Tag Archives: Canadian Stage

The lustful lessons of Slave Play

Posted on October 2, 2025 by barczablog

Wednesday October 1st was the opening night of Canadian Stage’s production of Slave Play, by Jeremy O. Harris, a very original work getting its Canadian premiere at the Berkeley St Theatre, directed by Jordan Laffrenier. The premise is only part … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals | Tagged Amy Rutherford, antebellum, Beck Lloyd, Berkeley Street Theatre, Canadian Stage, Gillian Gallow, Gord Rand, Jeremy O Harris, Jordan Laffrenier, Justin Eddy, Kwaku Okyere, Rebecca Applebaum, Sébastien Heine, Slave Play, slavery, Sophia Walker | Leave a comment

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 AIDS, Cameron Davis, Canadian Stage, Cecilia Livingston, Daniel Cabena, Danika Lorèn, David Jaeger, Derek Jarman, Donna McKevitt, Garden of Vanished Pleasures, gay activism, Hillary Tufford, Hyejin Kwon, Lawrence Cherney, Lord Byron, Mireille Asselin, Soundstreams, Tim Albery, woke culture | 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

Topdog/Underdog and questions of greatness

Posted on October 7, 2023 by barczablog

Last night I went to see Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks, promoted as “The Greatest American Play of the past 25 years” according to the NY Times and identified as “a darkly comic fable” in one of the ads. Directed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals | Tagged Baillie Theatre, Canadian Stage, Mazin Elsadig, Sébastien Heins, Suzan-Lori Parks, Tawiah M'Carthy, Topdog/Underdog | Leave a comment

From the Met: Jocelyn and Dean create a Hamlet

Posted on June 5, 2022 by barczablog

Adapting a play into an opera can be fascinating work, especially when it’s as well-known a play as Hamlet. I’ve seen several attempts to turn this play into something else including a couple of musicals, an opera long ago, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Allan Clayton, Barbara Hannigan, Brenda Rae, Brett Dean, Canadian Stage, Claude Debussy, Giuseppe Verdi, Hamlet, John Relyea, Matthew Jocelyn, Metropolitan Opera, Neil Armfield, New Creations, Nicholas Carter, Otello, Rod Gilfry, Sarah Connolly, Stephane Mallarme, Thomas Ades, Toronto Symphony, William Burden, Zachary Woolfe | Leave a comment

#popstarplay life lessons

Posted on February 22, 2020 by barczablog

I heard a wonderful interview with Vivek Shraya on Q earlier today that gave me some clues as to what I’d be seeing and hearing tonight in her one-woman autobiographical show How to Fail as a Popstar, aka #popstarplay in … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged bhajans, Brendan Healy, Canadian Stage, How to Fail as a Popstar, James Bunton, Leontyne Price, Vivek Shraya, Whitney Houston | Leave a comment

AF and why

Posted on February 21, 2020 by barczablog

Huge preamble coming. If you want to skip to the review itself, look under the photo.I went to see AF and am daring to review it. I feel I need to say this after having read Yvette Nolan’s piece, responding … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged AF, bug, Canadian Stage, Christos Hatzis, criticism, crystal pite, dramaturgy, Eddie Elliott, Eliot Britton, Eugenio Barba, Jennifer Brousseau, Joel Ivany, Joyce To, Michael Rourke, Miyeko Ferguson, National Ballet of Canada, Red Sky Performance, Revisor, Rick Sacks, Sandra Laronde, Sela Vai, Thomas Fonua, Yolanda Bonnell, Yvette Nolan | 1 Comment

Resonant Minorities

Posted on October 18, 2019 by barczablog

Tonight I was present at the Canadian premiere of Yang Zhen’s third installment of his “Revolution Game Trilogy”, Minorities, a Red Virgo production presented by Canadian Stage. You will recognize many things in this show. We watch five female dancers later … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Reviews | Tagged Aodonggaowa, Canadian Stage, Chinese Korean, Gan Luyangz, Guzhanuer Yusufu, Huang Ping, Lou Hio Mei, Ma Xiao Ling, Macao, Mongolia, Tibet, Uyghur, Yang Zhen | 2 Comments

The Book of Life

Posted on September 22, 2019 by barczablog

I needed that. The Book of Life, a Volcano Production in association with the Woman Cultural Centre, Rwanda, and Why Not Theatre, is currently running at the Berkeley St Theatre, presented by Canadian Stage. I came into this show wondering … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Politics, Reviews | Tagged Canadian Stage, Kiki Katese, Odile Gakire Katese, Rwanda, The Book of Life, Volcano Theatre, Why Not Theatre | Leave a comment

I swallowed a moon made of iron: Oxymoronic, Prophetic

Posted on May 18, 2019 by barczablog

Njo Kong Kie has created a one man show from Xu Lizhi’s texts, that he sings and enacts mostly from the piano, I swallowed a moon made of iron, presented at the Berkeley Street Theatre by Canadian Stage. That title comes … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Popular music & culture | Tagged Canadian Stage, I swallowed a moon made of iron, Njo Kong Kie, Xu Lizhi | Leave a comment