Apart from his (pathological?) obsession with airplane disasters, Istvan is a filmmaker and film enthusiast, but began his creative adventures in theatre. Starting out as an actor, he soon discovered a preference for life behind-the-scenes. He has experience in lighting design, stage management and production management, but his passion is writing and directing. With several short films and an indie feature under his belt, film has been his focus in recent years, but theatre has been calling him back. You see more of his critical writing at his film reflection blog: http://captiveviscera.wordpress.com/
Winnie the Pooh meets Edgar Allan Poe in The House at Poe Corner playing at Red Sand Castle Theatre in Toronto
I went to the Red Sandcastle Theatre to see Eric Woolfe and Michael O’Brien’s workshop production of The House at Poe Corner. When I came out again, I was at loss for words. What exactly had I just seen? And what the heck was I going to say about it?
Dark sensuality and rock n’ roll light up Sterling Studio Theatre for Cowboy Mouth in Toronto
I’ve grown so attached to the Sterling Studio Theatre that I often feel a pang of jealousy whenever someone else is assigned to cover a show. As is right and proper (ahem), I was able to see the opening of Rhízōma Productions’ Cowboy Mouth. With a beer in my hand, snuggled up against the exposed brick of the venue, I enjoyed my fifth show at this intimate space.
As an introduction to the play, and in support of local indie musicians, the evening begins with an opening act—a new one featured for each performance. Last night, I was treated to an acoustic guitar set by JJ Thompson. It was an enjoyable mix of covers and original work, and a thematically perfect prelude to Sam Shepard and Patti Smith’s raunchy one-act about two dysfunctional rock n’ rollers—Slim and Cavale. Continue reading Review: Cowboy Mouth (Rhízōma Productions/Sterling Studio Theatre)→
An all-female cast lead this new version of Lord of the Flies at Toronto’s Annex Theatre
Most of us probably remember sitting in English class, picking apart William Golding’s allegorical novel Lord of the Flies. For me, it was the first time I consciously realized (in a thinky-thinky way) just how complex stories can be.
A woman comes to terms with her dying mother in The Carousel at Toronto’s Berkeley Street Theatre
Theatre is such an intense and fleeting phenomenon. It is pure magic when that cynical rug is pulled out from under us and we topple, heart first, into someone’s life. Such was my experience of Nightwood Theatre’s production of The Carousel, currently playing at the Berkeley Street Theatre Downstairs.
An unnamed woman stays at the bedside of her dying mother. Sitting there, she shares with us a journey through her past, reflecting upon the behavioral patterns that echo through generations. Continue reading Review: The Carousel (Nightwood Theatre)→
Exceptionally crafted performances light up the stage in The Seagull at Toronto’s Berkeley Theatre
For their production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, the Chekhov Collective has utilized the Chekhov Technique. (Phew! Three “Chekhovs” in one sentence!) What the technique boils down to this: in-depth awareness of body and psychology, forging them into tools to bring characters to life.
This, you can imagine, takes a great deal of time. Those Russian masters would work on theatrical productions for years before presenting them to audiences. Keeping this tradition alive, the Chekhov Collective’s production is a carefully wrought gem. After a year of preparation, the fruits of their labour now grace the stage at the Berkeley Street Theatre. Continue reading Review: The Seagull (The Chekhov Collective)→
