SUMMERWORKS REVIEWS: Breathe for Me, FACTS, Violent Be Violet

BREATHE FOR ME
Real Eyes Theatre

REMAINING SHOW
Factory Theatre
Sat. August 18, 7:30 PM
Warning: Mature Language

Breathe for Me is a two-hander starring Deborah Kipp as Edith and Peggy Mahon as Edna, two characters in their seventies who have navigated the long road of friendship, interrupted at times by distance and at one point, prison.  Wheelchair-bound Edna has a respiratory illness and refuses, despite Edith's advice, to go to the doctor. Edith enjoys having her high school friend living with her but abhors her stubbornness. Both women have had a problem with booze, and made decisions that they regretted, but at this stage of their lives it's time to face up to those mistakes and lost opportunities, and Edna especially needs to know the answer to a burning question. Jesse Strong's script brims with the brash honesty and lies of aged friendship, with lines delivered with wonderful comic timing and rock solid seriousness as needed. Edna is the more colourful of the two women in costume (by Dora nomineeNina Owens) and salty dialogue, but Edith, with her bland clothing and tiny gold cross, also gets the opportunity to let loose some zingers of her own. Director, Ed Roy keeps the dialogue flowing at a quick clip, and while there is too much obvious stage left/stage right movement in the first ten or so minutes of the play, the blocking eventually settles into a more naturalistic movements for the characters. Jesse Strong has written a gem of a script, and when you team that with two mighty fine actors in a production lit by three-time Dora Award winner, Kimberly Purtell, you have a winner that audiences can approach, confident that they will be seeing something special.

FACTS
http://factstheplay.ca/

REMAINING SHOWS
Factory Theatre
Fri. August 17, 5:00 PM
Sat. August 18, 2:30 PM
Warning: Gunshot, Mature language

Part detective story, part philosophical treatise, and part moral dilemma, FACTS is a play in which there are no easy answers, set in an area of the world where easy is a cosmic joke. An American archaeologist has been murdered, and it's up to two detectives, one Israeli (played by Richard Greenblatt) and one Palestinian (played by Sam Kalilieh) to find out if the settler (actor, Alex Poch-Goldin) they have tracked down is guilty of the killing. Check points, Arab-Israeli cultural differences, and police procedural are expected in this play set in a politically charged arena, but throw in a question of belief that may or may not have been proven by the dead archaeologist, and you have a story that demands the audience question its own religious stance, be they Muslim, Jewish, Christian or atheists. Superb acting by this triumvirate.

VIOLENT BE VIOLET
Fine Wine Theatre Company

REMAINING SHOWS
Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace
Fri. August 17, 3:00 PM
Sun. August 19, 10:00 PM

Playwright/actress Tanisha Taitt is the reason to see this play. Her role as Violet calls for emotional extremes that could easily descend into caricature. Directed by Dora Award winner, Philip Aikin, the play deals with mental illness, guilt, and the stresses on a family when they have to be on guard, but ever helpful, to a loved one. Violet is the sole survivor of an incident that resulted in the death of several friends. Her coping mechanisms are her poetry and the sessions she has with her former professor, now a nun named Sister Genevieve (Sarah Dodd). The story unfolds well, with Violet's relationship with her steadfast mother, Yolande (Sandi Ross) being established and the jocular sibling interaction between she and her brother, Amos (Peter Bailey) providing some light moments here and there. Violet's flashes of anger and her suicidal attempts frustrates everyone, but as the play progresses, her memories are gradually unblocked revealing the horror that has been trapped within her for the past fourteen years.

Tanisha's effortless acting makes the other actors seem stage bound. I see Violet (Tanisha) in the kitchen, but I see the others as actors on a set. There is too much gesticulating by Peter Bailey and not enough movement from Sarah Dodd.  Sandi Ross does a good job as the mother, but it is Tanisha that draws your eye every time, and she is what makes this viewing of her first play very worthwhile.

TICKETS
HOW TO BUY ADVANCE TICKETS ($15 + FEES): Advance Tickets are available until midnight the day before and can be purchased as follows:

Online at ticketwise.ca
In person at the Lower Ossington Box Office (located at 100A Ossington Avenue) ($15 + Fees) 11AM – 5PM

By phone by calling the Lower Ossington Box Office at 416-915-6747 for tickets & info during the hours listed above.

REVIEWS: SummerWorks 2012

SummerWorks Performance Festival "is the place where dedicated, professional artists are free to explore new territory and take artistic risks." Besides juried plays, the Festival also includes Music, a Performance Bar, and Live Art. Here are my thoughts on a couple of plays:

photo by Amber Williams King 

ANEEMAH'S SPOT
MotionLive/cric crac collective
www.motionlive.com or AneemahsSpot.com Warning: Strong and mature language, Smoking

REMAINING SHOWS
Lower Ossington Theatre
Thur. August 16, 10:00 PM
Sat. August 18, 5:00 PM

The moment she steps onto the stage, you can feel the worries and exhaustion that cloud Amanda Parris' character Aneemah, as she takes off her shoes and sits down on the couch in her apartment. Soon, she is joined by Wan (Araya Mengesha), but not before director, Dian Marie Bridge gives us time to absorb Aneemah's silent burden. And there are more moments of silence in this play, moments that ring true when the situation concerns people on the day of a friend's funeral. The silent notes complement the characters natural movements, be it sitting smoking a joint, or preparing Ackee and Salftish and talking about their dead friend "G". What also elevates this play from the ubiquitous elements of "hood drama" is the realistic dialogue penned by MOTION, who captures Caribbean-Canadian youth speak ("chu seh" "mans dem" "still") while cleverly interspersing theme-forwarding lyrics through Aneemah (a poet) and beats dropped by Wan (an emcee). Amanda Parris is a quiet beast of an actor whose stage presence could easily have over-shadowed, Araya, but he manages to hold his own in this play thanks to impressive writing and directing. Toronto's theatre scene needs more youth-focussed theatre, not just to build new audiences, but to add story diversity to Canadian stages.

photo by Gein Wong

A SONG FOR TOMORROW 
Eventual Ashes/New Harlem Productions

REMAINING SHOWS
Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace
Thurs. August 16, 7:00 PM, Fri. August 17, 2:00 PM,
Sat. August 18, 4:30 PM Sun. August 19, 11:30 AM

Inspired by her parents own marriage, and including themes that impact many immigrant families, playwright, Christina Wong's A Song for Tomorrow is a drama that invites us to think about time and the evolution or devolution of relationships. Wong's use of English, unsurtitled Cantonese and Mandarin in her script, is a bold choice that lends flavour to this Toronto-based, but universally available show. Set in reverse chronological order, we meet Ping (Jeff Yung) and May (Jasmine Chen) on the day that May has decided to leave the marriage. With the clock set in reverse, key elements of the relationship is expounded: Ping's gambling, his love of Wheel of Fortune, his work place situation, and May's attempt to improve her English so she can get a better job, and her hard work inside the home preparing meals after battling her way home on Toronto transit. Promises are broken and made as the play ends with the happiness and expectations of a young couple starting their lives together in a new city; unfortunately, because we know how it will end, their hopefulness leaves us with a sad heart, knowing what is to come.

With minimal make-up and costume changes, Jasmine Chen brilliantly ages backwards as May--I actually thought she was a more mature actor at the beginning of the play! The multi-media production matches the theme and setting of the play, as does the lighting by David DeGrow. I enjoyed the trip down memory lane with references to Simpson's Department Store, Wintario, and Toronto's red and cream streetcars, and locales such as China Town, Spadina and Markham streets. If I have one complaint, it is that there are too many scene changes as the characters get younger. A couple of short scenes could have been combined into one proper scene without sacrificing plot.

TICKETS
HOW TO BUY ADVANCE TICKETS ($15 + FEES): Advance Tickets are available until midnight the day before and can be purchased as follows:

Online at ticketwise.ca
 In person at the Lower Ossington Box Office (located at 100A Ossington Avenue) ($15 + Fees) 11AM – 5PM

By phone by calling the Lower Ossington Box Office at 416-915-6747 for tickets & info during the hours listed above.

Revisiting the Sistas: d'bi.young and Donisha Prendergast

In honour of Jamaica's 50 Year of Independence, I decided to rebroadcast two interviews I did in 2010. What better way to celebrate the island nation, than to showcase two young daughters who are doing so much to promote Jamaican culture, while establishing themselves as creative forces on the international scene. Up first is my interview with Dora Award winning playwright, dubpoet, actor and educator, d'bi.young, daughter of one of the original dub poets, Anita Stewart. In this interview, d'bi talks about creating the "wombanifesto" CD, the importance of giving back to community, and her future endeavours. Secondly, you will hear from Bob and Rita Marley's granddaughter, Donisha Prendergast (who joins the conversation from Florida), and producers Patricia Scarlett (Scarlett Media), and Marilyn Grey. At the time of the interview, the women were in the process of filming RASTA!-A Soul's Journey, a documentary that has since exploded onto the international scene. Enjoy.

FringeTO Faves

Guest, HeidyMo (http://hyemusings.blogspot.ca/) and I discuss some of our favourite Toronto Fringe Festival faves:

With the Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival being unjuried, sometimes you will luck out and see great shows and sometimes you can bounce from a spectacular show to a bomb in the span of 60 minutes. When I go to the Fringe, I hope to see a mix of indie and professional passion. This year, from my perspective at least, there seemed to be a bumper crop of wonderful plays. Here are some o my avourite plays, not because they were technically excellent, as many were, but because they resonated with me.

Liza Paul and Bahia Watson

Liza Paul and Bahia Watson, past artist-in-residence grads from d'bi young's anitafrika dub theatre) are the creators and stars of Pomme is French For Apple, a play that dares to share the honest truth about the vagina, sexuality and platonic and non-platonic relationships. One of my favourite scenes, is the one in which Liza (playing the teenage daughter) asks her Caribbean mother (Bahia) if she can date. What follows is a hilarious diatribe that more than answers the question. I saw knee-slapping from beginning to end. A Caribbean show that is well-suited to Toronto's savvy audiences.

POMME IS FRENCH FOR APPLE
BEST OF FRINGE PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY AUGUST 3, 9PM
TORONTO CENTRE FOR THE ARTS
http://pommeisfrenchforapple.com/

Seeing a title like pornstar at the Fringe could be a little dicey. I didn't know if I was in for stripper poles, or raunchy dialogue intended just to shock, but with Chris Craddock'ss name on the script and the team behind Fringe darlings Morro and Jasp, I joined the line that stretched around the Tarragon Theatre with less trepidation than I would if the production had been by unknowns. What I got was a smart script about religion, politics, and a young woman's claiming of her sexuality maturity. The comedy about a repressed Saskatchewan librarian's nomination for amateur porn (little did she know she was staring in one at the time) was intelligent as well as winningly acted by Amy Lee (Esther), and seductively performed by Lynne Griffin as sexpert, Sharon, whom Esther encounters when she lands in San Francisco. Rounding out this women-only quartet are Heather Marie Annis as the innocent, ethereal Kate, longing to reconnect with sister, Esther, and Sharah Menell, as Clarice, the Sarah Palin-loving politician and mother of Kate and Esther, played with cool fire by Menell. My Rating: 5/5 Stars

OTHER FAVOURITES, include The Dinner, which has an outstanding ensemble cast, and one that I have already reviewed is The Virginity Lost & Found, a perfect pairing with POMME! (see these reviews here) and The Ballad of Herbie Cox (see review)

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Jim Sands

charlie: a hockey story. I love storytelling, and Jim Sands quickly drew me under his spell with this mostly autobiographical tale. As a kid, Jim was the kind of guy who wanted to watch a brand new series called Star Trek, with its phasers in action and women in short skirts than spend an evening watching hockey. A successful night for him was getting away with switching the channel (manually, back then), and hoping his Dad kept snoozing on the couch so he could make it through an entire episode. When young Jim finds out his father's brother was once part o the NHL, is the moment that sparks his interest in the game. Through his recounting of hockey's rock 'em, sock 'em history, Jim reveals aspects of his relationship with his father (one that never ran smoothly), and his love of Shakespeare. Yep, I said Shakespeare. Sometimes good shows get overlooked at the Fringe. At 75 minutes the show could be improved with a good 15 minutes shaved off its run time, but this "average guy" show is a good one that deserved more than the modest crowd that were present at my viewing. If you're out West try and catch Jim's other performances of charlie: a hockey story: http://www.jim-sands.ca/  My Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Quantum Taxis
By: Paul Steinsland
Company: Punkture Wounds Productions
Company origin: Toronto, ON
Director: Paul Steinsland
Location: Honest Ed’s Parking Garage, 581 Bloor St. W.

FRINGE DESCRIPTION: Performed in an underground parking garage, the play is set inside two cabs. Each driver interacts with his passenger in a way which affects both lives. Yet what happens when a seemingly insignificant event causes each passenger to get into a different taxi? We see in an alternate reality how the smallest occurrence can profoundly change our trajectory.

My THOUGHTS: Kudos to this play for a)taking me somewhere I had never been, or even thought of going: Honest Ed's Parking Garage (I don't think many in my group had been to this site, either judging by their response), and b) making me think about Quantum Mechanics as it relates to everyday experiences of four characters (two passengers, two drivers) as they chit chat about life while headed to their destinations. God, the Universe, Fate, Coincidence, reggae music (Did you know every tune can be transposed into a reggae song?) are all explored with a casualness that nevertheless makes you ponder your own existence. At 80 minutes, the play does drag, especially when your Fringe time clock is tuned to plays below the 60-minute mark, but I was glad of the experience. My Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Photo Credits: photo of Liza Paul and Bahis Watson, Taxi Cab by donna g; photo of Jim Sands courtesy o http://fringetoronto.com/

Ruba Nadda Makes World Premiere at TIFF 2012

Toronto International Film Festival had its official launch with this morning's Press Conference at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey shared equal time in announcing the first slate of Gala and Special Presentation films. I was thrilled to hear that two Canadian women, would have Galas at TIFF in September: Ruba Nadda and Deepa Mehta. This is indeed a rare occurrence and one that I thought would elicit a noisy response from  media and invited guests; however, I had to remind myself that it was early in the morning, and that not everyone had had their coffee, at least I'm hoping that was the reason...

I've been a supporter of Ruba Nadda since interviewing her for her romantic comedy, Sabah, starring Arsinee Khanjian, and her romantic drama, Cairo Time, starring Patricia Clarkson. A true independent filmmaker, Ruba makes films that appear very simple at first glance but which stay with you long after you have seen them; they envelope rather than shout.

Director, Ruba Nadda, on her film, INESCAPABLE, a World Premiere Gala at TIFF 2012




I asked producer, Daniel Iron for a brief description o his role in INESCAPABLE. Many people are often unclear as to what a producer actually does.

Toronto International Film Festival
September 6 - 16, 2012
Ticket Packages On Sale Now
http://tiff.net/thefestival
416-599-TIFF (8433) 1-888-599-8433

James Quandt on TIFF/Cinematheque's "Summer in France"

Small Change (L'argent de poche)
Courtesy of www.tiff.net

I love chatting with James Quandt, Senior Programmer for TIFF/Cinematheque. Even when I admit personal gaffes like thinking Small Change (L'Argent de poche) is directed by Louis Malle instead of François Truffaut, he may pause, but he politely lets it go. Some brain glitch of mine continues to assign credit for the film to Malle, no matter how often I remind myself of the truth! You can hear my mistakes as well as James' very qualified observations of the films and directors featured in Summer in France program (July 13 - Sept. 2).

FringeTO Review: The Ballad of Herbie Cox

Real life marrieds, Victoria Chiu & Roland Cox.
Yes, Roland does execute this leap in the show. 

THE BALLAD OF HERBIE COX
My Rating: 5/5

With over 100 shows in the Fringe Festival, it's impossible to see all of them, so when Roland Cox handed my his show postcard, I couldn't promise that I would see the show. Two things that Roland did, made me try and schedule the show, and I am glad I did because it didn't disappoint. Without any fanfare Roland told me (and gal pal, blogger Heidy Mo) that the woman in the postcard was his wife (Victoria Chiu) and that "Yes, she really is that beautiful."). He then proceeded to do  the leap (shown left) in the middle of Lennox Avenue in front of the crowd waiting to go into the Randolph Academy. 

The Ballad of Herbie Cox, is a highly personal story for Chiu and Cox, as it details both sides of their racially and culturally mixed families through  dance, puppetry, and recorded and live narration. From grandparents through to their present union, the couple continually share the stage with very brief pauses  for quick costume changes. They are great contemporary dancers, but I don't think they are great enough actors to fake the love that surrounds them like a palpable aura.When she dances, he's at the piano or making oral music to accompany her. When they dance together it's sheer magic, especially the final piece which involves a comic stint using the piano as instrument and prop. My favourite piece is the one in which the couple acknowledge his brother, a drug addict with Aspergers Syndrome, with whom Roland wishes he had a better relationship. Chiu use of a chalk covered banner and contemporary dance movements combine with Cox's vocalizations to communicate pain and despair. This piece, more than any, exemplifies the shows' marriage between storytelling, dance and music, as all the elements work together to create fresh and captivating theatre.  Bravo!

I wish that I had seen this performance earlier in the festival, so that I could have recommended it to you earlier. There are two performances left, so take an extended lunch break tomorrow, or mark it in your calendar to see it Saturday.

Spoiler Alert! The "Herbie" in the show's title is the couple's blond-haired, blue-eyed toddler. I met him after the show and he is adorable! 

REMAINING PERORMANCES:
Randolph Theatre (on Bathurst, 1 block south of Bloor)
July 13 12:00 PM
July 14 12:30 PM


TORONTO FRINGE FESTIVAL
July 4 - 15, 2012
TICKETS: at-the-door tickets ($10) Available at a show’s venue starting one hour prior to show time, cash sales only, limit of 4/person. advance tickets ($9 + $2 service charge) Available up to three hours prior to the start of a performance: Online at www.fringetoronto.com By Phone at 416-966-1062 In person at the Festival Box Office July 4th – 15th, 12 – 10pm @ The Fringe Club, 581 Bloor St. W.