Category Archives: Dance, theatre & musicals

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 Aleksandar Lukac, horror, Kelly Taylor, Madelaine Rose, Passed Down, Red Sandcastle Theatre, Rosalyn Cosgrove, Solo'd Out, York University | 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 Brooke Mitchell, Gilbert & Sullivan, Gregory Finney, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Jane Mallett Theatre, Lissy Meyerowitz, Matheus Coelho do Nascimento, Sebastien Belcourt, The Gondoliers, Toronto Operetta Theatre, Yanik Gosselin | 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 Ari Cohen, Chris Abraham, Crow's Theatre, Guloien Theatre, Liz Appel, Rachel Leslie, Richard Lee, Shakespeare, Sochi Fried, theatre, Wights, writing | 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 Amy Matysio, Aurora Brown, Crow's Theatre, Fiona Reid, Gregory Prest, Gregory Waters, Guloien Theatre, Izad Etemadi, Michael Ross Albert, Paolo Santalucia, Peter Fernandes, Real Estate, Sergio Di Zio, Sophia Walker, Steven Sutcliffe, The Bidding War, The Master Plan, Veronica Hortiguela | 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 Amelia Scott, Bluma Appel Theatre, Canadian Stage Company, Jackie Maxwell, Jacob Lin, Lucy Barton, Maev Beaty, Michael Gianfrancesco, My Name is Lucy Barton | 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 Amandine Beyer, Charlotte Nediger, Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Feast for the Senses, Georg Muffat, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Jeanne Lamon Hall, Lucas Harris, Michael Unterman, Michel Richard de Lalande, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra | Leave a comment

Sankofa: The Soldier’s Tale Retold, and Andrew Burashko’s farewell to Art of Time

Posted on October 9, 2024 by barczablog

For the last 25 years, Art of Time Ensemble has been on the cutting edge of the performing arts in Canada, fusing music with theatre, dance, film and literature in unique and unprecedented ways. The list of illustrious artists who … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Andrew Burashko, Art of Time, Art of Time Ensemble, Diego Matamoros, Joel Ivany, John Gzowski, Kevin Lamotte, Leon Fleisher, librettist, Marek Jablonski, opera, Peggy Baker, Sankofa, Sankofa: The Soldier's Tale Retold, Tawiah M'Carthy, Titilope Sonuga | Leave a comment

A seriously playful TSO program

Posted on October 5, 2024 by barczablog

The search for fun can be a serious pursuit. Play is the operative word for a Toronto Symphony program titled “Spirited Overtures:” Gioachino Rossini–Overture to The Barber of SevilleIgor Stravinsky–Jeu de cartes (Card Game)–intermission–Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart–Violin Concerto No. 3 in … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Barber of Seville, Bugs Bunny, Claude Debussy, Die Fledermaus, George Weston Recital Hall, Gioachino Rossini, Gustavo Gimeno, Igor Stravinsky, Jeu de cartes, Jeux, Johann Strauss Jr, Renaud Capuçon, Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Leave a comment

Pickle Theatre staged reading of Venus in Fur

Posted on September 22, 2024 by barczablog

As M John Kennedy explained it to me before the show, they had to fill in a space on the application form they completed for their production of David Ives’ Venus in Fur, identifying the name of their company. “Pickle … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged Annex Theatre, Dahlia Katz, Erynn Brook, Leopold Sacher-Masoch, M. John Kennedy, meta-theatre, Pickle Theatre, Roman Polanski, Venus in Fur, Venus in Furs | Leave a comment

Unexpected light in 1939

Posted on September 21, 2024 by barczablog

Last night I watched 1939, a recent play by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan at Berkeley St Theatre, a brilliant snapshot of the madness of residential schools and resilience in response. It’s a Canadian Stage and Belfry theatre joint production … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged 1939, Belfry Theatre, Brefny Caribou, Canadian Stage, Canadian Stage Company, Catherine Fitch, Cree, Grace Lamarche, Indigenous, Jani Lauzon, John Wamsley, Kaitlyn Riordan, Merewyn Comeau, Mohawk, Nathan Howe, Ojibwe, Richard Comeau, Stratford Festival, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment