All posts by Wayne Leung

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.

HYPER_ (Freya Olafson) 2015 SummerWorks Review

Hyper_

Upon entering the theatre, the volunteer in the yellow shirt hands me a pair of 3D glasses; it’s the first time I’ve needed them for a live theatre show. That was the first of many surprises in HYPER_, a show that blends dance and interactive multimedia elements, performed and created by Winnipeg-based artist Freya Björg Olafson and presented in Toronto as part of the SummerWorks Festival

Continue reading HYPER_ (Freya Olafson) 2015 SummerWorks Review →

Tough Guy Mountain: a play (Tough Guy Mountain) 2015 SummerWorks Review

19537092390_cb5f82defb_zThe unpaid internship is a rite of passage for many early 20-something recent grads with a certain level of affluence. I’ve done my fair share of them. But for a bright-eyed grad, being thrust into the working world is often an alienating experience. Writer/director Iain Soder explores this alienation in Tough Guy Mountain presented in Toronto as part of the SummerWorks Festival

Continue reading Tough Guy Mountain: a play (Tough Guy Mountain) 2015 SummerWorks Review →

That Synching Feeling (Outside the March) 2015 SummerWorks Review

Promotional image for That Synching FeelingOutside the March’s That Synching Feeling, playing in Toronto as part of the SummerWorks Festival, explores the paradox of the Information Age: through digital communications technology we’re now more connected to other people than ever before in the history of humankind and yet we’re increasingly isolated and alone.

However, being alone is not the same as being lonely… Continue reading That Synching Feeling (Outside the March) 2015 SummerWorks Review →

Review: Betroffenheit (Kidd Pivot/Electric Company Theatre/Canadian Stage/PANAMANIA)

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Photo of dancers from Betroffenheit playing at the Bluma Appel TheatrePANAMANIA presents Betroffenheit, a hybrid of dance and theatre in Toronto

Betroffenheit makes its premiere in Toronto as part of PANAMANIA, the 35-day arts and culture festival presented as part of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. A collaboration between choreographer Crystal Pite and playwright Jonathon Young, the dance/theatre hybrid is created around the theme of trauma and loss. While the subject is weighty the execution is stunning. Continue reading Review: Betroffenheit (Kidd Pivot/Electric Company Theatre/Canadian Stage/PANAMANIA) →

Review: The Postman (Appledore Productions/PANAMANIA)

ThePostmanPANAMANIA presents The Postman, a site-specific play about Toronto’s first Black postman

History comes alive on the porches of a Toronto neighbourhood in The Postman, a beautifully-executed site-specific play about Albert Jackson, the first African-Canadian letter carrier. It’s performed as part of PANAMANIA, the arts and culture festival presented in conjunction with the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. Continue reading Review: The Postman (Appledore Productions/PANAMANIA) →