I was not sure exactly when One Small Thing, by Mairéad Filgate playing at the 2016 SummerWorks Festival, began. The theme of this movement piece was discovering artistry in mundane movement. As the audience sat on benches that surround an urban park on Queen West, the team of performers strode purposefully across the square. Other passers-by used the space as well, walking their dogs and going about their business, unaware or unsure that a performance was taking place. Continue reading Broken Lines/One Small Thing (Nova Bhattacharya/Mairéad Filgate) 2016 SummerWorks Review →

Osia, written by Jijo Quayson and playing as part of the 2016 SummerWorks Festival, was intense, disturbing, and riveting. At times I wanted to look away, but couldn’t. The play requires you to sit with your discomfort. Osia tells the story of a struggling Ghanaian family that loses its way, badly. Osia is a sweet, fresh-faced little girl, who in the face of her family’s despair, suffers something inexcusable. The role is played by an adult, because it would be totally inappropriate for a child to undertake this role. Continue reading Osia (Jijo Quayson) 2016 Summerworks Review →

Sara Does a Solo is a contemporary one-woman-show dance by Sarah Porter. While movement is the focus of the performance, Porter demands a triple-threat performance of herself, and delivers. Dance routines are entwined with confessional monologues, which are often enhanced with the performance of song excerpts. Most of the routines were accompanied by music, ranging from Mary Margaret O’Hara to Chopin. An early routine is accompanied by a monologue, and the opening movement is unaccompanied. Continue reading Sara Does a Solo (Sara Porter) 2016 Summerworks Review →

Imaginary Anthropologies is a theatrical encounter at the intersections of sound art and video installation that cunningly evokes amusement and discomfort on themes of cultural domination, exoticization, and cultural appropriation. The performance explores the versatility and power of the human voice, and how culture and ethnicity impacts our use and perception of vocalizations. Continue reading Imaginary Anthropologies (Gabriel Dharmoo) 2016 Summerworks Review →