Category Archives: Dance, theatre & musicals

Satisfying Comfort Food

Posted on May 18, 2025 by barczablog

I’ve just seen Comfort Food, Zorana Sadiq’s second play. It’s another creation supported by Crow’s Theatre, and quite different from MixTape (2021), her one-woman debut show. Zorana is a woman of many talents, a classical singer & actor whose reflections … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Genre defying Macbeth

Posted on May 14, 2025 by barczablog

I have been a fan of Eric Woolfe for a long time. My first encounter with his genius was Madhouse Variations, more than ten years ago. I remember sitting in a theatre laughing so hard that I couldn’t stop, my … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Soundstreams’ Garden of Vanished Pleasures on a dark Toronto weekend

Posted on April 27, 2025 by barczablog

In 2021 the COVID pandemic disrupted the plans by Soundstreams to present their original production Garden of Vanished Pleasures, a music-theatre work about Derek Jarman, the gay activist, film-maker & poet who died of AIDS related complications in 1994, devised … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Opera Atelier bring David and Jonathan to Toronto

Posted on April 10, 2025 by barczablog

Opera Atelier brought their opulent 2022 Versailles production of Marc Antoine Charpentier’s 1688 opera/ballet David and Jonathan to Koerner Hall in Toronto. Artistic Director Marshall Pynkoski reminded us last night in his pre-show speech that the company began forty years … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Madelaine Rose talks about Passed Down, her new solo show

Posted on April 7, 2025 by barczablog

Madelaine Rose is an accomplished Toronto based multi-hyphenated internationally recognized award winning creator. She is an actor, producer and director with experience and training in both film and theatre. You can read a more detailed bio here on IMDB. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Gondoliers prescription for what ails you

Posted on March 1, 2025 by barczablog

I arrived at the Jane Mallett Theatre in a bad mood. I don’t think I’m the only one finding the news on television hard to take. Between the arguments between Zelensky and the White House, or the outcome of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wights: a fit of words against words

Posted on January 16, 2025 by barczablog

From its title on down, Liz Appel’s new play Wights that opened at Crow’s Theatre last night had me astonished, perplexed, wondering whether I’d seen comedy satire or just the real lives of smart people using big words in their … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Politics, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hilarious combat in The Bidding War

Posted on November 21, 2024 by barczablog

The title of The Bidding War isn’t just a metaphor. Michael Ross Albert’s new play has just opened at Crow’s Theatre with a big cast and big laughs. The premise is so simple that it can’t miss. Buyers and agents … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Her Name is Lucy Barton

Posted on October 24, 2024 by barczablog

I just came home from seeing My Name is Lucy Barton at the Bluma Appel theatre, in Canadian Stage’s new production of Rona Munro’s 2018 adaptation of Elizabeth Strout’s 2016 novel of the same name. It felt so close to … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A natural high from Tafelmusik’s Feast of Unknowns

Posted on October 19, 2024 by barczablog

Tafelmusik have outdone themselves this time. This concert titled Feast for the Senses was an exploration of new flavours presented with the assistance of Amandine Beyer, guest director and violin soloist, a genuine feast. Baroque for most people means Bach … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment