News & Reviews Archive

Two performers wearing collared shirts, both with red hair, pose in front of a green screen.

‘The MaryRobin Show’ Delivers Big Laughs and Bold Moves 

  • Deaf Spirit Theatre
  • FOLDA
  • Review

From the mischievous grins on the show’s poster to the “may not be suitable for children” warning, The MaryRobin Show makes its intentions very clear: this is going to be fun. And it is!  Created by Deaf artists Elizabeth Morris and Hayley Hudson, The MaryRobin Show is a lively combination of sketch comedy, visual storytelling, and improv. Morris and Hudson are longtime collaborators through Deaf Spirit Theatre, a company they […]

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An art piece which looks like two plants have grown from the ground that appear like hands.

Life Through the Eyes of a Spud: ‘Kinnomics’

  • FOLDA
  • Review

There is no better place to begin building the foundation for radical change than in the dirt. Kinnomics by Iman Datoo opened on Friday, June 6 as an exhibit co-presented by the Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA) and the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. The exhibit opens the Agnes’ offsite space at 207 Stuart Street and explores how an organism or an artwork embedded in one ecosystem can find kinship […]

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Poster for Peerless Productions' 'Reflections and Refractions'. Poster includes a picture of the performers, the title, creator names, dates, location, and ticket link.

Reflections and Refractions: A Mirror to Creativity Without Limits

  • FOLDA
  • Peerless Productions
  • Review

The boundaries between digital art and live performance are blurred in Peerless Productions’ Reflections and Refractions. Presented as part of the Festival of Live Digital Art (FOLDA), the show brings together sound, light, movement, and digital design in a thought-provoking production. Arriving at the Isabel Bader Centre, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I knew it wouldn’t be traditional. That’s part of the FOLDA promise: to offer “what’s […]

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Image of a hospital room. The bed is in the centre with a curtain to the right and a wheelchair to the left. There are many medical devices in the room.

2021 Is a Pixel Perfect Performance

  • FOLDA
  • Review

Imagine this: you walk into a room and see ten objects laid out in front of you. A wallet, a medallion box, two remote controls, a Father’s Day card, a photo book, a radio, a stack of papers, an empty milk jug, and a cell phone. Carefully and strategically placed by Scenic Designer Helen Yung, you know each of these items holds the memories of a person, but you don’t know who exactly. Soon, you will find that the owner of these belongings is Brian Lewis, an unhoused veteran who is the father of Cole Lewis, the co-creator and performer of 2021. Lewis, along with Co-creator and Performer Patrick Belnkarn will guide you through the video game version of the very real story that is the last two weeks of Brian Lewis’s life. Exploring themes of  parenthood, the effects of war, ethics in artificial intelligence (AI), and terminal illness, 2021 is a show that can connect with people from all walks of life.

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Two people sit hugging on a couch.

68 Is the New 70 in ‘Decrepitude Blues’

  • Domino Theatre
  • Review

When I was a child, a family friend who happens to be a doctor once cautioned me to “be careful, because at a certain age you stop healing from wounds and you start just collecting them.” Warren Winters (Phil Perrin) has reached that age, and is really beginning to find the troubles that come with it. Decrepitude Blues follows Warren through doctor’s checkups and the loss of his job, friends, and wife, all the while highlighting the hardships of turning 70 with dry wit erupting at each new low. 

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A polaroid photo os two people walking down a street and three green fruits on a wooden surface.

‘WindRush’ Is a Breath of Fresh Air

  • FOLDA
  • Review

How do Black Caribbean men say ‘I love you’? Or perhaps a better question is, how do they show it? This curiosity is what sparked Marcel Stewart’s inspiration for creating WindRush. Also playing the character Basil, Stewart pieces together a realistic and gripping story about a Jamaican man experiencing loss, grief, friendships, and siblinghood.

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The text: "How The Other Half Loves". Loves is written in purple with a shadow whereas that other text is in white with a shadow.

Light, Laughter, and Living Rooms: ‘How the Other Half Loves’ is a Silly Gift in Serious Times

  • Review
  • Thousand Islands Playhouse

I left the Thousand Islands Playhouse after seeing How the Other Half Loves with a smile plastered on my face. While the play doesn’t offer much depth (it’s about as deep as a puddle), it delivers pure mischievous fun. The show never pretends to be anything other than effervescent fluff, and I found that wonderfully refreshing. What could have felt shallow and cringeworthy instead played like a masterclass in comedic […]

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Logo for the Kingston Theatre Alliance.

Job Posting: Junior Editor

  • Industry
  • Job Posting
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • News

The Performance Blog is a primary resource for audience members, artistic collaboration, critical dialogue, and theatre practitioners. Our platform consolidates events, news, artists, and organizations in the Southeastern Ontario area in an accessible and accountable manner that the region has never seen before. The writing team is looking for a Junior Editor who is passionate about the arts in Kingston and committed to questioning who and what criticism is FOR, […]

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Performers on stage. Some wear school uniforms and some wearing cheerleading uniforms. The front and centre performer is overjoyed and jumps gleefully.

Big Performances are Big Fun in QMT’s ‘Heathers: The Musical’

  • Queen's Musical Theatre
  • Review

Queen’s Musical Theatre (QMT)’s Heathers: The Musical has all the makings of a killer production: biting wit, belty numbers, and a cast that brings the house down, but the Baby Grand just can’t contain this much teen angst.

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Logo for Kingston Theatre Alliance

Job Posting: Theatre Critic

  • Industry
  • Job Posting
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • News

The Performance Blog is a primary resource for audience members, artistic collaboration, critical dialogue, and theatre practitioners. Our platform consolidates events, news, artists, and organizations in the Southeastern Ontario area in an accessible and accountable manner that the region has never seen before. Led by the Editor, the writing team is looking for passionate individuals who are committed to questioning who and what criticism is FOR, all while building a […]

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A group of nine are smiling for a photo in a black box theatre. They are group close together and one holds flowers.

Despite Close Quarters, ‘Family Container’ Cannot Be Contained

  • Review
  • See More Wake Up
  • Theatre Kingston

Terra (Jarena Lee) has fallen on hard times. Her case worker, Liz (Sierra Zawacki), is asking her to leave her current home at a women’s abuse shelter to make room for new tenants. Meanwhile, her abusive ex (Jonathan Campbell) has just been released from prison, she is meeting with a problematic potential landlord (Matthew Davis), and she is single-handedly raising her five children—Mya (Yashia Allen), James (Iffy Maduabuchi), Anaella (Reese […]

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Kingston Meistersingers Put It All on the (Chorus) Line

  • Kingston Meistersingers
  • Review

Few musicals capture the highs and lows of being a performer quite like Michael Bennett’s A Chorus Line. Set during a grueling Broadway audition, the show follows a group of dancers fighting for a coveted spot in the titular chorus line. Instead of a typical audition, the dancers are pushed beyond their resumes, answering deeply personal questions about their lives, dreams, and struggles. Through monologues and musical numbers, each dancer […]

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