Toronto is home to Canada's most active English language theatre scene, considered to be the third largest centre for English language theatre in the world, behind New York and London. It also enjoys a lively performing arts scene that ranges from small, independent productions to the hosting of large, international acts.
Another incredibly strong entry in this year's SummerWorks Festival, The Particulars & In General ::with wit, tenderness, and a razor sharp script from Matt MacKenzie.
Hannah Moscovitch has been dubbed the "It Girl" (ahem, “It Woman”) of the next generation of playwrights since she burst onto the scene with her memorable one-acters Essay and The Russian Play. That reputation was cemented when her full length work, East of Berlin, captured the imagination of the Toronto theatre scene, packing in audiences over the course of a regular run, an extension, and a remount. Her latest offering, Little One (on as part of this year's SummerWorks Festival), simply proves that she is no flash in the pan, nor has she peaked early.
Little One follows...
Michelle Monteith in Little One; photo by Natasha Mytnowych
Writer/Director Chris Stanton returns to SummerWorks with Elora Gorge a quiet, insightful piece about a small town captivated by a corpse discovered in the local woods. The fact that the dead man is naked and died by drowning despite being miles away from any body of water only adds to the intrigue. If this set up sounds familiar, it's because it's the basis for a popular urban legend that was also incorporated into Mordichai Richler's Barney's Version.
Stanton wisely avoids following through with the urban legend's reveal, instead using the enigmatic deceased as more of a poetic image...
Carlos Gozalez-Vio, Carlos Diaz, Dov Mickelson in Elora Gorge; photo: Aviva Armour-Ostroff
An early highlight of the Summerworks Festival, Mr. Marmalde is a dark and twisted comedy from playwright Noah Haidle is brought to life in a delightful and imaginative production by director Mitchell Cushman and a vibrant cast featuring the always reliable David Storch.
Amy Keating in Mr Marmalde, photo credit: Simon Bloom
This deceptively simple dark comedy from writer David Egan (playing now as part of the Next Stage Festival) is the kind of play that one knows is good if for no other reason than by virtue of the fact that despite its dramatic restrictions, one is just as engrossed at the end of sixty minutes as one is at the beginning.
Celebrated Canadian playwright Judith Thompson spearheads Sick!, a brave and insightful work (now playing as part of the Next Stage Theatre Festival) which gives voice to a myriad of young performers - some of whom are practiced actors, some not - but all of whom have a real ailment or non-medical condition which they share and parse for the audience.
It's a candid collection of personal stories told in direct address that move and resonate, partly due to the lack of pretence permeating the majority of performances, partly due to the often difficult details of the lives described. Sick!...
Billed as a contemporary reimagining of the ballet Swan Lake, Swan Song for Maria on as part of this year's Toronto Next Stage Theatre Festival is more enjoyable if one does not strain to decipher the parallels between the two works. This two-hander from playwright Carol Cece Anderson is, more overtly, a wistful tale of love and aging played out by Joe (John Blackwood), a rebellious writer of French-Canadian origin, and Jillian (Lili Francks), his actor/dancer wife. The couple, both creeping along in years are prompted to reflect upon their pasts and confront their future when it becomes increasingly...
