Review: (Toronto) She's Black, He's Jewish, They're Married...Oy vey!

Food, Fucking, and Forgiveness...at the Fringe
by Beat Rice

Married interracial couple Hassan and Epstein, claim to have the most successful marriage in the United States of America. (They are from New York ).

Their show is basically the two of them onstage being themselves, and talking about their relationship. This simple formula works for two main reasons: the pair are both outgoing and hilarious, but more importantly, they are genuine and honest about everything.

Review: (Toronto) You Detective (Fringe)

Silliness
by Beat Rice

You Detective is an improv sketch comedy starring Evan Arppe, Eric Miinch, and Josh Murray, in which two competing detectives begin to investigate the kidnapping of Toronto’s Mayor. The only thing that makes this structured improv different from most others is that the audience has a say in which direction the story goes. When at a crossroads, the performer presents two ridiculous options and the one with the more enthusiastic applause is where the ‘detective story’ goes. It is a good idea to get audiences involved but most of the choices were absurd and were probably inside jokes between the performers. Some of the options seem to be derived from the sole fact that the performers had a hilarious prop lying around that they really wanted to use.

Review: (Toronto) A Bicycle Built For Two (Fringe)

Is Funny, Sweet, Endearing Enough?
by Beat Rice

The tandem bicycle. A perfect symbol for marriage. After all, it takes two to make it work. 

A Bicycle Built for Two is a light-hearted take on love, marriage, and relationships. Johnny Wideman has written a comedy about a pair of young to-be-weds and the people around them. A cast of four play several parts each.

Review: (Toronto) Gunshot (Fringe)

Not Movement, Moved

by Beat Rice

Gunshot is very much a dance show, and not so much physical theatre as it states in the Fringe program. Amanda Pye and Rhanda Jones have choreographed an interesting and provocative ensemble work.

The piece begins with choreography set to recognizable orchestral scores.

At first this seems jarring because what we are seeing does not match what we are hearing. By the time we accept this as a stylistic choice the music changes. What follows musically for the rest of the show is more electronic and modern. It seemed to be the better choice because it fit, and made me question the opening number, which may very well have been the intention.

Review: (Toronto) Hugh and I (Fringe)

The Heff

by Beat Rice

Hugh and I, is a musical that delves into the youthful days of magazine mogul Hugh Hefner, starting from his high schools days until the conception of Playboy. Hugh starts off as a dorky kid in school who has no clue how to talk to girls. His cool buddy Jim shows him the moves and boosts his confidence. They meet girls, go to war, come home, and marry their girls. From the start, it is clear that Hefner has one strong ambition in life - work and write for Esquire magazine. His drive eventually leads to relationship troubles with his wife and friends. The production felt long but I suppose it was necessary in order to realistically justify Hefner’s complete character change.

Review: (Toronto) Fantastic Extravagance (Fringe)

Stiff Characters
by Beat Rice

Fantastic Extravagance is a fast paced story about an eccentric author's intimate and unseen struggle with the writing process. Eden Montgomery is a young writer with a reputation for having her protagonist in her novels die at the end.

Review: (Toronto) Tikva's Orchestra (Fringe)

More Life For Tikva
by Beat Rice

Tikva's Orchestra is a unique physical theatre piece that explores the trauma and ruthlessness of WWII through the eyes of a woman who tries to hide but cannot escape. One man playing several figures, and a woman, who employs the use of a bungee and hanging ropes, tell us a story filled with symbols and metaphor that show us fear, strength and hope. Performers and co-creators Alisa Walton and Thomas Morgan Jones are focused and precise. Even if the details of the storyline are not defined in words, the emotional intent is clear and effective. Director and co-creator Ginette Mohr has shaped this 35-minute piece with precision, each moment flows into the next and nothing ever drags.

Review: (Toronto) Mute - The Musical (Fringe)

Back to HS
by Beat Rice

As many people know Fringe shows are selected at random, giving opportunity to a range of artists from professional to amateur. The company of Mute: The Musical would fall under the latter.

The production resembles a middle school level play, complete with a cardboard set and an awkward start. 

Review: (Toronto) MSM

                                                       (photo by Alejandro Santiago)

MSM A Great Achievement
by Beat Rice

Premiering last summer at the Toronto Fringe, MSM has been remounted into a full production at the Winchester Street Theatre for World Pride 2014. The show is a physical exploration of the world of online interactions of Gay men. Behind the profile pictures and abbreviated instant message jargon, there is desperation, desire, adventure and misadventure.

This brave project, conceived by Indrit Kasapi has eight males in the cast, accompanied by DJ John Caffery who mixes some incredible beats. The never-ending house music provides a pulsating energy that also underscores some text: through the piece we hear actual profiles and chats presented as monologues and dialogue.  These things are always more hilarious read aloud. Having an online presence often encourages one to be extremely straightforward about their wants and needs. The ‘forum’ provides one less barrier in meeting new people, and the context for chatting is predetermined as soon as you log in. Having a Username provides anonymity and mystery, which can double as a turn on and also something to hide behind.

Review: (Toronto / Theatre) All The Sex I've Ever Had (Luminato)

(photo by Lucia Eggenhoffer)

When Seniors Share
by Beat Rice

All The Sex I’ve Ever Had: The International Series, is a performance by Mammalian Diving Reflex, conceived by Darren O’Donell and presented at Luminato. The performers consist of a group of seven senior citizens from around the world: four females and two males from North America, Europe, and Asia. They are here to tell us their stories and share their lives onstage. 

The stage is set up like a discussion panel with microphones. The performers speak in their language with surtitles projected above. They tell their stories in chronological order and the participants take turns in delivering a few lines about what happened to them that year. Over the course of the evening we get to know each person, their personality and their life stories about love, sex, desire, heartbreak, tragedy, and attitudes about ageing and looking forward to the future.

Review: (Toronto / Dance) Kontakthof (Luminato)

An Air of Archaic Pageantry
by Beat Rice

I remember standing in line for ages to see Pina at TIFF in 2011. I also remember getting turned away because it sold out so quickly.

Director and Choreographer Pina Bausch passed in 2009. Her work and vision lives through the company, the Tanztheater Wuppertal, and her dancers, who have come to Toronto to present Kontakthof at Luminato.

Bausch’s almost three-hour piece takes place in a dancehall with 21 dancers. During the evening there are countless variations of encounters, pairings and full group numbers. A recurring theme in the piece is the standard of beauty, and how it exists differently for the male and the female. There is one moment where a few of the women struggle to make it across the stage in their high heels.

Review: (Toronto / Theatre) Paradisiacal Rites (Luminato)

You Will Feel It
by Beat Rice

I have just walked away from one of the most unforgettable performances I have ever witnessed.

Paradisiacal Rites is a two and a half hour performance piece by the company Saint Genet, led by Ryan Mitchell, and presented in partnership with MOCCA at Luminato. This is the Canadian premiere from the American company.

When you first walk into the gallery you feel a space that is alive. It is a world in which nature collides with the unnatural. There is always something moving, and countless sights that all vie for your attention.

The meticulous installation consists of hundreds of stalks of long grass, and occupies the majority of the space. Within the grass move unidentifiable dancers with beautiful headpieces that shift with their subtle movements. In the air spin avian creatures that look as though four different types of birds flew into each other and amalgamated.  At the front are two men, one bleeding, crying, and drinking wine, the other breathing in and out of a small balloon. In this, one is free to decide how they came to be there, but it is not necessary. The space transforms over the evening and new surreal images are continuously being created. For me, there was a constant image of the circulation of breath and blood. Literally, the things that give us life. 

News: (Toronto) Dora Award Nominations (report)

Tarragon, AtG, YPT score big at Dora Nominations announcement
by Beat Rice

The nominees for the 35th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards were announced. On June 23rd at the West Jet stage at Harbourfront Centre, nominees from six divisions and 48 categories, along with many colleagues from the performing arts in Toronto, will gather for an outdoor awards ceremony. 

Tarragon Theatre leads the way with an astounding 19 nominations. It looks like Tarragon has truly invested in strong directors and plays in the past season. Soulpepper comes in second with 14 nominations, 5 of which honour individual actors. Buddies in Bad Times also snags six nominations is various categories.

Camellia Koo and Lorenzo Savoini are (hilariously) the only two candidates in the General Theatre’s Scenic Design category, with their consistently impressive designs. 

Review: (Toronto / Dance) Looking For Elvis and The Man in Black

Looking For Elvis (photo by John Lauener)

Presley 'n' Cash

by Beat Rice

Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie presented two different works that both pay homage to two of America’s legends, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. The evening’s program was switched - The Man In Black was performed before Looking for Elvis. Although inspired by guitar playing and crooning American men, the two dance pieces are quite different and will be commented on separately.

James Kudelka’s The Man in Black first premiered in 2010. Created for three male dancers, (Luke Garwood, Tyler Gledhill, Daniel McArthur) and one female (Christianne Ullmark), the piece is danced to five songs sung by Johnny Cash. All five dances contained heavy influences of country western style dance. Imagine a modern and more flexible take on line/square dancing with lots of lifts and kicks, and always in 4/4 time.

Kudelka often has the dancers tell the story of the songs by physicalizing the lyrics in a somewhat literal, but always clear way. I tend to think that sign language dancing comes across as a bit corny but for this piece it was honest and it worked with the music. It also made for some very funny moments, although the crowd did not seem to laugh out loud too much.

Review: (Toronto / Theatre) we are not afraid of the dark

Photo by Elj van Riel

Lost in Translation
by Beat Rice

If one reads the Artistic Director’s notes in the program before a performance, they will find themselves moved and humbled by Franco Boni’s deeply personal and truthful message. Unfortunately the performance of we are not afraid of the dark, does not capture any of the complicated or life changing emotions humans experience when dealing with mortality. Having recently dealt with tragedy and loss, I was mentally preparing myself for an emotional experience in the theatre. It turns out I did not need to. 

Review: (Toronto / Dance) Tempest Replica

Photo by Jorg Baumann

Strange Choices
by Beat Rice

After a spectacular presentation of Dark Matters at Canadian Stage in 2012, expectations and anticipations were high for the return of Crystal Pite and the Kidd Pivot company, with the premiere of The Tempest Replica. 

As interesting as the piece is, it fell short of amazing or impressive. There were a few select scenes that were imaginative and danced beautifully, but as a whole the production did not hit us the same way Dark Matters did, even with the strong storyline.

The Tempest Replica tells a summarized story of Shakespeare's The Tempest through movement, projection, and a few lines of text. It starts with Prospero, folding tiny paper ships as the house enters. The show opens with the shipwreck and a massive storm. This was perhaps the most effectively staged part of the show and it was within the first five minutes. A large billowing fabric mimics the tumultuous waves and the four dancers depict the chaos of being in a torrential storm.

Review: (Toronto / Theatre) Soliciting Temptations

Derek Boyes, Miriam Fernandes (photo by Cylla von Tiedemann)

Guided Into The Dark
by Beat Rice

Directed by Andrea Donaldson, Soliciting Temptations explores the themes surrounding sex tourism and is very much a debate between the characters, Man and Girl. Man justifies the men who employ the services of young sex workers and the women who provide them should not be shamed. Girl argues that women are forced to do the bidding of men and the men who call on them are pigs. More in depth questions related to power struggles within gender, sex, prostitution, class, are discussed. We discover that Girl is not just some local who arrives at his hotel room for paid sex. She has her own motivations. There is so much that this play could ‘be about’. To me, it comes down to two people who are struggling with their own feelings of loneliness, desire, and self-induced guilt.

Review: (Toronto / Dance) he:she

4 By 2
by Beat Rice

he:she is the title of a show made up of four choreographic works. Four musicians join a total of six dancers, including Peggy Baker. In the programme it states that the production celebrates ‘a world balanced by dualities’. The works do so much more than just that.

Two of the works are premieres and the two are part of the company’s repertoire. Because of this, I will address each piece individually.

1. Aleatoric Duet No. 2 (premiere)

The show opens with a duet danced by Sean Ling and Andrea Naan, with musician John Kameel Farah. Farah accompanies the dancers from above, improvising an electronic score surrounded by equipment. Ling and Naan are impressive movers. They harness a graceful strength with agility and control. They are like birds, moving in and out of shifting squares of light, crossing boundaries and merging personal spaces.

Review: (Toronto / Dance) Around

(photo by David Hou)

Dancemakers and 40

by Beat Rice

This year, Dancemakers celebrates its 40th anniversary and premieres a new collaborative work, Around. The first thing you experience before the show is the space. For this production, the arrangement of the viewing space inside the studio was very meticulously planned and executed. The audience sits in two circular rows facing the centre, with the circle being enclosed by a white curtain on a track.  

Sitting in the round forces an awareness of space and the proximity of people near and far from you, performers and audience members alike. It creates a strong feeling of intimacy, which in turn creates a tension that is only increased when the performance begins. I became incredibly conscious that I could be watched. 

Review: (Toronto / Theatre) Cabaret brise-jour

photo by Guillaume D. Cyr

Weill Nights
by Beat Rice

Finally something different and original on stage in Toronto!

Hailing from Quebec, L'orchestre d'hommes-orchestres are a collective of eight musicians who have taken the music of Kurt Weill and made it their own. All performers use several instruments, including their voice. Some of the instruments are conventional and played in a non-traditional way, but most are original creations. In this unique production they have created a surreal cabaret world that merges different styles of music, language, and performance.