Company, takes on universal issues, now on stage in Toronto
What is the sound of one office door slamming? It’s a sound you’ll hear a lot in Dalton and Company, Paul Dunn’s gripping new play about the loneliness of academia and office politics, presented by Cart/Horse Theatre at The Theatre Centre.
Fun and “entertaining” tap play takes to the stage in Toronto
Stepping Out, Richard Harris’ 1984 play currently running at the Alumnae Theatre, is what I’d call a “hangout” play. It’s low-stakes, with only mild conflict and very little resolution. Its charm, much like a sitcom, lies in spending time with a group of people over the course of a year or so, told in vignettes from a slowly-progressing amateur tap class attempting to work towards an actual performance. This means the play lives or dies based on how invested you are in the characters and their relationships, and the snappiness of the dialogue. The script’s a bit hoary, but overall it’s fun to step in and hang out for a while. Continue reading Review: Stepping Out (Alumnae Theatre)→
Century Song is a unique experience, on stage now in Toronto
There are no words.
Referring to Volcano Theatre‘s Century Song, now playing as part of the Progress Festival at The Theatre Centre, I mean this literally. Other than a few disparate syllables, the piece, a “music recital” study of ephemeral aspects of the Black Canadian experience over the past century, is completely wordless.
Red Light Winter, on stage at Unit 102 in Toronto, features engaging writing, strong performances
Red Light Winter, a play by Adam Rapp that was shortlisted for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Drama (no prize was awarded that year), gets a powerful, stylish and heartfelt Toronto production at Unit 102, directed by Anne Van Leeuwen. The show features engaging writing and strong, even outstanding performances. It also sometimes mistakes bleakness for depth.
Well-Born tackles the anxieties of pregnancy, now playing in Toronto
“Searing” play, Dalton and Company, takes on universal issues, now on stage in Toronto
Fun and “entertaining” tap play takes to the stage in Toronto
Century Song is a unique experience, on stage now in Toronto