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Cue to Cue celebrates all the great theatre in Toronto from the small independent companies to large international productions.

The Classical Theatre Project is a Toronto-based theatre company that until now has presented classical plays for high school students.  But, according to the company’s website, producing a steady stream of Shakespearean tragedies has run them somewhat ragged:  “Cooped up and hallucinating in Elsinore.  Losing our voices at Inverness.  Killing off young lovers left and right. It’s exhausting. And so we thought: What could be a better way to recharge than performing all of Shakespeare’s works in 90 minutes?”

It’s wonderful to see a classical theatre company that doesn’t take itself too seriously.  Rather than put on one of Shakespeare’s many comedies for some light summer theatrical fare, they’ve opted to bring one of London’s longest running parodies, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged), to Toronto.  And that’s not all: they’re bringing this hilarious show to Casa Loma.

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Cue to Cue celebrates all the great theatre in Toronto from the small independent companies to large international productions.

I’m breaking my bi-weekly schedule to bring you news of a fantastic show that shouldn’t be missed:  The Clean Shavian Co-op’s production of The Fatal Gazogene by George Bernard Shaw.

I often find myself wandering by Toronto’s historical buildings and wondering what the insides might look like; whether they smell of old wood and extinguished fireplace, whether the stairs creek, whether one might catch a glimpse of some ghostly apparition in a mirror.  As I’ve never been organized enough to take advantage of events like Doors Open Toronto, my curiosity has gone largely unsatisfied – until now.

Photo credit: Cory Bruyea

On Friday night I was wandering by the Campbell House -that stately, anachronistic presence on the north-west corner of Queen and University- and happened to notice a hand-drawn sign advertising a play taking place inside.  Upon entering, I was delighted to discover that the place did, in fact, smell of old wood and fire place, though I failed to spot any ghosts.

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Cue to Cue celebrates all the great theatre in Toronto from the small independent companies to large international productions.

[Update:  Mahmoud, the subject of my last post, was chosen as both a Patron’s Pick and the Best of Fringe!  The Best of Fringe will be taking place in the Studio Theatre at the Toronto Centre for the Arts from July 18^th to August 3^rd.]

My adventures at the Fringe Festival continued last week with two more plays featuring Toronto as a backdrop:  With Love and a Major Organ at the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace, and Tick at the George Ignatieff Theatre.  At this point you might be wondering why I would bother posting reviews of two plays whose Fringe runs wrapped over a week ago.  Well as luck would have it, both of these shows have been chosen as the best of Fringe!  So if you missed them during the festival, don’t despair.  You’ll have ample opportunity to check out With Love and a Major Organ at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, and Tick at Theatre Direct at the Artscape Wychwood Barns as part of the Best of Fringe Kids.

Ok, first up was With Love and a Major Organ, written by Julia Lederer and directed by Andrew Lamb.  This show was no stranger to good press during the Fringe, so I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover (when I arrived at Passe Muraille a mere 15 minutes prior to the start time) that other people had been lining up for over three hours in the hopes of scoring tickets.

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Cue to Cue celebrates all the great theatre in Toronto from the small independent companies to large international productions.

Well, it’s summer, which means that you’d be hard pressed trying to see any theatre in this city if it’s not part of a festival.  While the festivals themselves can at times be overwhelming, you can’t beat the opportunity to see new work.  This is certainly the case at the Fringe Festival (www.fringetoronto.com), which has currently taken over Toronto’s theatres, along with its less traditional venues like art galleries and parking lots.

I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve largely avoided the Fringe Festival in the past, probably because I find the prospect of choosing from the 150 some-odd shows rather daunting.  Over the last few years I’ve fallen back on a crutch that I’d imagine many Toronto theatre fans have found themselves leaning on from time to time:  If a friend’s in it, I’ll see it.  It’s just easier than risking your hard-earned $10 on a show that you don’t know anything about.  Plus, your attendance racks up brownie points and grants you automatic guilt-inducing fodder that comes in handy when your own theatre company is putting on a show and you’re harassing your theatre friends to come and see it.

In light of my paltry Fringe Fest attendance record and questionable motives, I decided that this year would be different.  The task of deciding which shows to see was simplified in no small part by the Toronto-centric nature of this blog, and by the wonderfully helpful women in the Fringe press office who, it turned out, had already put together a list of plays in which the city of Toronto is featured prominently.  Serendipity!

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Cue to Cue celebrates all the great theatre in Toronto from the small independent companies to large international productions.

The selling of women’s eggs has long been a controversial topic in Canada.  While egg donation is completely legal, the selling of one’s eggs was banned in 2004.  Toronto-based writer, actor, producer and director Claire Burns was in the process of selling her eggs when the law was passed.  She wound up being financially compensated for this service in spite of the new law, but the experience left her with mixed emotions.  So, naturally, she wrote a play about it.  While she’s still working on raising funds to put on her show (http://www.indiegogo.com/Hatchedtheplay) I couldn’t resist the urge to find out more about what inspired her to deal with her experience in such a uniquely creative way.

What drove you to donate one of your eggs in the first place?

I was taking a break from studying at Robarts and I saw a sign posted on the bulletin board at the library. Egg Donor Wanted. I was interested. I thought- maybe I can help a family have a family. So I contacted the email on the sign.

What was the process like?

It lasted, from start to finish, for about eight to ten months- negotiating times, dates. I went away to work out west for the summer. The actual medical process and procedure was relatively painless and easy for me. I had to be sober for six weeks, synching my (menstrual! weee!) cycle to hers. The day of was painless for me. I have lots more to say about it though- it’s complex.

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Cue to Cue celebrates all the great theatre in Toronto from the small independent companies to large international productions.

Greetings Toronto!

For the inaugural Cue to Cue post, I wanted to focus on an independent project, rather than a big-budget show.  I doubt it would be a stretch to suggest that the majority of theatrically-inclined Torontonians spend a fair amount of time attending friends’ fundraisers and dodging Facebook event invites to near-weekly indie show openings.  So I thought that perhaps a glimpse into the struggle of producing and directing independent productions in this city might be in order.  Enter Carter West, the director of Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, which opens at the Tarragon Extra Space next Tuesday, June 19th.   The Goat is the story of a middle-aged man who falls in love with a goat, and the chaos that ensues when he reveals this fact to his family.

Tim Walker and Rosemary Doyle in The Goat or Who is Sylvia?

Tell us a little bit about yourself as a director and about your theatre company, ATIC Productions

 I’ve directed shows in British Columbia, the U.S. and now Toronto. Other than that, I think I’m too young to say I have a definitive style or trademark as a director. ATIC productions began as a family endeavour six years ago to put a show in the Fringe. From there the company has grown, albeit slowly, and The Goat is our fifth production and first in Toronto.

What inspired you to perform this fairly well-known play?  

Albee is the perfect playwright for the budget-conscious theatre producer. While his plays confront difficult themes with unfairly rich characters, they are often confined to one room. This allows room for minimalism without sacrificing any elements of the piece itself. He allows you to produce his work with integrity and honesty whatever the conditions of the productions. He is also one of the most intelligent voices of his generation, and The Goat proves him to be provocative and insightful well into his 70s. Beyond the practicality, The Goat is a badass of a play. The narrative structure is sophisticated and draws on classical elements of tragedy, the characters are simultaneously emblematic and parodic of the society they represent and, perhaps most crucially, the show is thrilling to work on and to watch.

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