The World Premiere of Calpurnia by Audrey Dwyer, a co-production from Nightwood Theatre and Sulong Theatre, this week. The play is a provocative and satirical look at class, race, and appropriation. Calpurnia follows the story of Julie, a screenwriter from a wealthy Jamaican-Canadian home who goes to extreme lengths to redress To Kill a Mockingbird through the perspective of Calpurnia, the Finch family maid.
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During last month’s Blood In the Snow Canadian Film Festival (BITS), I had the pleasure of meeting Mexican-Canadian film director extraordinaire Gigi Saul Guerrero. Over the past few years, Guerrero has been making waves in the genre film scene not only as director but also as a writer. Her recent successes include the short films Dia De Los Muertos, Madre de Dios, and Bestia, which won Best Short at BITS this year. READ MORE
Pioneers in devised theatre incorporating movement, live music, interactive design, and media work, Theatre Gargantua is a leading multi-disciplinary theatre company. Jacquie P.A. Thomas, one of Canada’s longest-serving female Artistic Directors, founded Theatre Gargantua in 1992. Alongside with Michael Spence and other artists, Thomas has made Theatre Gargantua an artist-driven company that produces ground-breaking works in two-year cycles.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Thomas and Spence before the premiere of their latest work, Reflector, to talk about the company, and their upcoming premiere. READ MORE
Nightwood Theatre and Crow’s Theatre have partnered up this season to bring us Rose Napoli‘s latest play to the stage: Lo (Or Dear Mr. Wells). Premiering at Crow’s Theatre this past weekend, and running until November 11, 2017, Lo… is a feminist retake on a student-teacher relationship, wrestling with sexuality and consent, literature and passion, right and wrong.
Nearing the World Premiere of Lo (Or Dear Mr. Wells), Napoli took the time to chat with me about the impetus for writing this piece, her writing process, and much more. READ MORE
The 5th annual One More Night Festival, a one-night only remount of 11 successful productions, over the course of 5 days is fully underway.
The festival includes shows from all genres: comedies, musicals, one-woman-shows, and even a whodunnit. All of them have had rave reviews, standing ovations, awards, and/or sold-out houses. To learn more about the festival and the masterminds behind it, I had a great chat with co-founder Vikki Velenosi. READ MORE
From September 20th to October 1st, 2017, Theatre Inamorata invites Toronto audiences into the opulent and sensual world of contemporary art to present the World Premiere of Gray. Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece The Picture of Dorian Gray and set in current-day Toronto, playwright Kristofer Van Soelen has created a journey through art and sexuality, asking us to question our indulgences, tastes and the nature of human connection. READ MORE
In 2016, Laurent Goldstein produced – partly thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign – his second feature-length documentary: To Life, Death and Beyond: the Music of Magma, a tribute to the cult French progressive rock band. The film just won Best Documentary Feature Film Jukebox Internstional Film Festival in Nevada.
To Life, Death and Beyond: the Music of Magma will have its Canadian premiere in Toronto, Sunday, August 20th at the Royal Cinema at 2pm.
To learn more about Goldstein’s passion for Magma, its music, and the making of the film, I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions… READ MORE
Artistic Director and co-founder of Re:Current Theatre Brian Postalian latest project, The Smile Off Your Face, will premiere at SummerWorks Performance Festival this week. This performance piece starts from an unusual position for the audience member: he or she is alone, in a wheelchair, hands tied and blindfolded. Surrounded by eight performers, embark on a one-of-a-kind journey that’s all about you.
With such an interesting set up for this performance, I wanted to know more. Here is what Postalian shared with me. READ MORE
Pressgang Theatre is producing Jillian Welsh‘s No Place at this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival. Written and performed by Welsh (Second City House Co., RISK! Podcast) and directed by Shari Hollett (For the Record, Radio: 30, Second City), the show weaves interconnected stories for a brutally honest and painfully funny examination of the things we take with us and the things we leave behind. READ MORE
commonplacetheatre presents No Bombs on Mondays (or, the Dandelion Queen) at The Collective Space from June 1 – 10, 2017. The play, written by Devon Allen Jackson, is commonplacetheatre’s second production of their 2017 season where all of the shows have been written by emerging Canadian Playwrights.
To learn more about commonplacetheatre, their goals, and their upcoming show, Artistic Director Chantel Martin is featured in this 5 Questions With... series. READ MORE