All posts by Megan Mooney

Megan loves being in the thick of all things theatre, but her ultimate goal is to promote theatre to the world of non-theatre people. It was the same when she was the theatre writer for blogTO, or the Fringe Correspondent for CBC Radio One‘s Here and Now, as it is as the founder of Mooney on Theatre. Her basic belief is that there is theatre/performance out there for everyone to love, they just need to find it. This is not to be confused with the idea that everyone should love theatre for theatre’s sake, in fact, as obsessed as she is with theatre, even *she* doesn’t love all types of theatre.

Mirvish & DanCap Royal Rumble Cage Match!

by Megan Mooney

So, I already have a post about this up at blogTO, so I’m not going to rehash the details here.

The short version, just in case you’re not up to speed on this, is that Mirvish is going to buy the Canon and Panasonic theatres, and DanCap really hates the idea. Hates the idea so much in fact, that they’re taking Mirvish and the company that currently owns the buildings to court.

But I really do want to say that I think this is quite funny to watch. I know that’s probably impolitic, and that I should be coming down on one side of the fence or another on this issue, but the truth is, I kinda don’t care.

Continue reading Mirvish & DanCap Royal Rumble Cage Match! →

CrossCurrents at Factory Theatre

by Megan Mooney

One of the many great things about theatre in Toronto is that come spring there are festivals everywhere. For example, the CrossCurrents festival May 2 – 11, 2008 at Factory Theatre.

CrossCurrents brings forward works of ‘artists of colour’ from across Canada. Artists from visible-minorities are under represented in the theatre world in Canada. Things have improved in the last few years, but there is no denying that the Toronto theatre scene is not a representation of Toronto as a whole. Unlike the theatre scene, Canada and Toronto are filled with a variety of colours, hues and ethnicities. As the artistic producer of the CrossCurrents festival said “The inside of a TTC bus is what Canada is”.

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What's this site about? Toronto theatre – and…

So. Why another theatre site?

Well, it’s a good question. More than anything it’s an experiment.

In my dream world, completely separate from this site, theatre becomes an art form of the masses again. These days, all to often, theatre is seen as an elite art form, something fancy. Dress up in pretty fancy clothes, got to a fancy dinner, and then go to a big production (Les Mis anyone?). It’s not the ‘hey, what do you wanna do tonight’ choice of most folks.

Remember back in the day, back when Shakespeare was actually alive, no, you don’t remember? Okay. Fair enough, I suppose there probably aren’t many folks who remember first hand, but remember what you learned about it? Shakespeare, the man who’s plays now are seen as the most elite of elite theatre, he wrote plays for the masses. The equivalent of movies these days really.

So, that’s what I want back. I want theatre to be available, accessible, considered. I want it to not need to be a big moral lesson or artistic statement, I want it to be an experience people can share without too much pressure.

Continue reading What's this site about? Toronto theatre – and… →