Toronto Theatre

by Kait Fowlie

This year marks the 20th anniversary for Toronto's Summerworks Theatre Festival and what started as a small indie theatre festival has become an all encompassing interdisciplinary arts jam. The best part? Still indie. There will be over 40 plays, 10 days of music shows, a ton of free events, and a rehearsal hall turned playground where you can go between shows if you get bored. We don’t think there’s any chance of boredom to be had! read more...

by Kait Fowlie
If you are a woman living in the 21st century, clothes are much more than simply a means to stay warm and not be naked in public. Oh, how many hours have we all spent trying to find “something to wear”? If you understand what I’m saying, you should probably go see “Love, Loss, and What I Wore”. This salon style performance consists of an intimate collection of tales from the book by Ileen Beckerman, covering everything from bras and boots to Birkenstocks and bitchy therapists. read more...

By Heather Christie 

The life of Edgar Allan Poe in a lot of ways seems ripe for wallowing in tragedy and hitting a bottle of gin (or laudanum, as the case may have been in the 19th century—GOD I miss those days!)  But this year at Luminato, Jonathan Christenson has something a little more light-hearted in store.  On tonight and for the next couple of days, Christenson and the folks of Catalyst Theatre are putting on a show about the life of that most infamously ill-fated writer with their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks.  read more...

By Heather Christie 

Sitting down for nine hours can accomplish a variety of things.  You can hop on a plane and be in Paris, for example.  Or drive to NYC.  Or write an entire term paper (as I learned in my undergraduate career).  

Even better…well, maybe not better than Paris or NYC…but definitely better than the term paper…you could check out LipSynch; a 9-hour extravaganza of theatre, music, and various other multimedia. 

Don’t get me wrong, the performance is breath-taking in its momentousness and it’s certainly a feat to finish watching, not unlike reading War and Peace, but the enjoyability factor peter out around hour 4.  If you’re a holier-than-thou theatre type, check it out.  If  you’re like me, though, and you’re quite happy to be part of the great unwashed, this is a major red-light. read more...

Stuart Knight's compelling and emotionally engaging show SHIFT is back for three nights this week, May 28, 29 & 30th – AND Shedoesthecity readers can receive over 20% off ticket price by using promo code SDTC when purchasing tix.

The Globe and Mail heralds SHIFT as “Toronto’s Best Kept Secret” and although I have not seen the show I can say that Knight made for the most engaging interview I’ve had in the past six months.

He describes SHIFT as a "real life story of a man who found the meaning of life by watching two fish have sex. By incorporating music, sketch, film and spoken word, five over the top entertainers will set you free from everything you thought was true. You’ll laugh, you’ll get a little choked up, and you’ll meet yourself for the very first time.” Heavy…are you ready? read more...

On May 5-9
Tickets: $40
Harbourfront’s Enwave Theatre at 231 Queens Quay West
416-974-4000 for tickets 

by Heather Christie

The cold, hard stats: six words, seven performers, 73 characters, fifteen meters of corridor, and one giant red parachute balloon. 

Green Light:  If you’re into postmodern, experimental theatrics, and actively analyzing an elusive piece of theatre, give this one a shot; it’ll keep the cogs turning for awhile. 

Red Light: If you like an accessible and/or apparent plot or if you’re not into rather abrasive sound effects, CCB will not be an easy 90 minutes for you.  read more...

Based on the laugh-out-loud book by Diane Flacks, this wickedly funny stage production is a straight-up, rollicking account of Flacks'
reluctant flight into the secret and insane world of motherhood.

Bear With Me is by women, for women - though the fellas will be in stitches, too. Conceived for all those veteran moms and moms-to-be, this raucous celebration is for every woman who, at one time in her life after giving birth, will utter the crowning words, "Did I poo?"

In this 85 minute show, Flacks’ dishes her own experiences - including coping with ballooning sci-fi bodies, the dominant JMG (technical term: Jewish Mother Gene), rampant libido-suppressing hormones, Mama-brain, a vegetarian’s craving for liver (served rare) and, of course, the REAL “Ring of Fire”! read more...