Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Over the top fun. this production included eveything but the kitchen sink - although the fridge and stove made it on stage! I particularly liked the McArthur Park scene - psychedelic to the max!
The basic story line works better in the movie, but this is certainly a spectacular evening of theatre. The audience loved it and gave a long and loud standing ovation, although I would not have.
Cast members were great dancers but some could use a little work on the singing. That may be a reflection of where we were sitting - under the balcony - so the sound seemed a little mushy.
The only cast member I recognised was C. David Johnson, in the role of Bob. I liked Will Swenson as Tick, Nick Adams as Felicia and Tony Sheldon as Bernadette.

Munsch Express

Aiden's third play. Produced and performed by the students of the George Brown School of Performing arts, it was fun but seeing Robert Munsch live would have been better.
Aiden liked the musical bits, but lost interest in the dramatic parts.

Hamlet

This production of Hamlet was part of the National Theatre Live series - not as good as being there, but better than not seeing it at all.

This is the best live production of Hamlet that I have ever seen. Referred to in the reviews as Hamlet in a hoody, the modern dress production is more than just modern clothing. It is a completely modern feeliing production. Not once did I have the feeling I was watching a 400 year old play. Nicholas Hytner has done a brilliant job of bringing the production alive without losing anything in the text. He was so fortunate to have chosen Rory Kinnear as Hamlet - he gave an absolutely brilliant performance. Hamlet was a person, not a character or worse a caricature as he so often is. The rest of the cast were very strong especially Patrick Malahide as Claudius and David Calder as Polonius.
The staging was great, although it perhaps would have been better seen live, rather than through the camera. I particularly liked the way the sequence with the Players was handled - it actually added to the production rather than dragging it out as it so often can.
The more times I see this play, the more I see in it. This may be becuase it is so long it is hard to focus on everything all the time, but I do regularly notice new things in every production.

Studies in Motion - the hauntings of Eadweard Muybridge

Fantastic! Canadian Stage is really coming up the ladder with this production. It was visually stunning, made amazing use of video and used the movement of people to great effect. So many more naked people than we expect to see on a Toronto stage, but so perfectly integrated that you forgot they were naked and focused entirely on the motion, exactly as Muybridge intended.
The performances were fine, but not outstanding. Not knowing the actors, it is hard to tell if this a result of direction to be somewhat stilted,(rather 19th century in feel) or whether the actors were feeling a bit self-conscious.
Electric Company theatre from Vancouver are certainly worth keeping an eye on, if this production is indicative of their abilities and talents.