Playwright Tomson Highway on why artists need to fight evil by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

The Cree playwright, whose ‘The Cave’ is part of the online Luminato Festival, says ‘the greater the challenge the greater the fight,’ whether it’s anti-Black racism, climate chang…

Watch: In the musical ‘In Real Life,’ characters communicate online. When COVID-19 struck, life imitated art on Zoom by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Thanks to technology and the perseverance of all involved, Sheridan College put on a workshop production of the show this month, with rehearsals and a performance all happening online, write…

Disaster insurance keeps the Shaw Festival going by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

As theatres across Canada close their seasons due to COVID-19, a policy update three years ago keeps the Shaw’s staff employed and rehearsing

An actor who nurses. A drag queen who teaches. These artists are finding ways to hustle during the COVID-19 outbreak by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

‘She lived a number of different lives’: the push and pull behind ‘Summer: The Donna Summer Musical’ by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Show in Toronto reunites team behind ‘Jersey Boys.’

‘Hamilton’ stars want more noise from Toronto audience by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

The actors in the top roles from ‘Hamilton’ talk about how they got here and the noise they’d like to hear from their Toronto audience.

‘Sunday in the Park With George’ is a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical — and it’s never had a full production in Toronto by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Opinions vary as to why. Is it the challenges of the staging, a second act that some consider weak or the fact it’s about artists and making art?

‘Lady Sunrise’ offers moving portraits of isolation and psychological struggle by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

While the play is full of loss, the meta-story behind it is that of empowerment: nearly all the lead creatives and the entire cast are Asian-Canadian women, writes Karen Fricker.

What do you do when the love of your life fails you? Vivek Shraya turned it into a solo show by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

‘How to Fail as a Popstar’ is about how the author, visual artist, filmmaker and trans activist failed at what she wanted more than anything: to make it as a pop musician. But she’ll a…

At ‘You and I,’ it’s OK if theatregoers wander onstage during the performance by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

The play at Young People’s Theatre is for children 12 to 30 months old — or ‘explorers,’ as playwright Maja Ardal likes to call them.

Critics who aren’t Indigenous, Black or people of colour aren’t invited to ‘bug.’ Yolanda Bonnell explains why by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

The Indigenous theatre artist says “bug” is an artistic ceremony, which she says “does not align with colonial reviewing practices.”

Harry and Meghan as a Second City sketch? A look at how the comedy group improvises its shows by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

What’s the method behind the Second City magic? We put these questions to the director of “She The People.”

Sex, pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth: Hannah Moscovitch explains why she put some of her most intimate experiences into her plays by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

‘Many women have the exact same set of experiences that I do. No one talks about it,’ Moscovitch tells Karen Fricker. And, yes, it’s been scary, but she plans to keep putting personal …

Measha Brueggergosman and Jully Black forged a relationship through adversity — now they’re bringing their bond to the stage by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

The R&B and opera divas star in ‘Caroline, or Change’ and reflect on friendship, hardship and the generations of Black women who have come before.

A barn-burning performance by Daren A. Herbert is the highlight of Soulpepper’s ‘Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train’ by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

The Toronto production has all the signature elements of Stephen Adly Guirgis’s work, but the other performances are not as full-tilt as Herbert’s, writes Karen Fricker.

Fast, bloody and maybe confusing: This ‘Julius Caesar’ is very 2020 by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

An expertly designed play and a deeply intense viewing experience, this take on Shakespeare might baffle those who don’t know the play.

‘Talking about fury’ gave rise to ‘The Guilty Feminist’ podcast, in Toronto on Sunday by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Comedian Deborah Frances-White says her podcast — coming to the Danforth Music Hall on Sunday — suits a ‘time of revolution.’

Canadian Stage is slaying its deficit and making ambitious plans by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Venerable theatre company has made big strides erasing its deficit — now it can make ambitious plans

Capitalism and average people’s crises of conscience provide the heart of new Toronto play by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Monologues illustrating the tension between how we live and what we believe form most of ‘Consumption Patterns,’ opening Jan. 8 as part of the Next Stage festival.

A terrific cast brings the whimsy of Bikini Bottom to life in ‘The SpongeBob Musical’ by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Although two and a half hours is long for an entertainment this unsubtle, writes Karen Fricker.

Bend It Like Beckham’s co-creator explains what the film and musical are really about by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

It’s about negotiation between generations, Gurinder Chadha tells Karen Fricker ahead of the opening of Bend It Like Beckham onstage in Toronto.

In Young People’s Theatre’s ‘Pinocchio,’ the boy of wood transforms emotionally and spiritually as well as physically by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

After the MMIWG report ‘Tapwewin: Her Inquiry’ tries to fill in 500 years of blanks by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

“The inquiry as it was constructed was not looking far enough back,” said Yvette Nolan. “It doesn’t talk about why or how we got to this moment.”

‘The Pianist of Willesden Lane’ preserves memories of the Holocaust with music by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Written by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohenm, this 90-minute solo piece involves Golabek sitting at a piano playing works by many of the great classical composers, and telling the eventful and ins…

Three singers, one Prince song: behind the scenes of Musical Stage Company’s latest UnCovered concert by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Gutsy acting, menacing props and spooky sounds: this Trout Stanley is a wild ride by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

In the Mush Hole, the terrible legacy of residential schools is impossible to ignore by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

The production by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, the title of which is a nickname for the Mohawk Institute Residential School in Branford, draws on interviews with and writings by residential school…

‘Almighty Voice and his Wife’ is a big, bold play, realized through restraint, at Soulpepper by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

A play that’s now part of the Canadian theatre canon becomes not only a success, but a first of its kind, at Toronto’s largest not-for-profit theatre.

‘The Jungle’ makes clear that working this hard isn’t working by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Play at Tarragon is a brisk, lively look at the numbing grind of working-class living in 2019.

With new Soulpepper production and more, Indigenous history is entering the spotlight at last by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

Stories like Almighty Voice’s bring the past of Canada’s Indigenous peoples the attention it’s been deprived of for decades.

New play tells the federal-election story as seen from the grassroots — and the land by Karen Fricker - Theatre Critic

‘The Election’ builds a narrative around the experiences of average campaign volunteers and folds in Indigenous perspectives and a conceit that serves to aid the visually impaired.