Me and You is charming, gorgeous, and a little wobbly
Melody Anderson’s new play Me and You is sweetly soulful. And it could be better built. In Me and You, Anderson logs exemplary moments in the lifelong relationship between sisters Liz and Lou. The first time we see them, Liz, who is four years older, is outraged when...
Nine Dragons: a whodunnit in which you care who did it
Much to the credit of playwright Jovanni Sy, Nine Dragons is a rewarding thriller. Riffing on film noir, Sy sets the action in the Kowloon neighbourhood of Hong Kong in the 1920s. A character that the press calls the Kowloon Ripper is murdering women, then chopping...
Misery: more like a bad cold
The Arts Club’s production of Misery is a journey straight to heck and back. It’s not scary, which is a flaw in a thriller. William Goldman, who wrote the play, also penned the screenplay for the1990 movie. Both are based on a book by Stephen King. In the story, a...
Mr. Burns, a post-electric play: surprising, funny, and deep
WTF is one of my favourite responses at the theatre. I had it a lot while watching Mr. Burns, a post-electric play. Part of the pleasure of watching Mr. Burns is that the three acts are so different that you have to re-orient yourself after each of the intermissions....
Once on This Island: Vote that guy off
In Once on This Island, love triumphs—supposedly. It’s really sexism that wins. If you want to be surprised by the story, don’t read any further; to make my point, I’m going to give away the plot. In this musical, which premiered on Broadway in 1990 and which is...
Rent: I didn’t buy it
This Renegade Arts mounting of Rent gets so much so wrong. There are talented people in the cast, and some elements of the show work, but fundamental errors undermine the production. A rock musical, Rent features a group of young-adult friends who are living in New...
The Humans is like Death of a Salesman (with more laughs, plus the potential of monsters)
The Humans is the real thing. Scripts like this are why I go to the theatre. Playwright Stephen Karam starts with a standard set-up: the Blake family gathers for Thanksgiving dinner. Young-adult daughter Brigid has just moved into an apartment in New York’s Chinatown...
In Bar Mitzvah Boy, faith sneaks up on you
Emotionally, Bar Mitzvah Boy is a sweetly stealthy play. It takes a while for the script to find its feet. In the set-up, we find out that Joey, a successful divorce lawyer, wants to be bar mitzvahed before his grandson is. Somehow, Joey missed out on the ceremony...
Butcher: Go vegetarian
Nicola Billon’s Butcher exploits real suffering to create gimmicky entertainment. I hated it so much that I wanted to boo. On Christmas Eve, an old guy in a military uniform has been dropped off at a police station. A butcher’s hook was tied around his neck and the...
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