Soulpepper

[canmark]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 2:53pm

Couldn't find a generic Soulpepper thread, so I'm starting one.

Saw the first preview performance of Entertaining Mr. Sloane. This is the third Orton play Soulpepper has produced (following his more famous farces, Loot and What the Butler Saw), and my favorite play of the three.

This black comedy revolves around a middle aged sister (Kath) and brother (Ed) barely containing their lust for an amoral young man (Sloane) with a violent past. With hints of Pinter and Wilde, this first play of Orton's unleashed his unique talent for flaunting the primal urges hidden behind propriety.

Liked the in-the-round staging (by director Brendan Healy) and solid performances, particularly Fiona Reid as the batty Kath, a woman both sympathetic and pathetic.

http://www.soulpepper.ca/performances/13_season/entertaining_mr_sloane.aspx

Updated On: 7/6/13 at 02:53 PM

[canmark]

Posted: 7/19/13 at 5:55pm

The Grid has an article on the design of the angel's wings for Soulpepper's production of Angels in America:
http://www.thegridto.com/culture/arts/wings-and-a-prayer/

[canmark]

Posted: 8/5/13 at 6:25pm

Soulpepper's production of Angels in America has received some positive reviews, but I was a bit underwhelmed myself. I've only seen part 1 so far, and found it to be competent and satisfactory. But I would have liked to have seen the performances ratcheted up a notch and the theatricality heightened (although I did like the arrival of the angel at the end of Millennium Approaches). The words, of course, are excellent, and the characters compelling, so it's worth it just for that.

Globe (3.5/4 stars): Soulpepper revival finds greatness in Angels
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/theatre-reviews/soulpepper-revival-finds-greatness-in-angels/article13575495/

NOW (4 stars): Angels In America’s rich canvas offers a compellingly theatrical look at troubled characters whose lives are inextricably intertwined
http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/story.cfm?content=193814

[canmark]

Posted: 10/27/14 at 9:42pm

I was looking at the Soulpepper website and there were no shows listed for 2015. What’s the deal?

[canmark]

Posted: 11/4/14 at 2:41pm

2015 Season:

http://www.soulpepper.ca/performances.aspx#season_15

[sabrelady]

Posted: 11/4/14 at 8:46pm

Soulpepper Theatre Company has announced its 2015 season, an expansive program featuring 11 mainstage shows, a studio series, partner presentations and an expanded concert series.
New productions include Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist; A.R. Gurney’s The Dining Room; Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn; The Dybbuk by S. Ansky in a new adaptation by Anton Piatigorsky; Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice; Happy Place by Pamela Sinha and a new translation of Michel Tremblay’s À Toi, Pour Toujours, Ta Marie-Lou by Linda Gaboriau. Perhaps the most eagerly awaited new production is a full-scale presentation, directed by Albert Schultz, of Peter Weiss’s powerful political work usually known as Marat/Sade. Revivals will include Of Human Bondage, Spoon River and The Play’s the Thing. The studio series features Ins Choi’s first new work since Kim’s Convenience, Subway Stations of the Cross, and Kenneth Welsh’s rendition of The Gospel According to Mark. Go to soulpepper.ca for more information. Richard Ouzounian

[canmark]

Posted: 12/9/14 at 2:10pm

Saw the return of Kim’s Convenience to Soulpepper on the weekend. The show was the same as I had seen in its initial run two years ago. What was different, though, was the audience. When I first saw it (on a weekday evening performance) the audience was largely East Asian – presumably Korean – and largely under 40. This time (on a Saturday matinee performance) the audience was largely white, but quite diverse in age – from the older theatre-going types to families with children. The laughs were not as big with the latter audience, but I think they still appreciated the play.