February 2024 – mostly theatre

feb2024theatreHere’s a round up of February shows not previously mentioned; mostly straight theatre.

  • Factory Theatre has two shows.  Rockabye by Joanna Murray-Smith deals with the travails of a female rock star who must reinvent herself before age pushes her onto the casino circuit.  That’s on the Main Stage from January 26th to February 11th.  Then on the 23rd and 24th illusionist Nick Wallace has a one man show in the Studio Theatre.

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WILDWOMAN

WILDWOMAN, by Kat Sadler (who also directed), is part of the {{her words}} festival at Soulpepper and I attended the first preview performance on Thursday night at the Young Centre. It’s not usual to review previews but I’m out of the country for most of the run proper so there it is.   It’s an interesting piece.  It weaves together two (more or less) real stories that are quite tenuously related into a single integrated narrative that explores humanity, power and the role of women in society.

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Additional September and October gigs

leavesHere are a few shows that didn’t make it into earlier listing posts:

  • Opera 101 at the Redwood Theatre at 4pm on September 23rd and October 7th is a free recital programme organised by Alexander Hajek.
  • There are a couple of highly experimental audience participation shows at the Theatre Centre.  In asses.masses the audience creates a video game based on the story of a herd of unemployed asses.  In work.txt which runs September 27th to 29th the audience “designs a welcoming space for collectively processing “working” in capitalist metropolitan cities”.  I’m going to the latter.  I don’t think I’ve been in/at a show of this kind since I was an undergrad.

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Best of 2021

1.boulotte sm2021 was another year of parts.  Pretty much no live indoor performances before September then a few chances to get to the theatre and now, well who knows?  So what stood out for me in 2021?  Here’s a round up by category.

Live Shows

Not much of course but there were some good shows, though opera didn’t really figure.  The Home Project from Native Earth and Soulpepper was a thought provoking look at the the idea of “home”.  MixTape at Crow’s Theatre explored the variegated nature of relationships through the medium of the once ubiquitous mix tape.  And on a more conventional note there was a rearranged at short notice recital at Koerner hall that showcased the extremely talented Davóne Tines. Continue reading

The Home Project

What is home?  Where is home?  The Home Project; a joint production of Native Earth Performing Arts and the Howland Company presented by Soulpepper, addresses these questions through three actors personal visions reflecting, in their own way, three aspects of the Canadian experience.  The stories are interwoven on a simple set of moving boxes and a few pieces of furniture.  The sound stage is more important than the physical stage and aural effects; well handled considering we are outside and there’s plenty of background noise, are crucial.

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