Book blurbs for fun: Missed Connections

The cover of Missed Connections, by Brian Francis, featuring an illustrated pen drawing out the title, a pile of letters and the silhouette of a man walking away. Time for another book blurb: Brian Francis’ memoir Missed Connections, published by McClelland & Stewart/Penguin Random House Canada—I got my copy from Glad Day Bookshop (Toronto). IContinue reading “Book blurbs for fun: Missed Connections”

Book blurbs for fun: Why I Was Late

Why I Was Late book cover, design by Emmie Tsumura, in collaboration with author Charlie Petch. Illustrated images of wrestlers, everyday objects, clothing, a dog, an outstretched hand, a saw. I recently added a book blurbs page to the blog, as I realized it’s another creative pursuit that I really enjoy and wanted to share.Continue reading “Book blurbs for fun: Why I Was Late”

Love in the time of COVID

Image: A heart-shaped stone on top of green, white and blue beach glass, set against a red background. Photo by the blogger. So this weekend, it’s Valentine’s Day on Sunday—and, for some of us, it’s also the Family Day long weekend. And, whether you celebrate either of these or not, you can’t deny that there’sContinue reading “Love in the time of COVID”

A grownup cautionary fairy tale of loyalty, betrayal & love in Shakespeare BASH’d fast-paced, highly entertaining, resonant Cymbeline

Catherine Rainville. Photo by Kyle Purcell.   Shakespeare BASH’d invites us to hear a grownup cautionary fairy tale of loyalty, betrayal, ambition, jealousy, love and family. Relationships are put to the test with evil and foolish schemes, and women’s and commoners’ true worth—for better or worse—are grossly underestimated in its fast-paced, highly entertaining, resonant productionContinue reading “A grownup cautionary fairy tale of loyalty, betrayal & love in Shakespeare BASH’d fast-paced, highly entertaining, resonant Cymbeline”

Fear, loathing & melancholy at an office party in the razor-sharp, edgy, timely Casimir and Caroline

Hallie Seline, Cameron Laurie & Alexander Crowther. Set & costume design by Ken MacKenzie. Lighting design by Jareth Li. Photo by Dahlia Katz. The Howland Company presents the North American premiere of their adaptation of Ödön von Horváth’s Casimir and Caroline, based on the original translation by Holger Syme, and adapted by Paolo Santalucia, HolgerContinue reading “Fear, loathing & melancholy at an office party in the razor-sharp, edgy, timely Casimir and Caroline”

Navigating the world with OCD in the funny, poignant, enlightening Living with Olivia Cadence Donovan

Conor Ling, Gabriella Circosta, Allison Shea Reed & Tristan Claxton. Photo by Alice Xue Photography.   RedWit Theatre invites us into lived experiences of a young woman living with OCD in Allison Shea Reed’s funny, poignant, enlightening Living with Olivia Cadence Donovan, directed by Sean O’Brien and running now in the Tankhouse Theatre at theContinue reading “Navigating the world with OCD in the funny, poignant, enlightening Living with Olivia Cadence Donovan”

#MeToo from the other side in the sharply funny, provocative Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes

Alice Snaden & Matthew Edison. Set & costume design by Michael Gianfrancesco. Lighting design by Bonnie Beecher. Photo by Joy von Tiedemann.   Tarragon Theatre kicks off the New Year with the premiere of Hannah Moscovitch’s sharply funny, provocative #MeToo look at a student/professor affair in Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, directed by SarahContinue reading “#MeToo from the other side in the sharply funny, provocative Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes”

Pride & BLM divide between friends in the provocative, fierce, meta Every Day She Rose

Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski & Monice Peter (as Mark and Cathy-Ann). Set design by Michelle Tracey. Costume design by Ming Wong. Lighting design by Rebecca Picherack. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann. Nightwood Theatre continues its 40th season with the premiere of Andrea Scott and Nick Green’s Every Day She Rose, co-directed by Andrea Donaldson and Sedina Fiati,Continue reading “Pride & BLM divide between friends in the provocative, fierce, meta Every Day She Rose”

FireWorks Festival: Fairy tale favourites collide with a contemporary feminist twist in the hilariously charming, bawdy If the Shoe Fits

Erik Mrakovcic & Marina Gomes. Set design by Teodoro Dragonieri. Costume design by Margaret Spence. Lighting design by Liam Stewart. Photo by Bruce Peters. Alumnae Theatre launches the final week of its FireWorks Festival with Genevieve Adam’s If the Shoe Fits, directed by Heather Keith—opening last night in Alumnae’s Studio Theatre. Fairy tale favourites collide, withContinue reading “FireWorks Festival: Fairy tale favourites collide with a contemporary feminist twist in the hilariously charming, bawdy If the Shoe Fits”

The Real Housewives meets Molière in GBTS’s hilariously delightful The Learned Ladies

Ensemble. Set & costume design by Brandon Kleiman. Lighting design by Siobhan Sleath. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann. The George Brown Theatre School (GBTS) graduating class opened its 2019-20 season at the Young Centre this week with a hilariously delightful take on Molière’s The Learned Ladies, translated by Richard Wilbur, directed by Sue Miner andContinue reading “The Real Housewives meets Molière in GBTS’s hilariously delightful The Learned Ladies”