Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train is a graphic and disturbing deep dive into prison life and faith
Soulpepper Theatre presents Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, a graphic and distressing story of two prison inmates serving time for murder. One has been serving his sentence for years, but his discovery of God helps him find joy in his days. The other is a younger man recently charged and now overwhelmed with desperation and grief as he sees the rest of his sentence lain before him. This is a blistering story of life behind bars on Rikers Island, of racism and police brutality, of a harrowing life of constant struggle.
Standing ovation at Marjorie Prime, now playing in Toronto
Marjorie Prime, Jordan Harrison’s 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist now playing at Coal Mine Theatre, asks us about the limits of our interaction with technology, and how we shape and retain our identities in a world where artificial intelligence can be more reliable than our own memories. Sci-fi trappings aside, director Stewart Arnott’s production is also a wonderfully moving and human drama about the fear of aging and obsolescence, and our inability to let go of the past.
Fortunately, romantic comedy ensues as St. Anne’s works to create a historically accurate production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s work. It’s an elaborate community show that is really very good.
Shows that Caught Our Eye in Toronto for the Week of January 27, 2020
The winter blahs have hit our house pretty hard this past week. Damp, chilly weather will do that. The cure for the kids is to get them out to their activities like dance class(es), or an indoor playground. The cure for my partner and I is to search for good theatre tickets. And luckily this winter, there is a lot of great shows to choose from.
This week it is I – Leanne – who gets to let you know what is in on stage this week that has me excited about heading into the dark cocoon of a theatre. Check out my ‘red‘ listing of shows that caught my eye!
Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train is a graphic and disturbing deep dive into prison life and faith
Standing ovation at Marjorie Prime, now playing in Toronto
