What was it that first divided the world? Could the answer to that question be attributed to the parable as outlined in the Book of Genesis, whereby people simply couldn’t understand each other? I ask because while sitting, watching Gapu Ŋupan unfold, I thought how nice it would be if the world’s 8.2 billion inhabitants,…
Maturity is a weird thing because not only does it seem to happen overnight but you can typically identify the very “moment” it takes place. You can recognize it in your friends, in your own kids, your favorite athlete, actor and author and usually in your favorite artist. For the lighthearted and laid back indie…
Amen Dunes is the project of New York-based Damon McMahon. Amen Dunes’ fifth record, Freedom, is exactly why you stick with an artist. Every record in Amen Dunes discography has been stronger than the one before and Freedom keeps the trend going as it is Damon McMahon’s finest work to date. McMahon brings a high…
La Boite Theatre’s first mainstage presentation of 2023, the world premiere co-production of The Poison of Polygamy comes with an array of content advisories. The work, which is recommended for audiences aged 15+ contains descriptions of murder, violence, drug use, sexual activities and references to suicide. The production also contains loud noises and the use…
Noises Off has been around for a few decades – it was written by British playwright Michael Frayn in 1982. And unlike The Play That Goes Wrong or Fawlty Towers, it feels like it. The farce appeared dated to me and it was inclined to push the envelope too far at every turn. The first act…
Cartoonist, painter, philosopher: Michael Leunig has plied his trade for decades. He’s become a one-man industry, churning out his offbeat, but highly familiar drawings, artwork and original poetry. Of course, over the distance, he has been interviewed by superior minds like Andrew Denton and Virginia Trioli. Snippets from these interviews are included in this documentary….
Talk about playing mind games with words. Seventeen years after MTC staged this Tony Award winning musical comedy, Saltpillar Theatre has brought it back to tickle our funny bones again. It is, indeed, hilarious, more than a touch silly and really fun, but not without pathos. All the young contestants in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling…
The spark burns brightly in Hairspray, a delightfully breezy musical with discrimination as its theme. It is colourful and dynamic, with toe-tapping tunes, smooth moves and a stellar cast, with talent to burn. The show positively sizzles, bringing frenzied acclamation from an appreciative audience. We’re in Baltimore in 1962. Teenager Tracy Turnblad (Carmel Rodrigues) is small of stature…
Only The Animals surprised me. This remarkably well-constructed French mystery-thriller is three stories in one. Alice Farange (Laure Calamy) is in a loveless marriage in rural France. She’s having an affair with a strange loner named Joseph Bonnefille (Damien Bonnard), who barely tolerates her. Then Bonnefille seemingly callously ditches her giving no reason. There’s a…
A multi-faceted fight for justice, which tugs at the heartstrings, is the essence of the dramatic musical Ragtime. The timeframe is the early 20th century and the piece combines fictitious representative characters with historical figures such as Harry Houdini, J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford. It is a story of immigrants and African Americans facing adversary…
