Theatre that’s worth talking about
As the kids head back to school, the thespians hit the boards.
Our Toronto Star theatre critics, Karen Fricker and Carly Maga, had a conversation about what not to miss in Toronto theatre from September to December.
Karen Fricker: So, Carly, what are you looking forward to in the upcoming theatre season?
Carly Maga: That’s tough to pare down to one or two shows, since there’s a lot I’m looking forward to this fall, but one production I’m very excited to see is The Aliens by Annie Baker, the first show in the 2017/2018 season at the Coal Mine Theatre, the super intimate storefront space on the Danforth. Baker got her professional Toronto premiere with the Company Theatre’s production of John, which was my favourite show of last season. The Aliens is an earlier Baker play that’s very simple and sad and real (her M.O.) and, under the direction of Outside the March’s Mitchell Cushman, I think this is going to be a very strong followup.
KF: Yes, it’s exciting to see theatres take up the relay from each other; John captured imaginations and scooped up awards last year, and left a lot of us wanting to hear more of Baker’s voice. It’s possible that The Aliens was already in Coal Mine’s plans and John has added to its momentum. In any event, I too am really looking forward to more Baker.
CM: It’s also encouraging to see two female playwrights in Coal Mine’s upcoming season; they have tended to skew male so far. What’s first on your list, Karen?
KF: Well, it’s partially because it’s one of the first big openings of the season, but I really can’t wait for Life After. You and I saw that together in an earlier version at the 2016 Toronto Fringe and I just got chills thinking about it again. Composer Britta Johnson is a major talent and this is a beautiful musical about loss, grief and family.
From a co-production perspective this is also notable because it sees Canadian Stage pairing with Musical Stage Company (who are so on a roll) and Yonge Street Theatricals. Musicals are expensive and complicated, and seeing these kind of partnerships happen on new Canadian shows is inspiring.
CM: Yes, it feels like we’re already seeing the success of Come From Away extend to other Canadian musicals and musical theatre writers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Britta’s name on Broadway one day. And speaking of new musicals, one show I’m curious (I won’t say “excited” just yet) to see, as are many Torontonians, is Bat Out of Hell The Musical, using the music of Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf. I have no idea what to expect, but I love a good guitar riff.
KF: Are we allowed to say LOL in print? Yes, these jukebox musicals present a challenge, which is how to string a composer/group’s hits together with a plausible (or delightfully implausible) plot. When it works (hello, Mamma Mia!) it can make millions. Mirvish brought in two credible jukebox musicals last season: The Bodyguard (which I found to be great campy fun) and Beautiful. We shall see about Mr. Loaf. What else is on your list?
CM: Well, while we’re on the Mirvish Productions train, I want to mention The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This is a highly anticipated international tour of the Olivier and Tony Awardwinning production of the Simon Stephens play, based on the book by Mark Haddon.
KF: Have you seen it before or read the book?
CM: I haven’t done either and I’m trying to keep it as much of a surprise as possible, because the visuals are supposed to be absolutely thrilling. And I’m also loving this little Simon Stephens moment in Toronto this fall, with Stephens’ play Heisenberg at Canadian Stage in November, directed by Matthew Jocelyn. The last time Jocelyn tackled a Stephens play was 2015’s Harper Regan, which was very divisive but I found exciting. Jocelyn is a big Stephens fan and I think it shows.
KF: Yes! And the Stephens moment will continue at Crow’s (Theatre) in the new year with the Howland Company’s production of his play Punk Rock. I did see Curious Incident — I am pretty sure in HD rather than live — and yes, the direction (by Marianne Elliott) and design are extraordinary. It was originally produced on the smallest stage of London’s National Theatre with the audience quite close to the action. I’m curious to see how it transposes to the much larger proscenium stage of the Princess of Wales.
KF: (Speaking of ) Crow’s Theatre, the new east-end go-to venue, anything popping for you there this autumn?
CM: Absolutely. Crow’s keeps mining the Arts & Crafts roster with A&R Angels written by Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew (following up last season’s stellar True Crime, written and performed by Torquil Campbell, frontman of the band Stars).
KF: OK my millennial friend, you gotta help me out here. What do you mean by Arts & Crafts roster? (I and my fellow crusties thank you in advance . . .)
CM: Happy to help. Arts & Crafts is a record label that really defined Toronto indie rock of the mid-2000s, giving Broken Social Scene, Stars, Feist and more their big break. Stars is no longer with the label, but BSS is still the poster band for Arts & Crafts.
KF: Gotcha! And, hopefully this is not too glib a segue, but some of those artists were championed by the now-disgraced broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi, and one of the other shows sure to grab attention at Crow’s this autumn is Asking for It, a documentary play by the young actor/writer Ellie Moon about gender and consent in the wake of Ghomeshi. This is another co-production involving several important companies (Crow’s, Nightwood and Necessary Angel) — very impressive for Moon, as an emerging artist. And it’ll be one in a number of cool directing gigs for Brendan Healy, who’s come back from the disastrous shutdown of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival in Ottawa with considerable style: taking over as artistic director of performing arts for the city of Brampton and picking up a few choice assignments in town.
CM: As a former Q intern, I’m also very interested to see how Asking for It unfolds!
KF: Another name that’s popping up in a couple of places this season is Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, who is co-creating Buddies in Bad Times’ season opener Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools with Buddies’ artistic director Evalyn Parry (in a co-production with Theatre Passe Muraille, directed by Erin Brubacher). Bathory and Parry met on an Arctic expedition; Bathory is an Inuk who lives in Iqaluit. Following on from The Breathing Hole at Stratford, we’re hearing more voices from and about the North, which is very welcome.
CM: Buddies in Bad Times is also bringing back Diane Flacks’ Unholy, which is one of several shows I’m pleased Torontonians are getting a second chance to catch — like Ravi Jain’s production of Salt-Water Moon and Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced at Mirvish, Anita Majumdar’s The Fish Eyes Trilogy at Factory Theatre, and Mr. Shi and His Lover at Tarragon Theatre.
KF: Another show that’s making a welcome return this season is This Is the Point, Ahuri Theatre and Theatre Centre’s groundbreaking co-production about four people whose lives have been shaped by cerebral palsy. It picked up a few Doras, I think.
CM: It certainly did. The Theatre Centre was the winningest company at the Doras this year with This Is the Point and two more productions ( The Magic Hour and what it’s like). Theatre Centre’s a real success story in the indie theatre world, hopping from home to home until finding its permanent space at the Carnegie Library, where it’s really flourished into a presenter, producer and incubator. Which is also why I’m excited that a new indie theatre space is opening up this fall, the Assembly Theatre in Parkdale, in a partnership between Unit 102 Actors Company and Leroy Street Theatre.
In the absence of yhe Storefront Theatre, which closed suddenly in January, it’s clear that a new home for indie Toronto theatre was needed, so I’m glad these two companies have stepped up. Its first production will be Miss by Michael Ross Albert, whose play Tough Jews recently received a Dora nomination for Outstanding New Play.
KF: To finish, I want to return to the beginning of the season and a play and playwright at the centre of 20th-century theatre and a lot of what’s come since. It’s great to see Soulpepper (back from New York) producing Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and putting it in the morethan-able hands of Daniel Brooks, one of this country’s great directors. Some people have books they read once a year because they keep learning from them and loving them. Godot’s like that for me, theatrewise.
CM: This Godot is definitely something to look forward to. Brooks has a great track record with Beckett at Soulpepper, with two acclaimed Endgame productions. And now he’s reunited with Diego Matamoros, who makes half of the Godot dream team with Oliver Dennis: the ideal Vladimir and Estragon from the Soulpepper ensemble. Star theatre critics Karen Fricker and Carly Maga usually alternate the Wednesday Matinée column.