2025 Theatre

Enjoyed a lot of theatre this year, the majority at Crow's. I can't say I always love the plays, but I do appreciate the calibre of the productions and taking creative risks with difficult subjects. I'll likely renew my subscription for the coming season.

My favourite director this year was Robert Lepage. The Far Side of the Moon (Can Stage) and Macbeth (Stratford) were both so incredibly staged. Set design is always one of my favourite elements, and his designs expand my perspective and feel like they are taking me to new dimensions.

More notes later....

2025

• Wights (Jan / Crow's) World Premiere
• I sat through Wights righteousness and relentless diatribes hoping things would improve. Most reviewers seemed to agree there was too much shouting and too much going on.
• 15 Dogs (Feb / Mirvish /CAA Theatre)
• I read the novel and was curious to see how the cast would pull off their canine characters. Well played. 
  
• Trident Moon (March / Crow's)
• Provocative staging of an imagined scenario taking place during Partition; it made me curious to learn more about the history of 1947.
• Did they try to save money by not using microphones and shouting a lot? I actually missed quite a bit of the dialogue as actors stepped on each others lines and some were so heavily accented. Surtitles would help.
• You Can't Take it With You (April / Scarborough Players)
• Love the dedication of amateur theatre.
• Flex (April / Crow's)
• My favourite of Crow's season so far was Flex; I was disappointed to see the theatre so empty.
• Team dynamics and a look at the added pressures of women in sport - perfectly illustrated when a player becomes pregnant.
• I wasn't sure what to expect, with basketball being played and the audience watching in the stands. Fantastic! Whether the basketball is sunk or not at the end dictates the ending, a nice twist.
• Comfort Food (June / Crow's)
• Some inter-generational conflicts around the ethics of food really became a metaphor of the relationship challenges between a single mother and her teenage son. Fresh bread gets baked during the performance, filling the theatre with a comforting aroma. At the end of the play, audience members get offered a slice of the bread, which wa a nice touch. If only there had been a stronger resolution between the two characters.
• Dangerous Liaisons (September / Stratford)
• Macbeth (September / Stratford)
• Octet (October / Crow's)
• The Veil (October / Crow's)
• Far Side of the Moon (November / Crow's)
• Christmas Market (December / Crow's)