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.
Toronto alt-comedian Winston Spear’s performance piece features him and two associates fooling around (carefully choreographed fooling that is) with flashing toys and gadgets of every ilk to the constant accompaniment of techno beats.
In the classic Greek play *Lysistrata*, the heroine convinces the women of the ancient Greek isles to conduct a sex strike against their husbands and lovers in order to bring a halt to the constant and debilitating wars plaguing the Mediterranean region. With this production, it is re-imagined by Eyewitness Theatre Company from the UK as a kind of bawdy pantomime in verse with double entendres and penis jokes aplenty.
Not striking women but actually trojan women: make life easier for Plank editors have photos!
Written and directed by Aurora Stewart de Pena, this series of short scenes involving manners-obsessed young women frocked in pastel coloured summer dresses and seemingly on the verge of emotional meltdowns, creates a world unto itself.
People in their mid-twenties have been experiencing existential dilemmas since time immemorial, but the recent coining of the term ‘Quarterlife Crisis’ has suddenly brought a new surge of theatrical material on the subject. *QuarterLife: The Musical* is one of several such offerings at this year’s Fringe, cataloging the woes and quandaries of five twentysomething New Yorkers trying to sort out their lives.
Plank Magazine (well, Andrew at any rate) is astonished to learn that there is something called quarter-life crisis
Between the title *My Mother's Lesbian Jewish-Wiccan Wedding*, and the Fringe’s history of generating contrived and off-the-wall musicals, you would never suspect that this show is based on a real life story.
It's hard to find photos of Jewish Wiccan weddings
This one woman show (or one man show depending on whether you are speaking about performer Rachelle Elie or her alter-ego Joe) is a indistinct, aimless hour framed around the premise of an open call audition for a production of Macbeth.
Based on the internet phenomenon, PostSecret.com, *The Keeper’s Secret* by Katie Alguire recounts the tale of Elli, a young teenager who becomes hooked on heroine, harming herself and to a more tragic extent, those closest to her. It is when Darren, a virtual stranger, enters her life claiming that he shares the same secret, that Elli is forced to confront herself.
I tend to veer away from Fringe shows that promise heavier emotional fare, but for some reason I found myself drawn to Doghouse Riley Productions’ staging of Israel Horowitz’s *The Indian Wants the Bronx*. It may be because I’m a sucker for a creative use of venue space, and the alleyway behind Honest Ed’s offered an excellent setting for the visceral one-act play.
The creators of previous Fringe hits _The Bible (Abridged)_ and _The Movies (Abridged)_ are back, this time minus their usual parenthetical. Despite it’s critical acclaim last year I was disappointed with _The Movies_, having found the abridged cinema spoofs to be generally flat and earnest. I thought I’d give the group a second chance with *Killing Kevin Spacey*, based on the assumption that this year they were creating a narrative themselves, rather than just finding excuses to reenact their favourite cinematic moments.
This quirky navel-gazing comedy from writer/director Maya Rabinovitch profiles an ensemble of neurotic characters using the stresses of air travel as a catalyst to extract their inner secrets and demons.
