Category Archives: Dance, theatre & musicals

Forensic Composition, or when the script is like a CSI

Posted on July 25, 2017 by barczablog

That headline is dead serious and no joke.  I was brought in twice way back in the 1970s as a composer by directors looking with puzzlement at play scripts.  It would happen again later.  These formative projects changed the way … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Popular music & culture, University life | 1 Comment

Irresistible Flea

Posted on July 7, 2017 by barczablog

I am usually drawn to Fringe shows either by the material or by the personnel in the show, so I couldn’t miss Pulse Theatre’s production of Feydeau’s A Flea in Her Ear. It’s directed by Aleksandar Sasha Lukac, a director … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | 3 Comments

#Odysseo in Mississauga: Celebrating what it is to be Canadian

Posted on June 22, 2017 by barczablog

Tonight it was my great pleasure to witness the opening night of Odysseo in the big tents set up beside the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, presented by Cavalia. Cavalia is a company led by Normand Latourelle that features live music, … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Leave a comment

Bad Jews: laughter and tears

Posted on May 27, 2017 by barczablog

Tonight I was held captive by the eruptions of emotion in Joshua Harmon’s 2012 comedy Bad Jews, receiving its Canadian premiere production at the Small World Music Centre, in the Koffler Centre for the Arts, directed by Michèle Lonsdale-Smith. Yes … Continue reading →

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Precarity in the alternative space of Other Jesus

Posted on May 12, 2017 by barczablog

Evan Webber’s new play Other Jesus, that has been getting presented nightly at St Matthew’s United Church on St Clair, opens a discursive space that I’ve been contemplating. I’m not entirely sure I’m objective about this, given that I’m projecting … Continue reading →

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

The Return and its promise

Posted on May 5, 2017 by barczablog

Three performances remain of The Return (il ritorno) at the Bluma Appel Theatre, the last of Canadian Stage’s “Spotlight Australia”, a kind of festival that they’ve offered the past few weeks.  The Return, from Circa appears to be the creation of Yaron Lifschitz, … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | 3 Comments

Questions for Evan Webber: Other Jesus

Posted on April 11, 2017 by barczablog

Evan Webber is a writer and performance maker who lives in Toronto. Evan’s work considers the relationship between time and text, and between narratives and institutions. Evan is an Associate Artist of Public Recordings, a collaborative operation that conjoins artistic research, performance … Continue reading →

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

Robert Lepage speaks white in 887

Posted on April 8, 2017 by barczablog

Although I missed Robert Lepage’s 887 the first time it came to Toronto in 2015 (during the Pan Am Games) I’m glad I was able to see it today with Canadian Stage at the Bluma Appel, in a short run … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Politics | 3 Comments

Liv Stein

Posted on January 27, 2017 by barczablog

I’ve just come home from opening night of Nino Haratischwili’s play Liv Stein presented by Canadian Stage, directed by Matthew Jocelyn. The first time I see something, a big part of my energy does into distinguishing between what’s exciting in … Continue reading →

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Questions for Birgit Schreyer Duarte: translator of Liv Stein

Posted on January 18, 2017 by barczablog

I was fortunate to encounter the work of Birgit Schreyer Duarte while she was still a student at the University of Toronto, over a decade ago. While one may sometimes see remarkable talents among a student population, she was at … Continue reading →

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