Here are all of the shows we wish we could get out and see this week! Take your pick from our list of great theatre escapes for the week of July 19, 2010:
** Shows marked with the double asterisks and in red are the ones that make Megan, our editor, wish she could clone herself so she could check them all out.
Continue reading Eye-catching Toronto live theatre for the week of July 19, 2010
By Winston Soon
Eighth Contest Ball
Fri June 25th @ Doors at 10:30pm, $10
Buddies in Bad Times
It’s been many years since I last saw “The B-Girlz”. That was back in kinder days – when aphids took over Toronto, Zelda’s was on Church Street, and the B-Girlz were three Drag Queens with outfits that seemed to serve as an inspiration later for the kids show “The Doodlebops”.
Continue reading The Best of Gowntown
By Mira Saraf
I will never for the life of me remember the correct name for this play (because of the Hollywood Movie). That’s probably intentional, but whatever the situation may be, I called it Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Smile, Eternal Friendship of the Spotless Mind and all variations in between before I actually got it right.
The psychiatric ward based comedy is about two patients who are paired together for treatment purposes (one is violent, the other passive) and who both fall for their new nurse after the old ones dies under mysterious circumstances. There is a peppering of things in between to allow us to learn about the backgrounds of these two individuals.
Continue reading Eternal Friendship with a Spotless Smile – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review
By Mira Saraf
The slip of paper of a program I received as I walked through the doors of the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace contained the usual credits and thank yous, but in addition the definitions of the terms Old Maid and Spinster from the middle ages. This was going to be different from the other shows I’d seen, this much I knew.
Gillespie started the performance wondering why she was always cast as the older single woman or lesbian and spiraled off into questioning why there are so many women choosing to be single.
Continue reading Wanted, If Not Wed – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review
By Mira Saraf
Tightrope is the traditional story of running away to the circus turned backwards – it is about a performer who’s trapped at the circus. She is the daughter of the Ring Mistress and the Lion Tamer and this is our glimpse into her world.
The metaphor of the tightrope is a little bit weak and contrived, and the truly emotional parts of the piece lack a little luster, but overall this is a solid performance. The plot is somewhat more complex than others I’ve seen at Fringe this year.