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.
The one-person show can be a tricky format to navigate. The best of them are intimate and unfettered; the worst are akin to being stuck in an elevator with an irritating bore. Toronto presently has two one-person shows on stage that are markedly different in style and content but provide an interesting contrast.
I hope I look like this at 50, Ivea Lucs in Tijuana Cure; photo: Martha Haldenby
After the thoroughly disappointing touring production of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang":http://plankmagazine.com/review/theatre/chitty-chitty-bang-bang-all-car-..., there is a collective sigh of relief amongst Toronto’s musical fans that "Mirvish Productions":http://www.mirvish.com/ has imported a new production with a great deal more bite. *Spring Awakening* is that toothy show and although it may not wholly live up to the hype of its eight Tony awards, it is still a vibrant and dynamic work that pushes the boundaries of the often doughy musical genre....
Finally, a musical for horny teenagers, Spring Awakening
The most recent addition to the oeuvre of Toronto’s "One Little Goat Theatre Company":www.onelittlegoat.org is *Someone is Going to Come*, the first work written by Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse. Though Fosse’s minimalism boasts considerable popularity in Europe he is rarely seen in North America.
Someone is Going to Come: bleakly forceful language drives tension between Dwight McFee and Stacie Steadman; photo: Yuri Dojc
*Gaudrath* is a somewhat misleading title for this modernistic urban fable by Eric Hopkins, produced by Back Burner Productions. The central story is certainly driven by the enigmatic character after which the play is named (played by Andrew Cromey, but the real thematic meat of the show is courtesy of the Golem (Leeman Kessler), Gaudrath’s violent companion made of clay and loosely based on the supernatural creature from Jewish holy stories.
Justin Haigh gives you the lowdown on all the shows featured at this year’s Next Stage Festival. Profound dedication and a heated beer tent will produce such results.
*Yichud/Seclusion*
This three part play about the nature of manhood, marriage and sexuality in Orthodox Judaism demonstrates that playwright Julie Tepperman understands how to make a one hour piece work.
Getting ready for the wedding night are Julie Tepperman and Aaron Willis in Yichud/Seclusion
The set is unapologetically messy with bits of paper and books scattered everywhere, random windows hanging upstage, rolling chairs crudely strapped together and there are a few too many awkward transitions, yet *Don’t Look* is a completely charming story about a moment of mild incest between two first cousins that spirals into half a lifetime of social impotence. It is presented as part of Toronto's "Next Stage Festival":http://www.fringetoronto.com/nstf/nstf_shows.html.
Fine genetic material, Rebecca Applebaum and Daniel Sadavoy in Don't Look, photo: Bryanna Reilly
Hailing from Orlando, Florida and Austin, Texas, *L’Ange Avec Les Fleurs*, a “Junkyard Melodrama” thuds enthusiastically onto the Factory Theatre Mainstage as part of Toronto's "Next Stage Festival":http://fringetoronto.com/nstf/nstf_shows.html. Unfortunately for them, the audiences have not yet come out in droves, and there was only a smattering of people in the audience for Monday night’s show.
Be a clown: L’Ange Avec Les Fleurs, Chris Gibson, photo Stefano
Okay, before I start, I must admit my bias. Right from reading the play title and synopsis in the "Next Stage Festival":http://fringetoronto.com/nstf/nstf_shows.html brochure, down to learning the character names (denial, anger, depression, etc.), I was ready to give up 75 minutes of my life I would never get back. The use of phrases like “powerful journey” and “seeking redemption” just brought up far too many flashbacks to female collective theatre pieces by susceptible 19-year-olds who had just discovered some fill-in-your-own-blank feminist writer upon breaking up with some boy they thought was their soul mate....
To call the touring production of *Chitty Chitty Bang Bang* ‘family friendly’ would be inaccurate. The show, imported by "Mirvish Productions":http://www.mirvish.com/OurShows/ and now playing at Toronto’s Canon Theatre, is very kid friendly, but parents hoping for an equally engaging theatrical experience may be disappointed.
Dedicating one’s self to the art of sketch comedy can feel like being trapped in a Catch-22. Great sketch artists draw from both the more commercially viable world of stand-up and the artistically venerable world of theatre, and although one might think that having a foot in both these worlds would open twice as many doors, the reality is that sketch is still an underappreciated gray area.
I'm an artist! Toronto Sketch Fest celebrates the form
