Category Archives: Dance, theatre & musicals

Discussing The Wounds of Love and Other Gifts, Bruce Dow’s new musical: an interview

Posted on June 23, 2026 by barczablog

In an interview I aim for rapport, to get the subject to trust me, to be open in their answers: language I learned decades ago when I trained to be a psychotherapist, a profession that in the end was beyond … Continue reading →

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Unprepared for Parḗlios

Posted on June 16, 2026 by barczablog

My review of Parḗlios? The headline says it. I was in the lobby at Theatre Passe Muraille early Sunday in anticipation of the closing performance of Parḗlios when I ran into Jennifer Nichols, who directed & choreographed the show, the … Continue reading →

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Of Whales and Willpower Part One: Jamaican Music from Apocryphonia

Posted on June 14, 2026 by barczablog

The title of the concert Friday June 12th at Christ Church Deer Park was “Of Whales and Willpower: The Jamaican Jonah, Part 1”, suggesting that there’s a sequel in the works. This first step was hearing excerpts from Samuel Felsted’s … Continue reading →

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Symbolist cicadas probing underneath

Posted on May 8, 2026 by barczablog

If you think the headline is cryptic, you should see the play. I saw the World Premiere of cicadas, a new work that I understand as an elaboration upon a radio play, a Tarragon Theatre and NAC English Theatre Co-Production … Continue reading →

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Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark from Shakespeare, Lepage, Côté and Gzowski

Posted on April 26, 2026 by barczablog

The run is so brief as to make this review seem pointless. Friday night I saw the opening of the Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark. My blog may be done by Saturday, but anyone seeing a weekend showing already … Continue reading →

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She Holds up the Stars from Red Sky & Toronto Symphony

Posted on April 20, 2026 by barczablog

In a week of adaptations, the trip to Roy Thomson Hall to see & hear the world premiere of She Holds Up the Stars from the Toronto Symphony & Red Sky Performance on Sunday April 19th was a fabulous case … Continue reading →

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Erin Shields’ Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary at Crow’s Theatre

Posted on April 19, 2026 by barczablog

I saw the matinee of Erin Shields’ Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary on Saturday afternoon April 18th. The title is playful I suppose, but makes a lot of sense when you look at the New Testament, particularly the female characters. I … Continue reading →

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Opera Atelier present their new Pelléas et Mélisande

Posted on April 16, 2026 by barczablog

Wednesday night saw the premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande in a new orchestration by Christopher Bagan, conducted by David Fallis at Koerner Hall. Opera Atelier commissioned Bagan to reduce the scope of Debussy’s opera from a post-Wagnerian orchestra (70 + … Continue reading →

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Room of Keys with David James Brock and Adam Sherkin playing Béla Bartók

Posted on April 10, 2026 by barczablog

Room of Keys is a sort of sacred mystery play. I don’t throw that M word out there in the spirit of a whodunnit so much as the old sacred pre-Shakespearean plays that would stage a small Biblical episode. No … Continue reading →

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Cyclops on the edge

Posted on March 29, 2026 by barczablog

I have just seen Cyclops: A Satyr Play, Produced by Panic Theatre in association with Talk is Free Theatre, Written, Directed and Performed by Griffin Hewitt, with Original Music by Juliette Jones. If I said it’s Euripides’ only surviving Satyr … Continue reading →

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