Produced by Human Burrito Productions, Decaying Tongue playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival is touching in its honesty, interesting through specific cultural details, and compelling with its ingenious structure and staging. It is inspired by the real-life search for self of Kaho Koda, the Japanese-born and, for eight years now, Canadian resident playwright and director of the show. Continue reading Decaying Tongue (Human Burrito Productions) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review
Comedy is hard work and the final year students of the Randolph College for the Performing Arts take it very seriously under the direction of Matthew Walker. In King Stag by Carlo Gozzi (translated by Albert Bermel and Ted Emery), playing now at the Toronto Fringe Festival, the timing, character work, and gags are impeccable and fully entertaining.
Continue reading King Stag (Randolph College) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review
Anesti Danelis: Six Frets Under, a site-specific one-man musical comedy show presented by Danelis at the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival at the Tranzac Club Tiki Room, returns the singer-songwriter to the stage after 2017’s hit, Songs For A New World Order. Danelis, wryly noting that he was competing with a raucous punk show in the bar’s main space — thankfully, this stopped soon after he began — also informs us that he’s not tweeting with the gadget in front of him, but running his own tech because nobody would help him. Luckily, he seems easily capable of doing it all himself.
A whirlwind of self-deprecating and absurd musical humour, Six Frets Under is an endearing, hilarious tour through the strange corners of Danelis’ mind. Danelis is curious about a lot of things, and, by his own admission, has said a lot of stupid stuff in his time. These qualities have become fodder for catchy tunes that had the audience howling. His stated goal is to leave us all with “a little less existential dread,” and I think he succeeded.
Continue reading Anesti Danelis: Six Frets Under (Anesti Danelis) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review
Fourth Gorgon Theatre has executed a soul stirring, sublime production of Molly Bloom, now playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival.
Continue reading Molly Bloom (Fourth Gorgon Theatre) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review
Toronto Fringe Festival presents Boys Don’t Cry at the Robert Gill Theatre. Award-winning young songwriter Mateo Lewis explores his complicated relationship with gender and romance in this semi-autobiographical musical coming-of-age story.
Continue reading Boys Don’t Cry (Basement Productions) 2019 Toronto Fringe Review