Anne Frank: a far better telling of the story
I thought I didn’t need to see another production of The Diary of Anne Frank. I was wrong. This production from Fighting Chance deepened and revitalized the story for me and introduced me to exciting new talent. Wendy Kesselman’s 1997 adaption, which is being used...
For fun, visit Nell Gwynn
If you’re not having a good time onstage, you shouldn’t be there. Everybody in this cast of Nell Gwynn deserves to be onstage: they are having a fucking laugh riot. And their pleasure is infectious: the evening is infused with joy. Playwright Jessica Swale shows us...
C’mon, Angie!: ambition—and surprising humour
There’s no way to write this review that is both comfortable and honest. In C’mon, Angie!, Reed and Angie have just had a one-night stand and we witness the fraught morning after—well, the fraught pre-dawn. In two significant ways, Reed failed to get clear consent...
40 Days and 40 Nights: It’s personal
I attended 40 Days and 40 Nights last night. It's an exploration of love from theatre artists Kim Collier and Daniel Brooks, who are romantic partners. I was going to review it but, after the show, Kim asked me not to, saying that 40 Days is intended as a gift. All...
Macbeth Muet: Eggs are harmed
Bloody. Good. In Macbeth Muet, two actors from the Montreal company La Fille du Laitier tell the story of Macbethin about 45 minutes. Although they don’t do it wordlessly, as advertised, they do it without speaking. (At various points, the performers hold up cards,...
The Only Good Indian wanders (in this incarnation)
You know that expression about shooting fish in a barrel? Reviewing The Only Good Indian is like trying to shoot a fish in the ocean from an airplane. At least in the performance I witnessed, The Only Good Indian is hard to get a bead on. Jivesh Parasram, Tom Arthur...
Geologic Formations: the overly abstract title is a clue
Geologic Formations is a show about embodiment, but it is rarely viscerally embodied. In Geologic Formations, mia susan amir explores the multigenerational psychological and physical effects of trauma. Her saba (grandfather) survived the Bialystok Ghetto in Poland...
Les Filles du Roi: a sumptuous reimagining of our history
Corey Payette and his collaborators are reinventing the story of Canada—in ways that respect First Nations and women. It’s thrilling. In last year’s musical, Children of God, Payette took on the residential school system. He wrote, directed, and composed that piece,...
Mamma Mia! is LOUD (with good bits)
This production of Mamma Mia! is selling the show so hard you’d think it was the last used car on the lot. Mamma Mia! is a ridiculous—but extremely amiable—jukebox musical. Catherine Johnson, who wrote the book, has strung a bunch of hit songs by ABBA into an unlikely...
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