Talk Like You Theatre's IN THIS HOUSE, premiering at the Rendezvous With Madness Festival, explores the lives of four 20-something roommates living downtown. The house is old and owned by the introverted Minka (Ciana Henderson), who received it from her grandparents, but the cost of living leads her... (more...)
The Canadian Opera Company's RUSALKA utilizes Lyric Opera's 2014 production under the direction of Sir David McVicar, making his COC debut. This retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid' draws on a more sinister angle of the folk tale than what most people might know, utilizing com... (more...)
Set in one of the last American cinemas with a 35mm projection system, THE FLICK examines the lives of three employees who are struggling with romantic relationships, finances, family, and themselves. It's a bleak look at life that suggests some interesting perspectives, although a lengthy runtime m... (more...)
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... (more...)
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... (more...)
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. ... (more...)
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'... (more...)
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... (more...)
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... (more...)
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)... (more...)
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.... (more...)
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. ... (more...)
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.... (more...)
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... (more...)
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... (more...)
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... (more...)
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... (more...)
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... (more...)
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... (more...)
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.... (more...)
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 ... (more...)
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.... (more...)
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... (more...)
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 ... (more...)
BWW Review: IN THIS HOUSE Is An Honest Take On Millennials And Mental Health
BWW Review: RUSALKA is a Shining Example of a Dark Fairy-Tale Opera Done Right
BWW Review: THE FLICK Explores The Anxieties And Issues Of Working-Class Young Adults
BWW Review: Against the Grain Theatre Champions Accessibility in Their Cozy, Emotional LA BOHÈME
BWW Review: Lush Orchestration and Raunchy Humour Makes for Smooth Sailing in SOMETHING FOR THE BUOYS
BWW Review: See Toronto up close in THE JUNGLE at Tarragon Theatre
BWW Review: IF I COULD #THROWBACK TIME is a Love Letter to the Past and a Stark Reminder of Our Present
BWW Review: GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY Bursts with
Emotion in the Hands of a Stellar Cast
BWW Review: Carmen Aguirre Breaks Down Her Life Story Through Dance in BROKEN TAILBONE
BWW Review: Inclusivity raises up a roaring production of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW
BWW Review: UN POYO ROJO leaps and teases at Canadian Stage
BWW Review: A Solid STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at Soulpepper
BWW Review: Follow the Dark Winding Path to YAGA at Tarragon Theatre
BWW Review: Complex Themes and Sharp Dialogue Make for a Cutting Production of KNIVES IN HENS
BWW Review: Fantasy, Thrilling Feats, and a Lovable Clown Couple Usher ALEGRIA Into a New Era
BWW Review: The Complex Female Relationship in PIAF/DIETRICH Lifts the Show to Stunning Emotional Heights
BWW Review: THE BAND'S VISIT is a Quiet, Gorgeous Study of Human Connection
BWW Review: NO FOREIGNERS examines culture and identity from within a fantastical Chinese mall
Review: Positive Thinking and Difficult Choices in Canadian Stage's THE BOOK OF LIFE
BWW Review: AMERICAN SON's urgency and powerhouse cast make the best of this stage-to-screen transition
BWW Review: Emotion, autonomy and passion reign in Soulpepper's BETRAYAL
BWW Review: THE LADYKILLERS Only Mildly Amuses at Shaw Festival
BWW Review: Friendship And Artistic Philosophies Collide And Charm in ART
BWW Review: SAFE AND SORRY is a Funny, Frightening Examination of Dating and Pick-up Artists
BWW Review: CHILD-ISH Uses Children's Words To Create Funny, Moving Conversations On Love
