Fans of Sky’s work will quickly recognize the witty writing, the exploration of a developing relationship between two people, and the sometimes intermixing of classical music.
Author: TheReadingSalon
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Second City: solid, funny sketch comedy
Second City has consistently been putting on great shows in Toronto for 47 years, and it is now 60 years since a motley crew of comedians started in Chicago, mocking the ‘second city’ status of Chicago to New York. Their current show, The Second City Totally Likes You is directed by Kirsten Rasmussen who also directed […]
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Hand To God
Nice Never Got Me Anything I wasn’t sure what to think when a puppet stuck his head through the curtain and starts giving us a foul invective on the history of humanity. I wasn’t sure what to think as two teens are having a perfectly normal conversation while their puppets are having very graphic sex. […]
Shove a couple of bus tokens into your pocket and go down to Buddies to see this show. Shove It Down My Throat is Johnnie Walker’s latest play, which centres around the real-life Luke O’Donovan’s case. Luke was at a party, got queer-bashed/stabbed, stood up for himself by knifing 5 of his assailants back, and […]
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THE FATHER
“I can manage very well on my own”. This early line from Coal Mine Theatre’s latest offering sums up the sentiment of so many aging parents but also sends shudders through their trying-to-be-accommodating adult children. It also provides the basis for the 90 minute journey down the rabbit hole of Alzheimers that is The Father. […]
GA TING An immigrant Chinese couple invite their son’s caucasian boyfriend to visit, in order to come to terms with their son’s suicide. The son had never come out to his parents and they had never met the “roommate” so this was going to make for an interesting ride. And it delivers. The visit starts […]
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The Waverly Gallery
Waverly Place is a little street that humbly leads from Greenwich Village, across 6th Avenue to arrive at the grand northern border of Washington Square. Waverly Gallery is a small gallery at the humble end of the street. The story centres around gallery proprietor Gladys (played incredibly by the great Elaine May). The play opens […]
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The New One
At one point, Michael Birbiglia is telling the story of being caught by a friend while he is frantically rummaging through various types of pretzel bags for his wife’s latest hunger craving. He turns to his friend and shouts “Yes, I’ve got a lot of secrets!”. This should be the catchphrase of his latest solo […]
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The Play That Goes Wrong
Imagine Faulty Towers at its craziest. Then mix in broken props, collapsing scenery, forgotten lines, inept stagehands, all while an Agatha Christie mystery breaks out, and you have The Play That Goes Wrong. Not one for slapstick, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it that much, but I have to admit I was won over. The […]
Sometimes theatre is tough. As I sat watching the first, and then second ‘luring’ scenes, I got increasingly uncomfortable. But I realized that a) I’m supposed to be reacting this way, and b) I was thinking of how much the actual gay Russian victims suffered, having been lured to a room on the promise of […]
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Trainspotting Live
First, there was the book, then the play, then the movie, and now tweaking at its highest level yet…the incredible Trainspotting Live – an immersive experience. The trip begins well before the show. You climb 4 sets of grungy stairs, then after a stop at the bar, you wait in a long dark smoky graffiti-covered […]
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CHERI: Theresa Tova Seduces!
From her off-stage opening line to her brilliant closing line at the piano, Theresa Tova is mesmerizing and seducing. Tova is playing Lea, an aging ex-courtesan, who takes the audience on an elaborate journey through life, love, sex, growing old, age-appropriate dressing, and scarves. Her dialogue is brilliantly written (by Sky Gilbert) and is putty in […]
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Love and Information
Let me give you an information tidbit: love and information is a crazy ride…. a fun journey through a myriad of characters, scenes, and subjects. A hundred personalities are portrayed by 8 talented actors playing everything from a child who can’t feel pain, a couple experimenting on chicken brains, to a man who no longer […]