Bashir Lazhar

A very interesting one act, one person play about the immigrant experience and the mismatch between who we see ourselves and how others see us.

Caesar and Cleopatra

Everyone else loved this production, but I managed to sleep through part of the first act. It was a great spectacle, but I have become accustomed to the importance of the words in a Shaw play, and I think the words were subordinate to the look.
Having said that, the cast were excellent and so was the set. Some of the actors need to work on projecting to all parts of the Festival theatre - again the words are key.
I liked Christopher Plummer, but I don't think he was any better than Jim Mezon was at Shaw a couple of years ago.

Emilia Galotti

Our second German origin play in a week. (The Black Rider was the other.) This one was in German with surtitles.
A really excellent production that was visually arresting and totally fascinating. the cast were excellent and the staging was great. It is amazing how well a very modern production of an 18th century production worked.
The only problem was the audience - many seemed to be German speaking elderly people who were unfamiliar with theatre conventions - like not talking during the production!

The Black Rider

This one was certainly not our usual style, but I liked it. Visually stunning and almost like a ballet in the way the actors moved. I can't say I will ever like the music, which I found jarring and loud.
The actors were excellent, but as we knew none of them, it was harder to connect with the performance.
I wonder if that is one of the dangers / side effects of seeing so much rep ? you get to know the actors and it is rather like watching your friends.

Frost Nixon

A production that redeemed Canadian Stage. Len Cariou was amazing as Nixon, - he didn't look like him, but he was him!
We actually remember exactly where we were the evening Nixon resigned - Antoine's restaurant on Eglinton. We were annoyed because one of the other patron's insisted the television be left on for the speech. Antoine gave us free dessert or something in compensation.

A Raisin in the Sun

Another good soulpepper production. I went expecting to see another variation on the theme of American race relations in the 60's ( a la Palmer Park) so was pleasantly surprised to find that the play is really about families and the destructive relations that develop even in the families with the best of intentions.
Very strong play that is universal in subject matter and while definitely a product of it's time, this one should last for a long time.
Alison Sealy-Smith was great as the matriarch who has never let her son grow up. Charles Officer and Abena Malika and Cara Ricketts all gave strong performances as the younger generation.
I recognised Awaovieyi Agie, but did not connect him to Hotel Babylon which seems to be the only over thing I have seen him in - just shows that watching British soaps is a good thing!

Wild Dogs

It got great reviews, so I was expecting great things. But my reaction was mixed. A very strong cast - it almost seems silly to mention the cast since Toronto area companies always have great casts these days - but an odd play. The setting was great - a nice forest edge, where the characters gathered to talk to the audience. the effect was rather tlike having someone read a long, fluid poem. The language was smooth and rythmic, so much so that I had a hard time not falling asleep in the middle. But the plot was almost non-existent - each character had a perspective to present, but vey little interaction with each other. So we had to listen to the outsiders who have lost their dogs, use this as a metaphor for their loss of a place in society.
A couple of things were quite jarring - especially the final statement by Spencer that he had killed Lily not because he feared she was a dog or a monster, but because she was a woman. This came out of nowhere and felt like a gratuitous nod to Nightwood as a feminist theatre. Not a good nod either! Taylor Trowbridge and Tamara Podemski gave particularly strong performances.

Mrs Warren's Profession

Moya O'Connell and Mary Haney dominated the stage as Vivie and Mrs Warren, even though the rest of the cast were all excellent.
It is hard to portray Vivie without making her appear an insufferable prig, but Moya O'Connell managed to give her the humanity needed to make her sympathetic. You know that even after she firmly rejects her mother and refuses never to see her again, she is already regretting have taken such a firm position. Moya's Vivie is charming and full of ideas. She has firm opinions on everything and no hesitation in voicing them - so much like her mother in that respect. Mary Haney gave us a vulgar Mrs Warren - I think in keeping with Shaw's idea of the character. She can't pass in poilte society, except on the dodgy edges inhabited by types like Crofts, superbly played by Benedict Campbell.
But the relationship between the two women was tense, even when they were being happy with each other. Vivie is naive to think her mother has given up the life; her mother is naive to think Vivie won't care and will happily assume her duties as a daughter.

The Stepmother

Thank you Jackie Maxwell for finding and directing these wonderful lost gems. This play stands up very well against contemporary plays that have had more successful performance histories, so you do have to think that a bias against women writers may have had something to do with its lack of performance.
A great cast headed by Claire Julien and Blair Williams, but with very solid support from Marla McLean, Patrick Galligan and the rest of the group. Willams was such a convincing villain that is was hard to resist booing him at the curtain call - in fact some members of the audience could be heard doing so even while they were clapping for his performance, which was superb. Claire Julien gave a very strong and sympathetic performance as Lois. Jennifer Phipps was superb as Charlotte - only to be expected from an actor of her calibre and experience, of course.

After the Dance

If you simply watch this as a play about a specific group of people at a particular time and place, it seems a bit dated. But the costumes are lovely and so is the set, so you get a nice theatrical experience.
Rattigan's play may focus on the bright young things and the generation that came after them, but the underlying subject is communication and the need for people to be honest with each other if they are to be happy together. Joan kills herself because she finally realizes that she has never been honest with David - never told him that she loves him, which is all he really wanted to know. John is honest with David, but then loses a life long friendship. Helen suffers from the ability of the young to delude themselves into thinking they are being honest when all they are being is insufferable and patronizing.
Terrific performances by Patrick Galligan as David, Marla Mclean as Helen and Neil Barclay as John stand out among very sold performances by the rest of the cast. I remain a Neil Barclay fan and would like to see him get a really big part, rather than being cast as the friend time and again.

The President

Lorne Kennedy leads a strong cast on a fast and furious race to turn the communicst taci driver into a respectable industrialist in one hour. Absolutely hilarious and a must see for all managers and leaders. As I watched it I kept thinking "I have to use this in my speech on leadership next month" - there were so many great lines. Norrison pokes fun at the need to oil the machine, but at the same time knows it is critical to make the organization work.
The Shaw company can adapt to unforseen circumstances - this time laryngitis in one of the secreataries required one actor to do the movements while another spoke the lines. It worked so well that it actually added to the play rather than detracting from it. After all Norrison would have someone standing by ready to fill in if his secretary couldn't speak.
Chilina Kennedy and Jeff Meadows are both young actors to watch for in the future.

Ring Round the Moon

Another excellent production from Soulpepper. Things are definitely lo0king up - not only did we enjoy the play, we loved the cast and the production. Jordan Pettle was great as Hugo/Frederick - he managed to play the two characters very subtly, so that you were really convinced that there were two brothers!
Nancy Palk was a great old lady - or should one say a grande dame? Her future in theatre is unlimited, as she will be able to age into playing these old lady roles with ease.
The rest of the cast were very strong - no weak players at all. the costumes and settings were beautiful and quite a surprise in a theatre that is best described as stark.

Moby Dick

The story of Moby Dick, set to the music of Debussy, directed by Morris Panych - we should have known we would not be enthusisatic fans. But we went to see it because w e have a policy of seeing everything presented at the Studio. This is where the risks should be taken and sometimes they pay off big time, sometimes they don't.
To be fair, the rest of the audience loved the performance, and it was well done. The staging was effective and the dancing was good. But here is my bias - when I go to the theatre, I expect to see a play, not a ballet. This was not even a great ballet - it was more a theatrical event than even a pure dance event.
So overall, I remain not a fan of Morris Panych. For the record, I also did not like "The Overcoat" which got such great reviews everywhere.

Palmer Park

I had forgotten how many things happened in 1968. Palmer Park, set in an integrated neighbourhood in Detroit, is a play that is more like a history lesson. The music, the clothes, the assassinations of Martin Luther Kng, Robert Kennedy - it all came back. If all history were presented this well, we'd all be history students. As a play however, it is very weak - it lacks plot or any kind of dramatic arc; the story is carried forward as a series of lectures by various members of the cast interspersed with some great scenes. The baseball season was a great interlude.
The cast is excellent - I am becoming a fan of Dan Chameroy, whom I had previously seen as a musical comedy specialist, and I always like Kelly Fox. Nigel Shawn WIlliams delivered his usual strong performance - in fact there wasn't a weak performance in the play.

Alias Godot

Ever wonder why Godot didn't come? This play has the answer and a wonderful parody of the original play to boot.

The Little Foxes

Lillian Hellman knew some very nasty people and had a very warped view of family relations!
But this is a very interesting play, with an excellent cast to bring it to life. Regina Giddings is definitely a bitch, but equally definitely not a push over!
Great cast - no one out of place.

Wonderful Town

I have fond memories of My Sister Eileen, and I enjoyed this production. It is silly and slight, but has a great cast, a good set and good singing.

Getting Married

A fun opportunity for Shaw to present his views on the institution of marriage and to take several points of view at once. I liked the play and the production, although the seance is too weird and distracting. However, it did give Laurie Patton a cahnce to show off, so maybe it was worth having after all.

An Inspector Calls

A morality play and rather heavy handed in making the points.
Peter Hutt played himself, as usual. Otherwise, a good cast, as one expects from the Shaw company.
I missed the ghost wandering around on the balcony - Keith missed the stage moving. God knows what else we missed, but probably not much since the moral message was pounded in by the author.

Dirty Dancing

The movie is better, but this was still fun. Not a great play, but then it isn't a great movie either.
The most amazing thing about this production was the set, which moved in all directions and always showed up in the right place at the right time.
Good dancing, good singing and a good time.

Nicholas Nickleby

It's hard to know how to describe this marathon production. Six hours, with a break for dinner. But it was fascinating and fun. The cast were excellent - and the writers did an amazing job of bringing the whole story together, with Dickensian levels of detail, while still managing to keep the action moving.
My one complaint was the decision to have Nicholas return to Dotheboys hall near the end - it was out of place and broke the rythmn of the whole story. Should have just been left out - the plot didn't need it and neither did the rest of us.

Macbeth

We had to see this production, even if that meant flying to New York and staying in an over priced hotel.
It had received great reviews at the donmar in London; then great reviews when it transferred to Brooklyn (but it was sold out) so when it moved to Broadway, we bit the bullet and bought the tickets.
It was worth the expense - a fantastic production. Modern dress, but not fully - more a generic military era. Great staging - especially the opening scene and the ghost scene when Banquo appears at the dinner table. Repeating the scene to start the scond half was initially jarring, until you realised that it was from a different point of view. It worked really well.
The cast was uniformly excellent and Patrick Stewart is still sexy and powerful.

All's Well That Ends Well

One of the problem plays from my perspective. Why does Helena want to marry this man who so clearly does not want to marry her?
But, this performance triggered a new thought - was Shakespeare actually considering the whole issue of arranged marriage from the woman's point of view? No one is upset when women are handed over to men that they don't want to marry, so what would happen if the tables were turned? Given this screen, the play makes a lot more sense to me, especially when you consider the pressure that Elizabeth I was under all her life to marry for political benefits.
Good performances all around. Especially liked Tom Rooney.

There Reigns Love

We have been fans of Simon Callow since we saw his one man Dickens performance in London many years ago.
This performance works surprisingly well and leaves you feeling a need to read the sonnets.
He lectures, performs and convinces as he presents the sonnets as the solution to the mystery - who was the Dark Lady? who were the sonnets dedicated to? and ultimately, what do they tell us about Shakespeare himself.

Uncle Vanya

Keith did not want to go, as he hates Chekov in general. I should have listened. the production was good, the acting was good, and we still left at half time. It was either leave or embarass ourselves by screaming at the characters to get on with life and stop whining about it. Move to Moscow. Kill yourself. Just do something!

Black Watch

A brilliant commentary on war and soldiers and how we like to ignore them when they come home.
The Varsity arena is an odd place for a play, but it was perfect for this one, as it provided enough room for the battles and marching. Apparently there was originally a plan to do the performance at Moss Park Armoury, which would have been even better, but it was an excellent theatrical event.

Midsummer Night's Dream

This was an unusual production, given that it was performed in six languages, including English, Tamil, Hindi and others from the east Asian area.
But it was a beautiful production and easy to follow, maybe because we already know the story, but probably because the languages were mixed carefully enough to let at least the English speakers keep track of the action.
Colourful and acrobatic are the two adjectives that spring to mind - gorgeous is another.
This company has apparently been touring for over two years, but the production seems fresh and exciting.

Cabaret

Wow! What a great production! Everything was beautiful - in a dark and bleak way. I have always loved the music, know the words to most of the songs and think the movie is great.
But this production was spectacular - great cast, great setting and fabulous performances. Nora McLellan and Bruce Dow were particularly good.
But really, I just loved the whole thing.

The Music Man

Jonathan Goad is great as Professor Harold Hill. But this musical is not really to my taste - too formulaic and the tunes are limited in appeal with the exception of 76 Trombones.
The production got great reviews and the audience loved it, but for me it was not worth the drive to Stratford. (This may have been the problem, as we made a special trip just for this. )
But I actually fell asleep during the first act - something that is quite hard to do in a musical!

The Way of the World

Soulpepper managed a very good production - set in the thirties and very elegant. Caroline Cave's black dress was fantastic. MikeSharra is still a favourite.
The play is fun and the cast did a good job of bringing it together.

Medieval Mystery Play

We happened to be in Lincoln Cathedral the day of the preview performance of the Medieval Mystery plays, which we had read about but never thought we would see.
It was a lovely, but cool evening. The audience was largely family and friends of the cast. The Dean and his wife were there.
The plays are fascinating to watch - each guild brings its banner, and announces themselves at the beginning or their play. The stories are the bible stories, but with humour, occasionaly very broad humour at that.
The cast appeared to be local amateurs, but were a quite talented group.
Great fun and amazing to think these plays have been done for centuries.

Hughie, Krapp's Last Tape

Brian Dennehy was great in both, but you have to wonder why he bothered. I'd rather see him in a full length play, rather than an actor's exercise.
Hughie is interesting as a portrayal of a type of man, from a particular time and place in America. Sad, but ultimately not someone you are interested in knowing.
Krapp's Last Tape confirmed my suspicion that Beckett is an auther with no clothes. I'm not waiting for Godot any more and I don't want to hear any of Krapp's tapes.

Romeo and Juliet

The Globe touring company did an outdoor performance at Herstmonceux Castle, using a VW bus as the main set.
The cast of 8 played all the parts and created a very raunchy, fast paced production that was lots of fun.
The small audience, which included lots of kids, the CSAO group and miscellaneous locals and tourists had a great time. Even the ducks and geese seemed to be having a good time.

The Real Inspector Hound, Black Comedy

Soulpepper managed to find the right cast and director for these two one act plays. Mike Sharra is fantastic in Black Comedy, but then so is Oliver Dennis and Caroline Cave.
Laugh out loud funny.
The shots taken at reviewers and pretentious writing were hilarious in the Real Inspector Hound.
The physical comedy was brilliant in Black Comedy.

Avenue Q

Managed to get tickets for the same evening. Fun but light production, and probably a lot more appealing to a younger crowd - the ones who grew up on Sesame Street, instead of being the parents of those kids.

The Chalk Garden

We have been dying to see something in this theatre for ages, since so many great productions seem to originate there. This did not disappoint.
It is a very small theatre and not all that well designed - you get a railing across your view if you have front row balcony seats. But you were on the edge of your seat anyway, so it was not a big problem.
Great cast of actors - Margaret Tyzack was wonderful, as was Penelope Wilton. A very interesting play - one that we think probably fits into the Shaw mandate and that we would love to see done there.

The Revengers Tragedy

Fantastic performance. Given that we were too cheap to pay the extortionate price for a program, I have no idea who was in the cast or even who directed. But what a marvellous production - fast, focused, coulourful, energetic and totally rivetting. A sold out house on a Monday evening, in the Olivier Theatre, which seems to hold about 3000 people.
Definitely want to see more revenge tragedies and Shakespeare contemporaries.

Romeo and Juliet

This production got weak reviews early in the season and has suffered weak audiences as a result. But an early August performance was excellent and showed the value of waiting until later in the run when the cast has a chance to develop the performance.

Romeo and Juliet were young and enthusisatic and silly teenagers - what you need to make the tragedy real.

The only jarring note was the odd change of costume, from modern to Elilzabethan and then back again at the end. I assume it was to underscore the ageless nature of the story, but it was annoying and unnecessary. Pick a period (either one would have been fine) and stick with it!

The Taming of the Shrew

A risky play in these times, but a production that manages the balance between the words and the sentiments very carefully. Evan Buliung is a strong Petrucchio and has great chemistry with Kate. He suffered with her, thereby reducing the brutality.

The limp was unnecessary and interfered with the feeling of the play.

Love's Labours Lost

A silly play with a silly premise, but it can be a lot of fun, and this production definitely fits the bill.

The students in the conservatory do a great job of bringing to to life. The boys rolling on the ground laughing was so real and so much fun.

Peter Donaldson is great as is his young assistant. They had great chemistry last year in To Kill a Mocking bird and it continues.

The Trojan Women

Martha Henry is fantastic. Kelly Fox as Cassandra is fabulously mad. Seanna McKenna sobs for all mothers hearing that her son is to die. It is heartbreaking and stunning, and her interaction with her son is so powerful, you absolutely believe that this poor boy will be killed.

The staging reminds me why I love the Patterson - you are so close you think you are in the play.

I can't believe that I lived so long without coming to Greek tragedy - it is amazing and the Stratford productions over the last couple of years have been great.

Hamlet

Everyone has been saying that the Ben Carlson Hamlet was going to be a great one, and for once they were right. His performance was consistently excellent - clear, coherent and full of humanity.

Geraint Wynn Davies made Pollonius come to life - without a doubt the best Pollonius I have ever seen. He was funny and fatherly at the same time. Yuo could see and understand the relationship he had with his children, and you could see why he was a valued counsellor tot he King.

The staging was interesting, but the pool table was a conceit that did not work. Sitting in front row centre, the view was definitely obstructed! And how often can you say that about great seats?

Fuente Ovejuna

This is a fascinating production, largely becuase we have never seen any Spanish golden age theatre before. Keith and I had different reactions to this play - he did not like it and found the translation "like speaking cardboard" (to quote Seanna McKenna). This was the over riding factor for him so his vote overall is NO.

I liked the overall production and was much less bothered by the occasionally stilted language. My problem was with the performance of Scott Wentworth, who seemed to be in a diffeerent play. He was doing melodrama and doing it well, as he does. But the rest of the cast were doing a straight drama, so his performance was jarring and did not contribute to the theme of the play - when does the community have the right/obligation to rise up against evil? When is it necessary to take a stand and say no more? Important questions that were not served well by Wentworth's melodrama. He could have shown us a really evil Guzman, that would have been much more effective. But overall, my vote is YES.

Standing Ovations

To establish a baseline for our comments, here are the shows we have given standing ovations - real ones, not just standing up because the people in front did and you want to see what is going on:

HOSANNA (Michel Tremblay) Tarragon 1974, Richard Monette as Hosanna

The recent death of Richard reminded me that this was our first real standing ovation. It was a great performance by the then very young Richard Monette. We were very young then too, so we saw him as a contemporary of ours. I imagine the play seen today would not have the same impact on us now that we are older. But any actor playing Hosanna has a long way to go to do better than Richard Monette playing Elizabeth Taylor playing Cleopatra!

RICHARD III Stratford Ont. 1977, Brian Bedford as Richard

THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA (Frederic Garcia Lorca) Shaw 2002

JOURNEY'S END (R.C. Sherriff) Shaw 2005

THE MAGIC FIRE (Lillian Groag) Shaw 2006

THE BLONDE, THE BRUNETTE AND THE VENGEFUL

REDHEAD (Robert Hewett) Stratford Ont. 2006, Lucy Peacock

SCORCHED (Wajdi Mouawad) Tarragon 2007

MACBETH Lyceum New York 2008, Patrick Stewart as Macbeth

HAMLET Stratford Ont. 2008, Ben Carlson as Hamlet

Introduction

This site is to help Keith and me record our thoughts about shows we see - mostly for our own benefit but also to share "reviews" with friends, and to keep track of what we have seen.
We started with Macbeth - April 12, 2008 and will track forward from there.
The initial posts were all entered in a batch just to get the record up to date, so they are not all in order. But the goal is to add new ones as they happen.
The only play that is not reviewed is one by Judith Thompson, that ran for five nights only, and told the stories of 15 women - real women acting their own stories. My friend Lois Fine was in i. It was great, and it will never be done again, although other women may tell their stories in a different production. For some reason, I can't remember the name of the play, but as you will never see it anyway, it probably doesn't matter.