It’s always a pleasure when a performer takes a risk, when an artist throws him or herself into wholeheartedly into a project. It’s moments like this that make any kind of art exciting. It’s moments like this that have the potential to change the way the world thinks. Unfortunately, moments like this aren’t always successful. Such was the case with Lost And Found, the world premiere that opened the latest show in the DanceWorks series at the Harbourfront Centre. Choreographed and performed by renowned dancer Denise Fujiwara, the performance was… interesting. And as a critic I mean that with all possible ...Read More

You Win Some, You Lose Some: DanceWorks 180 in Review

Jamee Valin is a veritable bundle of energy sitting cross-legged on the couch opposite me. Moments before she had finished giving final notes on the dress rehearsal of locked on SHUFFLE, Valence Movement’s premiere performance of dance theatre, which received a stunning response after its one-night run at the Winchester Theatre on March 10. In the rehearsal studio she had been all business, exhibiting a calm and focused sense of leadership, giving concise and detailed notes. She then told the dancers to work on those sections for half an hour, all the time she had to give to this writer ...Read More

Locked on SHUFFLE by Valence Movement: Indie Dance in Toronto? It is Now.

From Closer bt Patrick Marber | Premiere Production by Theatre Bassaris

The transition from post-secondary education to what many call ‘the REAL WORLD’ is certainly one of the most terrifying concepts young people can face. In theatre school, students are constantly bombarded with the idea that they will never be employed, that they will live below the poverty line, that there is no work to be had, that they will end up drunk and poor and destitute and alone. And THIS is what we pay $50,000 and spend four years of our lives for. The following is an account of how myself and a colleague said, “to hell with this,” and ...Read More

The Forging of Theatre Bassaris: An Open Letter To Young Theatre Artists

And So it Goes | George F. Walker | Factory Theatre

There is a world which exists somewhere between the living and the dead, the real and the surreal, the mundane and the absurd. This is the world in which reside the characters of And So it Goes, George F. Walker’s latest work for the stage which just finished an extended run at the Factory Theatre. The subject matter of this work is difficult to navigate, as exemplified by the lackluster result of Walker’s exploration of his world. [caption id="attachment_6349" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="And So it Goes | George F. Walker | Factory Theatre"][/caption] And So it Goes tells the story of a family ...Read More

Lofty Ideas for a Lacklustre Play: A Review of And So it Goes’