The program brochure led me to expect at least a duologue when in fact this is another male monologue. The brochure credits Jeff McMahan only as writer of The Boy who had a Mother, when also presumably he is the performer and probably self-directed.
It was very pleasant to sit under the awning in Caroline’s backyard (where blankets are provided) to enjoy Green/Roof, this most inventive use of neighbourhood space as theatre. The bushes shake as a stealthy, die-hard-positive guerrilla gardener, played convincingly by Caroline Sniatynski, clamours over the chainlink fence, on a mission to transform this neglected garden with green life. However, she is not alone; unknown to her, a woman is secured above to the chimney by a long cable, armed with binoculars, obsessed with the minutiae of neighbourhood developments. It wasn’t entirely clear whether this woman was a squatter on the...
If you’re looking for a fun romp, that doesn’t make you think too much, or at all, with a talented cast, a not-bad musical score, good voices, then Happily Ever After is the show for you.
A Brief History of Romantic Love could easily have been called "A Survey of Sexual Excess." A virginal young man falls in love with his own image in a forest pool in the manner of Narcissus, while a young woman wanders the world sleeping with every man she meets. In later life the same woman gives birth to fifty children, including sestuplets, septuplets, octuplets and Siamese triplets. Along the way, the adventuresome youngsters encounter a giant penis, tantric bunraku sex puppets, and a witch who steals men's semen for nefarious purposes.
The best thing about Lust of the Swamp Witch is the name. It’s one of those titles that instantly (if the creators had a mind to take this road) sells books, movie tickets, T-shirts, whatever. A “Lust of the Swamp Witch” YouTube video would snap up a million hits in a week, guaranteed.
The plot has potential as well. An eccentric 30-ish woman sets up house in a swamp. She lures her teenage half-brother to her alligator-friendly abode for a retelling of the story of Odysseus and Circe the witch, to be followed by some alcohol-fueled carnal relations. Bizarre? Yes....
Andrew Bailey is a geek with a massive moral dilemma. Somewhere deep inside he doesn’t feel worthy of the earthly life he’s been granted. An adolescent urge to grab a girl’s tits leads him to believe he’s a potential rapist, and thus the self-loathing begins. His tortured psyche posits that somebody else could make much better use of his life force, and so he attempts to kill himself. This is how Limbo begins.
Bailey recounts the details of his teenage suicide attempt and his subsequent psychiatric ‘care’ with candor and wit. Over the course of his hour-long monologue, Bailey is...
Armed with an Oboe commonly mistaken for a clarinet, and an unusual green ‘significant other’ called Juliet, talented Englishman and actor-musician, Tim Goldman, takes his audience on a train ride of calamity across London from one demanding unsuccessful audition to the next.
Goldman Variations is a one-man show that combines comedy, storytelling, clowning, music, and a cast of crazy characters all of whom are played by Goldman himself. With the addition of a headband or a pair of sunglasses, a hat or a wig, as well as a posture and voice change, the audience is introduced to the girl on...
Prairie Song: an Indian Cinderella Story -- well, the plot is in the title. In this version, the well-known story revolves around the traditions of a pre-contact Plains First Nations family: the little ash girl of the European fairy tale is transformed into a motherless child called Prairie Song. The wicked step-mother is an ambitious widow whose husband Quiet Buffalo Man has been killed in battle.
If Charles Dickens were alive he would kiss the thespian Garry Boon for telling his tale. (Please Note: thespian this is not a new quirky sexual orientation.)
No Garry Boon sells as he tells you the story of Doctor Marigold with carefully chosen words tripping from his tongue, modulated for effect.
It is 1864 and Doctor Marigold is not a doctor at all but a cheap jack, a fast talking market seller. Doctor is merely his name.
I got to listen to Charles Dickens lucid prose- the vowels, the consonants, the syllables; the rhythms break over me like waves. His...
If you have ever considered volunteering in a developing country, see Alice Nelson’s play, Elephant in Zulu. Really, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) could use this play as an orientation for folks who want to leave the safety and affluence of North America to do good.
The talented Alice joins ‘Clowns without Borders’ and travels to the northern part of South Africa to bring laughter to children and the grannies that care for them. Here she brings her experiences back to the audience for consideration.
Her journey is as huge as an elephant and the shit that happens is as heavy. Although...
