Do you believe in faeries? Michael didn’t either, until dark and mysterious things began to happen in his once happy home. Spindle Collective’s latest haunting work sìofra, is the second installment in their Dark Mother Trilogy. Co-written by Natalia Bushnik and Kathleen Welch, who also directs and has composed original music for the piece, this…
Fortune Frenzy Fanaa In his seminal work “Masnavi”, Rumi’s didactic stories follow a similar path: problem, complication, and resolution. So too do the stories we hear in The Caged Bird Sings by Rouvan Silogix, Rafeh Mahmud, and Ahad Lakhani. Directed by Mahmud, The Caged Bird Sings remains a transcendent and thought-provoking experience, with certain elements…
Beauty Hustle Psycho Graffiti Some of the most iconic stories of our time have the word “American” in the title. Franca Miraglia’s American Devotion, directed by Mario D’Alimonte, swings for the same heights, but unfortunately doesn’t hit a home run. Featuring some of the most recognizable figures of the 1950’s, American Devotion shows the private…
“How many Indigenous artists does it take to make an Opera indigenous?” While this question shouldn’t have to be asked in the first place, it’s what Against the Grain Theatre was faced with when the funding got pulled for their full scale production of Indians on Vacation, an opera based on the novel by Thomas…
“What is Hell?” Take Wilde, famously charged with indecency in a time where it was still illegal to be queer who said: “We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.” Or take Huxley, who was so much more than the dystopian fiction we’re forced to read in school, who said:…
The content warnings for Vitals on Factory’s website are: “This play contains explicit descriptions of violence, gore, sexual assault, animal and child abuse and self-harm including suicide. It is not recommended for younger audiences.” As such, my review will also be touching on these topics. If you’re planning to see the show, please heed these…
“We hide our memories, but never bury them” Adeeb dreams of his homeland: Syria. But when he dreams, the faces are foreign to him, so is the place, and yet he has the undeniable feeling that it’s his home. Aksam Alyousef’s Karma, directed by Pleiades’ artistic executive director Ash Knight, blends past and present to…
Dear Lev, You don’t know me, but I’m lucky to get to see your Uncle Andrew’s work here in Toronto. He’s written a play about your great-grandfather, your pradid in Ukrainian, and he’s written it to you. To help you, and frankly all of us, understand a little bit more about the world as it…
“Odoobina’anangoog, that’s a perfect name for you: She Holds Up the Stars” Misko’s new name on the rez suits her perfectly – arms outstretched towards the heavens, she’s learned more about her heritage in the last few weeks than she has for many years before that. However, the incident that brought her to the rez…
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Or is Mary a whore? Or is Mary the mother of two Apostles?…
A View from the Box 