#reviewsfromthe6

[the-cyborg-circus-show]

Hey Everyone!

I finally decided on a review side-blog Tumblr. One of my reviews is up today, and I’ll share the other one in a couple of days, so follow to make sure that you don’t miss out!

[the-wheelchair-critic]

Fringe review: Shadow Kingdom

Brilliant Kidsfest shadow puppet show about standing up to injustice will appeal to all ages

Go see Shadow Kingdom. Better yet, round up some of your friends in the struggle and take them with you. I feel like it's a powerful antidote to the world we are living in today, and if kids can truly take in this message and hold it to heart, we are in amazing hands for the future! I'm so glad that this was the last Fringe show that I reviewed for NOW. It was an amazing note to end that experience on.

[the-wheelchair-critic]

Fringe review: Birds Make Me Think About Freedom

Ensemble show about people who were institutionalized for having developmental disabilities is an effective work in progress

Another Fringe review has been posted!! This one makes my list of shows to watch out for. It’s going to be a tour de force with more production time under its belt!

[the-wheelchair-critic]

Fringe review: Aspergers: More Tales Of A Social Misfit

Adam Schwartz's comedy show about living with autism lacks insight and borders on the offensive

My review of Aspergers: More Tales of a Social Misfit is up. It missed the mark, but I’m feeling really hopeful about what future versions of this work can bring. 

[the-wheelchair-critic]

Fringe review: The Magnificent Terrific Top-Notch Superb Show

This kids show's premise has potential, but it relies on gimmicks that soon become grating and repetitive

Check out my second Fringe Review! Up now on NOW Magazine!

[the-wheelchair-critic]

Check out my review of Harvey & The Extraordinary as part of NOW Magazine’s Fringe coverage here!

[the-wheelchair-critic]

Out the Window

Written in the Style of The Globe and Mail

3 Stars

Written by: Liza Balkan

Directed by: Sarah Garton Stanley

Starring: Sarah Kitz, David Gerry, RH Thomson

Venue: Harbourfront Centre Theatre

Out the Window seeks to answer deep and important questions about the role of policing in situations where a person is experiencing a mental health crisis. Are the deaths of those who are in crisis inevitable, or is there another way that we, as a society, can respond to those in moments of vulnerability and need? Programmed as part of Toronto’s Luminato festival, the show is an exploration of violence in policing, and our responsibility to care about each other as human beings. Playwright Liza Balkan created Out the Window as a response to witnessing the 2000 death of Otto Vass during a violent encounter with Toronto police which resulted in his death. It acts as a realistic, yet sensitive depiction of the trauma that one experiences both as witness to such an event, and the way that witnessing such an event can unravel a witness’ life through court cases, inquests and attempts to make sense of everything they are experiencing.

The first two acts of out the window are a tight, fine-tuned, precision machine. The scene rapidly changes from moments of Liza’s (Sarah Kitz) testimony, aspects of police officer training, and testimony from the officers involved in the incident. During one striking scene taking place several years after Otto’s death, wait staff in a restaurant slowly morph into police officers over the course of a meal, as Liza becomes increasingly agitated, aptly demonstrating how after a police fatality there are always multiple victims. Time morphs and stands still in a jumble of unanswered questions, and closure that will never come.

The third act of the performance is a more recent addition, oscillating between the tightly choreographed forms of the first two acts, and allowing pauses for dialogue, sharing and celebration. It is at times both profound and confusing, rapidly changing directions between celebratory and critical. It begins with a performance by the Bruised Years Choir, a Workman Arts performance program, and leads into a raucous moment of the cast enjoying food and drink together celebrating Otto’s Hungarian heritage. Another vignette is a demonstration of a common police de-escalation tactic and how the uniform changes our perception of those who wear it. During this third act Syrus Marcus Ware, who was on stage silently drawing for the first two acts speaks about his involvement with the show, and the relevance that it has on his life as someone who lives at an increased likelihood of a violent police encounter. After that, the audience are invited on stage for a tour of Syrus’ drawings and to partake in a communal meal in celebration of Otto’s life. While the third act is chaotic and unpredictable, it continues to hammer home the message that there is nuance and subtlety that is required when attempting to make space for these stories. While the juxtaposition of the elements of the third act is initially confusing and jarring, it becomes clearer when understood as an attempt at recognizing the complexity and myriad emotions that mark these events. There is a need to recognize that there is more to remember about victims of police brutality than their mental health crises and much to celebrate within their lives.

Rather than concluding that deaths like Otto Vass’ are unavoidable, Out the Window paints a picture of an alternate future where deaths involving police can become a thing of the past. Alternative community resources for those who are experiencing mental health crises, and how to intervene safely are presented. The show is unapologetically anti-policing as an institution, but mindful that alternatives need to feel real and viable to their audience. Rather than denying the harmful ways that mental health crises can sometimes play out, the audience is given simple advice to empower them to respond and advocate on behalf of those in their lives who may experience such a crisis.  Out the Window tells us that it is time to demand better, and that by caring just a little bit more, it might be well within our grasp to achieve.

[the-wheelchair-critic]

Preview for bug

Written in the style of the Toronto Star

There is an urgent need for Canadians to understand the legacy that colonization has left on Indigenous peoples. Bug’s creator Yolanda Bonnell explains that while it would be unheard of for Canadians to leave school unaware of shameful historical moments such as slavery or the holocaust, too many Canadians remain unaware of the residential school system and the intergenerational impacts that the forced removal of children has had on Indigenous peoples. That particularly for Indigenous women who are continuing to be silenced and murdered, there is a critical need to create space for these truths and create a dialogue where healing can occur. For Bonnell, the key to creating these kinds of spaces, is ensuring that they can safely hold the hard truths that need to be spoken.

Bug, running from June 22nd-24th at The Theatre Centre as part of Toronto’s Luminato Festival, serves as a voice for the inconvenient Indigenous woman and child. It is a deep examination of how intergenerational trauma can create circumstances where Indigenous women are unable to overcome circumstances of addiction, abuse, and neglect. It is a circular telling of the ways in which generations of colonization and cultural genocide leave young women vulnerable to harmful forces that can make them feel loved.

Bug seeks not to be a show that the audience is invited into passively, but rather are welcomed in with full arms, and are invited to bring their whole selves into the experience. Care and intention drip from every aspect of the production. This includes a storytelling workshop facilitated by Bonnell prior to every run for Indigenous youth, who are further invited to perform their own versions of a creation story at the beginning of every show. Recognizing the potentially troubling subject matter, and a responsibility to take care of the audience, each show has a healer present to address any feelings that the production stirs up for the audience. Each show ends with a Q&A session, which Bonnell explains has been quite important for the audience to engage with her as herself, and gain some assurances that her own well-being is being looked after, rather than only serving as an opportunity to address questions that arise. There is an understanding throughout the production team that bug is about more than putting on a play, it is about creating a set of conditions where people can feel safe, and can learn together.

This intentionality extends beyond the structure of the performance itself, to the physical set up of the show. The show has recently transitioned to being performed in the round, from previous versions which utilized a traditional stage. The set is dotted with natural features including rocks, lights, and tree boughs. Bonnell works her audience in the round expertly during the run through, creating an unmistakable connection with those seated closest to her. These moments of connection are not always comfortable, as Bonnell reaches out in vulnerable moments, when addiction and need control her actions and responses more than rational thought. Begging for someone to recognize her humanity, the audience has a choice to make, whether to reach out and provide a moment of human connection, or rebuff her. A stark choice that brings home the realities that some Indigenous women face daily, increasing their susceptibility to violence and abuse.

Overall, bug is a masterful piece of intentionality. It is striking how a performance that covers such difficult material can create such a feeling of being held for both audience and performers alike. For Bonnell, this work is best understood as being akin to a form of artistic ceremony. While there is no intention of recreating ceremony or medicine on stage, the intention is to re-create the feeling that participating in ceremony can provide people through the artistry and holding of the audience during the performance. That in keeping everyone safe, there is room for a dialogue to emerge which can accept the painful continuing legacy of Canada’s history, and move forward to a broader reception of Indigenous voices speaking their truths. Towards a vision of the future where true reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and settlers may be possible.