Dog Gone

FAR FETCHED PRODUCTIONS—Planetarium

I am a sucker for puns, so when I saw the company name “Far Fetched Productions” in the program, I added it to my list of shows to see. Irene Sankoff plays a woman who is at a low point in her life and is at a crossroads. To top it all off she has lost her dog in an unfamiliar place. While she waits to see if her pooch is at Animal Control we get the back stories of what has been going on in her life, her past failures in caring for things, and the story of how she got her furry friend. It is an emotional journey that works on multiple levels with some comedic moments to lighten the mood. Well done.

Murray Hunter

The Life Henri

Still Your Friend—Planetarium

Adam Bailey is back with another masterfully told story to tickle your fancy. Join Adam as he takes you through the bizarre and larger than life tale of the painter Henri Rousseau. Bailey is like that one friend at a party who starts talking about something they just did a deep dive on Reddit about, but is so entertaining you haven’t realized you finished your drink halfway through the story. Surprisingly insightful and charming this was a great gem at the Fringe.

Kaitlyn Kriss

Sad Girl Songs: A Comedy Show

Gwen Coburn—John Hirsch Mainstage

The songs aren’t sad, the majority are witty and extremely edgy. She opened with a song about how anyone operating a clit should know what it is. It’s the girl that’s sad. As are all aware women who have had to deal with abusive men.

Sad, exhausted, confused and damaged. It takes real finesse to handle tragic subjects with humour and intelligence. While interweaving the story of her sexual and emotional manipulation by a mentor at her workplace, she manages to gift us with an interactive and very worthwhile performance. She makes great use of the huge screen at this enormous venue with her version of Ted Talks- Sad Talks.

This show is not depressing. It’s astute and realistic; showing how far both sexes still have to progress for equality. And that survival and joy after are possible. Thank you Gwendolyn Coburn!

Lisa Campbell

How to Live Forever

Hypothetical Projects—Stephen Juba Park

When a friend’s mom is dying, a group of friends come together to make sense of it all and comfort each other. This touching play was sincere and relatable. The characters were well written and made you feel apart of their friend group. I definitely misted up at a few of the more serious moments. Very well acted and wonderfully written. If you have experienced or are going through loss, this might be a tough one to watch. At several points I was happy I didn’t bring my fiancé along as he wouldn’t have made it through the show. Being that it’s in an outdoor venue the background was certainly distracting and it was at times difficult to hear because of wind, cars, or music playing from others. Very moving and touching.

Kaitlyn Kriss

A One Man Batman Parody

Rod Peter Jr—Tom Hendry Warehouse

For anyone with nostalgia for Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher’s Batman films, Rod Peter Jr’s. reenactment of the films paired with interludes from his childhood promise an entertaining performance. The show is lacking a bit of polish from last years staging, most notably in the intro cinematic referencing the length of the pandemic, and my earlier critique of the reenactments lacking proper context to fully convey what happened in the films to any audience member who wasn’t already familiar with their plot still remains. However, the strong video explanation of some of his more specific jokes paired with good comedic timing and deeply personal stories definitely give someone without that knowledge something to follow. Definitely a must see for fans of the films, as a love letter to them, and accepting the things you love.

Josh Fidelak

Women

The Sexy Snakes—The Gargoyle Theatre

This show was fantastic! Any fans of the original story Little Women will see the tale told in a fresh new way. For those who haven’t, I think it would read as a satirical story of women navigating the world and their lives in ways that we can find relatable in present day.

Told in a montage style featuring the most memorable moments, paired with well placed and comedic selections of current pop songs adds a sense of modernity to a tale set in a different time. It is witty, hilarious, somewhat cynical yet with very poignant commentary and parody of the original story. I was laughing almost the entire time and feel inspired to reread/rewatch the original to further appreciate this production. I enjoyed it very much.

Calantha Jensen

Sapphire Butterfly Blue

MTYP’s Summer Studio—MTYP – Mainstage

Sapphire Butterfly Blue by Melissa Major is a challenging journey into the mind of Bridget Bishop, the first victim of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Her last eight chaotic days are explored through voice and movement and presented by a cast of 16 young, multi-talented actors. Their performances are intelligent and nuanced and the demanding choreography is tight, tough and beautiful. Although the actors range in age from 13 – 18, this is not by any stretch a children’s show. The play has much to teach about injustice, false assumptions, and mob violence; the Company of Summer Studio has delivered a powerful and important message – one that I am still processing as a dark butterfly just fluttered past me.

Barbara Fawcett

Catch Me in the Kitchen Story Adventures

Catch me in the Kitchen—Planetarium

This charming storytelling show revisits some old favourites. Stories that I’ve known most of my life and have seen retold again and again. This particular production had new elements of fun and education, as the cast included some French language lessons throughout the telling of the stories, with some fun twists along the way.

Delightful physical comedy, extremely theatrical dialogue, and an overall hilarious lively delivery. I was fortunate to be sat next to a few little ones who were very vocal about how much they were loving the performance, which definitely added to the experience. It shows me that these stories not only still have relevance in the lessons they impart, but that there seems to be an enormous range of ways that they can be told! It was wholesome, nostalgic fun.

Calantha Jensen

Generic Male: Just What We Need Another Show About Men

PUSH Physical Theatre—John Hirsch Mainstage

Those generic male(s) are back, or on their back, behind their backs. Stevenson & Jones are here to amaze us with a great huge venue at MTC/Mainstage to play on, which these two richly deserve and they use it wisely! There is funny banter as they both antagonize each other on staging. The production builds up with the complete amazing and playful choreography these two share. You will be blown away by the trust required between these two pros! They have this chemistry you usually don’t see in generic males. Oh, you may have to bring credentials…as you maybe picked to tech the show!

There was something else I took away from the show, after their slightly contortionists physical dance moves, and after the bows, one feels like stretching after taking in a show like that…which is good!

Kevin Campbell

The Ultimate Actor’s Nightmare

Axiom Theatre—John Hirsch Mainstage

Fronting as a classic and solid improv show, the performance is quickly derailed by a dictatorial director, fresh off a marvel marathon and ready to throw his performers under the bus in the name of trite plot structures and groan worthy superhero references. The professionalism and performing strength of all the Club Soda Improv members who were in attendance at the show I saw were in full display. The crowd participation was a definite highlight, as the two kids who were most engaged in providing suggestions were both well managed, and had their ideas thoroughly included. At the end of the day, if you like improv without too many gimmicks, you can’t go wrong with this show.

Josh Fidelak