Category Archives: Theatre

Saturday, February 4, 2012

A Brimful Of Asha

The (un)marriage plot: Ravi Jain’s collaborated stage production proves that sometimes, mother doesn’t always know best
By Ava Baccari
Written and performed by Asha and Ravi Jain
Directed by Ravi Jain

Ravi Jain, Asha Jain. Photo by Erin Brubacher.

Canadian actor Ravi Jain has an impressive laundry list of accomplishments in the theatre world, both in Canada and abroad, including [...]

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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Cruel and Tender

Atom Egoyan’s offbeat production provokes mixed feelings
Presented by Canadian Stage
Written by Martin Crimp
Directed by Atom Egoyan

Abena Malika and Arsinée Khanjian in Cruel and Tender. Photo by Bruce Zinger.

The Toronto debut of British playwright Martin Crimp’s Cruel and Tender left some audience members scratching their heads on Thursday night, despite a star-powered cast and a talented director [...]

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Penny Plain

Ronnie Burkett celebrates 25 years as the master of his own universe (strings attached)

Ronnie Burkett is a skilled manipulator—of puppets that is! His company, the Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, celebrates 25 years of theatre magic-making this year with a national and international tour of Penny Plain, a dark and thought provoking drawing room comedy [...]

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Golden Dragon

Tarragon Theatre serves a whimsical, heart-wrenching slice of life with The Golden Dragon
By Ava Baccari
Written by Roland Schimmelpfennig
Translated by David Tushingham
Directed by Ross Manson

Lili Francks, Tony Nappo, Anusree Roy, David Yee and David Fox. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.

There’s no worse time to see Roland Schimmelpfennig’s The Golden Dragon, now running in Tarragon Theatre’s main [...]

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Q&A: Cruel and Tender Actor Jeff Lillico

Atom Egoyan, Jeff Lillico, Arsinée Khanjian. Photo by Bruce Zinger.

Jeff Lillico has established himself as one of the most versatile young actors in Canada. With an impressive list of credits from the Shaw Festival and Soulpepper (to name a few), and a Dora Award for outstanding male performance in a principal role for Acting Up [...]

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Other People

Other People offers another look at the scandalous lives of struggling New York artists
By Ava Baccari
Directed by Aaron Willis
Written by Christopher Shinn

The cast of Other People. Photo by Mercedes Grundy.

The kids in Christopher Shinn’s play Other People, about a gaggle of broke, twentysomethings holed up in New York’s East Village, are—as you would imagine—not all [...]

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Kim’s Convenience

Ins Choi has something great in store for Soulpepper audiences this season
Written by Ins Choi
Directed by Weyni Mengesha

Ins Choi in Kim’s Convenience. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.

After a hit run at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival, Ins Choi’s Kim’s Convenience opened Soulpepper’s 15th anniversary season Thursday night to triumphant acclaim from audiences and critics alike.
The [...]

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

The Blue Dragon

Familiar skeletons of the past collide with fiery new characters in Robert Lepage’s complex, trilingual spectacle
By Ava Baccari
Written by Marie Michaud and Robert Lepage

Photo by Erick Labbe.

The Blue Dragon, currently running at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, is in every sense a powerful, cinematic experience: from the way it effortlessly transcends spatial and linguistic boundaries as [...]

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Sunday, January 15, 2012

Cabaret

Life is a cabaret and you don’t want to miss your chance to catch the live show
By Ava Baccari
Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander / Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed by Adam Brazier

The company in “Tomorrow Belongs to Me.” Photo credit: Daniel DiMarco.

As Emcee [...]

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Friday, January 13, 2012

The Penelopiad

Nightwood Theatre takes to Margaret Atwood’s myth busting novella like a duck to water
Written by Margaret Atwood
Directed by Kelly Thornton
Starring Megan Follows

Left to right: Tara Rosling, Cara Gee, Monica Dottor, Pamela Sinha, Sophia Walker, Christine Brubaker, Raven Dauda, Kelli Fox, Bahia Watson and Megan Follows in The Penelopiad. Photo Credit: Robert Popkin.

This month, Nightwood Theatre presents [...]

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

2012 Next Stage Theatre Festival: Modern Love

Presented by Theatre Caravel
Written and Performed by Jessica Moss
Directed by Eric Double

Jessica Moss is a very funny lady—it’s hard to believe she ever gets lonely. But don’t we all feel that way sometimes? In her one-woman show Modern Love—an audience favourite at this year’s Next Stage Theatre Festival—she explores the ways we connect and disconnect [...]

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

2012 Next Stage Theatre Festival: The Washing Machine

Presented by Red Betty Theatre
Written by Radha S. Menon
Directed by Sasha Kovacs

Radha S. Menon’s The Washing Machine tells the story of an English woman’s return to “Chez Nous,” her childhood home in India. Upon arrival, the entitled Isabelle (Cydney Penner) confronts a series of unwelcome problems: unruly monkeys, strong-willed servants, ghostly spirits, dwindling resources, bad [...]

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