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iPhoto caption: The Inheritance production photo by Dahlia Katz.
Toronto Theatre Critics’ Awards announce 2024 winners
This 11th iteration of the TTCAs boasts 19 winners across 14 categories, including a special citation for artistic achievement.
iPhoto caption: Images courtesy of Ottawa Fringe.
For Trip the Light Collective, Ottawa Fringe ‘is a sandbox of creativity’
“Fringe is really like a sandbox for creativity,” says the award-winning collective. “[We’re] seeing where we can go outside of the box. It’s stories we want to tell and it's stories that reflect our experience.”
iPhoto caption: The Inheritance production photo by Dahlia Katz.
Toronto Theatre Critics’ Awards announce 2024 winners
This 11th iteration of the TTCAs boasts 19 winners across 14 categories, including a special citation for artistic achievement.
iPhoto caption: Images courtesy of Ottawa Fringe.
For Trip the Light Collective, Ottawa Fringe ‘is a sandbox of creativity’
“Fringe is really like a sandbox for creativity,” says the award-winning collective. “[We’re] seeing where we can go outside of the box. It’s stories we want to tell and it's stories that reflect our experience.”
iPhoto caption: Graphic courtesy of the Toronto Fringe.
Toronto Fringe unveils 2024 programming
Toronto Fringe has revealed the programming for its 36th annual festival, featuring 77 shows across 16 venues in the city.
iPhoto caption: Production shots by David Hou.
Throughout Stratford’s productions of Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, and Hedda Gabler, moments of actorly playfulness jolt us into the here and now.
Reviews
iPhoto caption: Production shots by David Hou.
Throughout Stratford’s productions of Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, and Hedda Gabler, moments of actorly playfulness jolt us into the here and now.
iPhoto caption: Production shots by David Hou.
All in, this was a very strong opening week for Stratford, but seriously, go see the musicals!
iPhoto caption: Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: The Wrong Bashir is an ode to the hyphenated identities of Canada
Quibbles on the show's comedy aside, The Wrong Bashir will stay with me for a while as a successful ode to hyphenated identities across Canada.
iPhoto caption: Photo of Come Home — The Legend of Daddy Hall by Cylla von Tiedemann.
REVIEW: The Legend of Daddy Hall feels like coming home
Home is not a place, it’s a feeling, and Come Home — The Legend of Daddy Hall feels like I came home. I was taken on a journey watching this play and came out honoured to be a witness to such an incredible story. I encourage you to do the same.
iPhoto caption: Photo of Beaches the Musical by Trudie Lee.
REVIEW: Beaches the Musical is spine-tingling and tender
If you have a yen for catchy tunes, love stories, and everything else that makes the most successful Broadway productions so memorable and universal, invite your bestie to Theatre Calgary to see Beaches the Musical.
iPhoto caption: Photo courtesy of Lighthouse Theatre Festival.
REVIEW: Doris and Ivy in the Home explores aging with heart and humour
Norm Foster’s Doris and Ivy in the Home, directed by Jane Spence, is an exploration of friendship, love, and intimacy amidst the inevitable process of aging.
Spotlight
iPhoto caption: Philip Akin at home. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
“I don't know why it is being placed on Black people to change minds,” says Akin. “I ain't here to pick your intellectual cotton.”
iPhoto caption: "There are some actors for whom the delight of being funny just fills up every part of what they do, and Maev Beaty is one of those actors," says director Chris Abraham. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
“I’ve really realized that those minutes that I spend on stage are minutes of my life,” says Beaty. “We're not up there to present good, clean work — we’re up there to try and catch some truth for the listener that is shared in real time. You can't do that if you're just presenting your good homework; you have to live.”
“I don’t believe in this world. I don’t see how we can pull ourselves back from the brink. Human beings are greedy, and not mindful, and the only way I can think about making the world better is by getting rid of a lot of it.”
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Artist Perspectives
iPhoto caption: Rose Napoli appears as Margaret in her play Mad Madge. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
Rose Napoli reflects on Mad Madge, rom-coms, and the undeniable power of Patrick Swayze.
iPhoto caption: Image by Haley Sarfeld.
Every play is fantastic: A small-city theatre critic’s manifesto
My top priority as a critic will be to furnish every marketing team with as many easily quotable compliments as possible. I'll do this dutifully and without ambivalence.
In many ways, theatre artists and magicians have the same job. We push the bounds of a live experience to startle audiences into confronting their realities. We aim to tell stories that linger. For a magician, there’s no such thing as “it can’t be done.” It can always be done, one way or another.
iPhoto caption: Urjo Kareda was an Estonian-born Canadian theatre and music critic, dramaturg, and stage director. He died in 2001.
A sign outside Urjo Kareda's office read, "no whining." A framed letter inside said "Fuck you, Mr. Kareda."
The good and the bad (and everything in between)
If we’re not building a theatre that can hold the contradictions of our time, let alone the contradictions that make humans human, we probably shouldn’t be making theatre.
An open letter to lighting designers
At a time when theatres are struggling to get their pre-pandemic audiences back, it’s shocking that strobe lights are still featured in many productions. They might seem like a splashy yet innocuous design choice, but they are at best a barrier for potential audience members — and, at worst, they have painful consequences.