Looking Ahead To The 2027 Season
Looking Ahead To The 2027 Season So what joys does the 2027 season have in store? The crystal ball is still a bit hazy with only a few companies announcing their 2027 seasons. Here’s what we know so far. The Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival’s 2027 season should prove to be quite entertaining if slimmer […]
Chong Is Wrong
Chong Is Wrong Joshua Chong, the Toronto Star’s chief theatre critic, recently wrote a think piece with the headline “Canada must not freeze out American artists as Donald Trump attacks cultural institutions.” It was written in response to the “scores” of letters and comments he has received from people who think that Canadian theatres should […]
It’s Not A Cult, It’s A Salon
It’s Not A Cult, It’s A Salon Recently, I spent a fascinating evening at The Leonor and the memory has been haunting me ever since. The occasion was a reading of a work in progress by Canadian actress and, yes, superstar, Chilina Kennedy. The piece she is developing with the dramaturgical assistance of playwright Robert […]
The Odyssey And The Oddity
The Odyssey And The Oddity I took a break from theatre to go see Christopher Nolan’s bladder-busting three-hour blockbuster The Odyssey. I can confidently report that it’s okay. I won’t presume to “review” it. Film criticism is above my pay grade, but I will permit myself some observations. It seems that, in addition to inventing […]
A Stratford (and Shaw) Travelogue
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Bob Krist, retired photographer for National Geographic magazine, who is now sharing his professional know-how along with a growing collection of travel videos on YouTube. Like me, he has a life-long love of theatre so a pilgrimage to Canada’s two major festivals was a natural for […]
Brushing Up Your Shakespeare
Brushing Up Your Shakespeare I am an avid listener of The History of English Podcast, by Kevin Stroud, which helps while away the time as I commute back and forth from Stratford to the Great Satan to the south (thank you, Immigration Canada). Unless you’re a hopeless language nerd like me, I can’t wholeheartedly recommend […]
Blyth Festival Podcast
The Blyth Festival Podcast I wanted to give a brief shout out to the Blyth Festival Podcast, an excellent way to keep abreast of what’s coming up at Blyth. Hosted by Joanne Wallace, Blyth’s Director of Development, these short (35 to 45 minute) episodes typically take the form of interviews with the playwrights of upcoming […]
“We’re A Cult” – The Leonor
“We’re A Cult” – The Leonor Stratford has a new “third space!” The Leonor on George is hard to categorize and hard to resist. It’s a bookshop/boutique/tea room/performance space that seeks to become a gathering place for Stratford’s arts community and those drawn to it. The tag line says it all – “Where Creativity and […]
Stratford Festival Takes A Giant Step – Backward
Stratford Takes A Giant Step – Backward When the Stratford Festival began in 1953, it was helmed by a Brit, the legendary Tyrone Guthrie. The Festival continued to turn to the mother country for leadership for many years thereafter. Since Richard Monette became Artistic Director in 1994 the Festival has been solidly in Canadian hands. […]
Complete List Of Plays By Norm Foster
Complete List Of Plays By Norm Foster I have become a huge fan of the plays of Norm Foster as regular readers of OntarioStage may have noticed. I am always eager to add to the number of Norm Foster plays that I have seen. Norm Foster is often described as Canada’s Neil Simon. It’s not […]