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BWW Review: Against the Grain Theatre Champions Accessibility in Their Cozy, Emotional LA BOHÈME
One of the most unique opera experiences in Toronto this year is that of a classic story brought to life in a dive bar. The Tranzac Club's unassuming entry makes it easy to miss if you aren't looking for it, but upon entering the building there's an unshakeable feeling that something special is happ...
BWW Review: See Toronto up close in THE JUNGLE at Tarragon Theatre
THE JUNGLE is a boldly political new play, argumentative and direct and a bit radical. It is also a touchingly honest drama, brimming with humor and pathos. And it is also another category: a Toronto play, a play that is both of and for our beautiful, challenging city. ...
BWW Review: Lush Orchestration and Raunchy Humour Makes for Smooth Sailing in SOMETHING FOR THE BUOYS
Imagine On the Town with a bunch of dick jokes and you'll sort of get a picture of SOMETHING FOR THE BUOYS, a new Canadian musical by Eli Pasic. The show is equal measures charming and raunchy, with a good deal of humour and an excellent - actually, surprisingly, really good - score. Inspired by mus...
BWW Review: IF I COULD #THROWBACK TIME is a Love Letter to the Past and a Stark Reminder of Our Present
It's not unusual for The Second City to take a political angle with their sketch comedy, and their latest revue is no exception. Climate change, racism, sexism and Canada's long history of genocide are all fair gamea?"and in the hands of director Rob Baker and the talented mainstage ensemble, there'...
BWW Review: Carmen Aguirre Breaks Down Her Life Story Through Dance in BROKEN TAILBONE
In Nightswimming's BROKEN TAILBONE, presented by Factory Theatre, playwright and performer Carmen Aguirre does double duty as a dance and history instructor. A traditional seated theatre is swapped for a bare dancefloor, with a handful of chairs against the walls and a bar at the back of the room. P...
BWW Review: GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY Bursts with Emotion in the Hands of a Stellar Cast
Set in Bob Dylan's hometown of Duluth, Minnesota in 1934, writer and director Conor McPherson's GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY is equal parts bleak and beautiful. The busy story centers on the Laine family and their guest house; stressed father and husband Nick (Donald Sage MacKay) is busy caring for h...
BWW Review: Inclusivity raises up a roaring production of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, produced by Hart House theatre and directed by Jennifer Walls, takes everything fans love about the cult classic musical and film and brings it to glorious, vulgar life on stage.
The beloved story opens on the recently engaged Brad (William Mackenzie) and Janet (Katie Miller)...
BWW Review: UN POYO ROJO leaps and teases at Canadian Stage
If UN POYO ROJO is about anything, it is about the ambiguities and duplicities of masculinity - a source of both competition and camaraderie, domination and kinship....
BWW Review: A Solid STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at Soulpepper
Weyni Mengesha's new production of the Tennessee Williams classic is a solid undertaking, a technically precise, error-free interpretation of a story we know well. ...
BWW Review: The Complex Female Relationship in PIAF/DIETRICH Lifts the Show to Stunning Emotional Heights
The names Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich still hold weight decades after their glory days, and Mirvish's production of PIAF/DIETRICH (directed by Gordon Greenberg) makes it easy to understand why. The sheer star power of the two titular women, embodied here by a powerhouse cast and set at major poi...
BWW Review: Fantasy, Thrilling Feats, and a Lovable Clown Couple Usher ALEGRIA Into a New Era
The reimagining of Cirque du Soleil's ALEGRIA: IN A NEW LIGHT features all the spectacle and intrigue that the company is famous for, with a few updates that are sure to win over the hearts of even the most hardcore fans of its original staging. This time around, the story of balance and harmony dra...
BWW Review: Complex Themes and Sharp Dialogue Make for a Cutting Production of KNIVES IN HENS
The examination of existence, language, and self is nothing new within the walls of a theatre, but KNIVES IN HENS manages to expand on all these themes a?" and then some a?" using straightforward and highly effective text in this new production of the 1995 David Harrower play....
BWW Review: Follow the Dark Winding Path to YAGA at Tarragon Theatre
Kat Sandler's new play, YAGA, is breezy and dark; goofy and mournful; bleak, gothic, shadowy, and really damn funny....
BWW Review: THE BAND'S VISIT is a Quiet, Gorgeous Study of Human Connection
The premise is simple: it's the 90s and the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra is travelling from Egypt to Petah Tikva to perform in a concert. Due to a language barrier, they end up in the tiny desert town of Bet Hatikva with little money, no hotel to check into, and a full day's wait until the...
BWW Review: NO FOREIGNERS examines culture and identity from within a fantastical Chinese mall
A shopping mall is an ambitious setting for a play, and a Chinese mall perhaps even more so given the cultural significance they have for their communities. NO FOREIGNERS attempts (and does well) to weave between lore, existentialism, comedy, and myth, revealing the struggle many people face when tr...
Review: Positive Thinking and Difficult Choices in Canadian Stage's THE BOOK OF LIFE
Odile Gakire (Kiki) Katese, the Rwandan humanitarian and artist, has brought her voice and wisdom to the Canadian Stage Company this autumn in THE BOOK OF LIFE. Brimming with insight and charm, THE BOOK OF LIFE is also a difficult and provocative piece of political theatre that test the limits of id...
BWW Review: AMERICAN SON's urgency and powerhouse cast make the best of this stage-to-screen transition
AMERICAN SON is the most recent Broadway-based story to be reimagined for film, but what makes it particularly special is the fact play's original cast reprise their roles, allowing audiences the chance to take in the timely story and gripping performances from the comfort of their homes. Adapted fr...
BWW Review: Emotion, autonomy and passion reign in Soulpepper's BETRAYAL
Considered one of Pinter's most popular works, BETRAYAL tells the story of an affair in reverse. Directed by Andrea Donaldson, this Soulpepper production remains set in the 1970s a?" the same era it was written in a?" and is a gripping thriller centered around human emotion and autonomy....
BWW Review: THE LADYKILLERS Only Mildly Amuses at Shaw Festival
The Shaw has once again programmed a play known by few. After their success at rediscovering Mae West's SEX this season, I was hoping that THE LADYKILLERS would produce yet another unearthed gem. This comedy, mostly unknown outside of the UK, was briefly revived on the West End in 2011,but it's ...
BWW Review: Friendship And Artistic Philosophies Collide And Charm in ART
In Soulpepper's production of the 1998 Best Play Tony winner ART, written by Yasmina Reza and directed here by Philip Akin, the friendship of three friends is put to the test after one dives into the world of modernism with an expensive purchase....
BWW Review: SAFE AND SORRY is a Funny, Frightening Examination of Dating and Pick-up Artists
The internet today is like a modern-day wild west, with billions of people constantly connected to each other through their phones and computers. For those familiar with online communities, there are a few rules that are followed to keep one's self sane: don't look yourself up, and don't read people...
BWW Review: CHILD-ISH Uses Children's Words To Create Funny, Moving Conversations On Love
Sometimes you need a reminder that children are wise beyond their years, and CHILD-ISH is a stellar example of just how much kids learn from watching the world around them. Written by Sunny Drake alongside the CHILD-ISH Collective and directed by Alan Dilworth, the production is currently a work in ...
BWW Review: History, Music And Emotion Collide in AUDIBLE SONGS FROM ROCKWOOD
Simone Schmidt's AUDIBLE SONGS FROM ROCKWOOD receives its first staging for theatre at this years' SummerWorks festival. The song-cycle is based on the album of the same title by Schmidt's band Fiver and explores the cases of several people who were incarcerated at the Rockwood Asylum for the Crimin...
BWW Review: WAH WAH WAH Is A Necessary And Dynamic Exploration Of Harassment And Trauma
The theatre has been used before as a medium to explore and discuss what harassment is and how it affects its victims. As part of the SummerWorks programming, and presented in partnership with Paprika Festival, WAH WAH WAH is a new perspective on the subject that offers one woman's experiences throu...
BWW Review: For an Evening of Scheming, Slapstick and 1950s Slang, Look No Further Than FALSE CLAIMS
What's a little insurance fraud among family? At the hands of writer Eli Pasic, it leads to 90 minutes of laughter and plenty of drama. Produced by Isaiah Kolundzic and Emily Dix, FALSE CLAIMS is a two-hour whirlwind of slapstick action, shocking twists, and witty comebacks that shows just how messy...
Videos
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Moonstruck Comedy Bar (10/09-10/30) |
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Gershwin, Porter n Me: Vancouver Vocalist, NYC Pianist, Toronto Rhythm Section - June 6th Waterloo The Jazz Room (6/06-6/06) |
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A Beautiful Noise Princess of Wales Theatre (4/28-6/07) |
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Matilda - Closing Night - Maggots BNZ Theatre (7/05-7/05) |
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Left of Centre Fest. Harmony United Church Hall (8/14-8/16) |
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Talangor (Trigger) Meridian Arts Centre: Greenwin Theatre (6/21-6/21) |
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Matilda - Maggots BNZ Theatre (6/28-7/04) |
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887 - Ex Machine / Robert Lepage The Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres (12/10-12/13) |
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bol, brown boy, bol Aki Studio (5/20-5/24) |
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The 70 Mile Yard Sale Theatre Orangeville (5/24-5/24) |
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