Wayne Leung (1981-2019)
Wayne was the Managing Editor of Mooney on Theatre from 2012 - 2019 and will be sorely missed. His death from an apparent heart attack was a loss not just to Mooney on Theatre, but also to the Toronto Theatre Community at large. You can read our publisher Megan Mooney's tribute to him here here.
Wayne was a writer, editor and corporate communications professional who was thrilled to be a part of the Mooney on Theatre team. Wayne loved theatre ever since his aunt brought him to a production of Les Misérables at the tender age of ten . . . despite the fact that, at that age, the show’s plot was practically indiscernible and the battle scenes scared the bejeezus out of him. Wayne’s current list of likes ran the gamut from opera, ballet and Shakespeare to Broadway musicals, circus and Fringe theatre. Outside of the theatre Wayne’s interests included travel, technology and food.
Mirvish presents Ayad Akhtar’s provocative, award-winning play Disgraced in Toronto
Yesterday I had an exchange with an acquaintance about the infamous tweet by Black Lives Matter Toronto’s co-founder Yusra Khogali. He was quick to call “reverse racism” after I suggested that his not being a person of colour meant that he didn’t understand the context of Khogali’s tweet. It got heated. Issues like systemic racism and how it has manifested in contemporary power structures are increasingly being discussed, and that’s why a play like Disgraced feels so immediately relevant. It speaks profoundly to the political climate of today. Continue reading Review: Disgraced (Mirvish)→
Toronto’s Canadian Stage presents Lucy Kirkwood’s riveting political thriller Chimerica
Chimerica, a new play by British playwright Lucy Kirkwood, is a densely-packed political thriller set against the backdrop of the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 and China’s subsequent economic ascent vis-à-vis America’s stagnation in the ensuing decades. Chimerica blends history, intrigue and contemporary geopolitics in a compelling mystery story with an eye-poppingly sleek production. Continue reading Review: Chimerica (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre/Canadian Stage)→