John Hall is older than he can remember, but what he does remember is a life full of love, and hardship, kindness, and pain. Audrey Dwyer’s Come Home: The Legend of Daddy Hall, directed by Tarragon’s Artistic Director Mike Payette, is a glorious way to close the season. Examining the struggles and triumphs of colonized…
Punctuate Theatre’s Dora-Award winning production of First Métis Man of Odesa is back in Toronto, this time as part of Soulpepper Theatre Company’s current season. Directed by Lianna Makuch, this thrilling love story about writers and performers Matthew MacKenzie and Mariya Khomutova is simultaneously a fascinating snapshot of their lives leading up to and during…
When Matthew Mackenzie and Mariya Khomutova first met in Ukraine, they never could have guessed at the incredible, and often terrifying, journey they would go on together to become a family. They talk about this, and so much more, in their play First Métis Man of Odesa, on right now at Soulpepper Theatre Company. I…
In the lobby outside of the Franco Boni Theatre there’s a quote projected onto the wall: “What you are about to see is not wholly inaccurate. But close.” Rose Napoli, author and star of Mad Madge, sets up our expectations for her play perfectly in two brief sentences. Mad Madge explores the extraordinary life of…
Imagine having ideas and plans so big that you simply knew you couldn’t fit them into a single lifetime. What’s a billionaire like Walt Disney to do but freeze his own head in hopes of one day being revived in time to help save the world. Lucas Hnath’s A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay…
You might think you know about Louis Riel and his place in Canada’s History, but I can guarantee you’ve never heard it told like this! Frances Končan’s Women of the Fur Trade, which is being presented by the National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre and Great Canadian Theatre Company, looks at this tumultuous time in Canada’s…
Rose Napoli is once again delving into the realm of historical fiction with her new play Mad Madge. Like her stunning performance in WILDWOMAN, Napoli is bringing to life author, poet, and would-be empress Margaret Cavendish to life. I asked Rose about what it’s like to write and star in a play, how Cavendish’s writing…
There are few things as glorious as the smells and tastes of a hot dog cart in a big city. As long as you’re the tourist or passer-by getting to enjoy the aroma; for the person working the cart, every day is an opportunity to be robbed or kicked off of your (technically illegal) corner,…
Dana Higginbotham was accustomed to seeing people at their worst; as a chaplain, she was often with people in their final moments and saw others through the lowest points of their lives. But when a former patient takes advantage of Dana’s kindness in an unthinkable way, Dana’s whole life gets turned upside down. Crow’s Theatre…
I grew up in South-Western Ontario, meaning I am no stranger to the behemoth that is Chemical Valley. Located in Sarnia, Ontario Chemical Valley is a large concentration of chemical plants comprising approximately forty percent of our nation’s chemical industry. However, right at the foot of these massive fire and pollution spewing plants is the…
A View from the Box 