Toronto’s Soulpepper presents the avant-garde theatre piece Cage as part of its new Solo Series

Every time I go to an art gallery, there’s always the weird room. You know the one I’m talking about: the dark room with black and white projections, noise music or static playing over the speakers. It’s the room that you walk into and think “what the hell is this?” but you feign interest if you’re on a date.

Cage is being put on by Soulpepper at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts until March 25th. To me, it was a lot like the weird room at the art gallery, only instead of leaving after a few minutes, I watched it for an hour. I’m glad I did though; because regardless of my personal preferences going into it, I concede that this is a challenging piece that delicately toes the line between theatre and performance art. Continue reading Review: Cage (Soulpepper) →

Einstein and Picasso walk into a bar… cozy, funny theatre ensues on Toronto stages

Picasso and Einstein meet in a bar in 1904. It sounds like the setup for a joke, but in the case of Picasso at the Lapin Agile it’s the setup for many jokes in this one-act comedy by none other than Steve Martin. Picasso at the Lapin Agile is being put on by the East Side Players at the Papermill Theatre (67 Pottery Rd.) until Mar 11, 2017.

This is a charming little play, often put on by community theatre troupes like the East Side Players. This production got plenty of laughs, and gave each of it’s actors some time to shine. I really appreciated it for what it was, and it’s clear that a lot of effort went into this show.

Continue reading Review: Picasso at the Lapin Agile (East Side Players) →

George Brown showcases promising talent on stage in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

If you’re in need of some Shakespeare, then you can get your fix in the distillery district this month. The George Brown School of Performing Arts is putting on a double feature of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It at The Young  Centre for the Performing Arts.

This is strictly a review of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. When I first saw the posting, I naively assumed that it was some sort of mashup, selection of scenes, or drastically cut versions being performed together. This isn’t the case: if you go on a given night you’ll be seeing one or the other, and in my case it was Midsummer. Continue reading Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (George Brown Theatre) →

Plainstage Theatre Company presents a play examining WASP culture, on stage in Toronto

If you’re in the mood to see a Gilmore Girls-esque series of scenes deconstructing WASP culture, then head out to the Plainstage Theatre Company‘s The Dining Room, playing at The Box Theatre this weekend (January 13-15, 2017).

The Plainstage Theatre Company aims to rehearse and mount shows in a very short time frame. The idea being that this gives artists experience and stage-time without cutting into their professional and personal lives, something that even community theatre is guilty of doing. I love this idea and would absolutely recommend friends to get involved and even consider doing so myself. Continue reading Review: The Dining Room (Plainstage Theatre Company) →

What The Elf is an engaged, kid-friendly comedy for the holiday season in Toronto

The winter holidays are almost here, and if you’re looking for something to do with your young kids, you will probably enjoy What the Elf, being put on by The Second City in their Mainstage theatre (51 Mercer St).

As someone with a love for comedy who has always wanted to try performing in children’s theatre, What the Elf seemed like the perfect show for me to check out. I brought my 12 year old sister to this production (aimed at ages 4-12), figuring it’d be fine that she’s at the top of the age range, but was surprised to see that she was definitely the oldest kid there.

Continue reading Review: What the Elf (Second City) →