A toilet and a pink floor mat, a silky pillowed poof, a pink phone, and a miniature pink bin adorn the stage. If the title wasn’t enough of a giveaway, the set certainly screams teenage girl. Morro and Jasp are clown sisters whose shows have won then awards on the Canadian comedy circuit. Here in […]
Writings
Stuart Bowden: Wilting in Reverse
August 18th, 2015 by Matt RudkinStuart Bowden is clearly a multitalented, intelligent, and imaginative artist. His show – part way between comedy and theatre – is based on a very interesting premise, but for me too many of his comic riffs didn’t serve his narrative or the concept. He just too often indulged in easy and predictable gags that took […]
Penny Arcade: Longing Lasts Longer
August 18th, 2015 by Sarah DaviesPenny Arcade (Susana Ventura) is a queer performance art legend and an endlessly fascinating performer. Having left small-town America for adventures in New York City, she self identifies in her first few breaths as the Evil Queen, an antidote to Snow White’s dull conformity, and defies easy definition. Sliding easily between cabaret, poetry, and performance […]
Theatre Movement Bazaar/Beijing TinHouse Productions: Poker Night Blues
August 17th, 2015 by Dorothy Max PriorHow perfectly the heart works, when it works… Poker Night Blues is a collaboration between the US-based theatre company Theatre Movement Bazaar and Chinese-based Beijing TinHouse Productions. Together, they take an iconic American dramatic text, A Streetcar Named Desire, and deliver it to us with an ensemble of Chinese actor-dancers (although some are possibly Chinese-American) […]
Open Clasp: Key Change
August 17th, 2015 by Sarah DaviesThis deeply affecting ensemble production made me think about female prisoners in a significantly different light. After learning the characters’ stories, based as they are on real testimonies, I understood that the women’s eventual incarceration was as inevitable as it was beyond their control. Yet these women are very clearly presented not as victims but […]
