Hot Toronto Theatre Season for 2008-2009
Toronto's Indie Season is Filled with New Canadian plays
Sep 8, 2008
Theatre lovers In Toronto are really a spoilt bunch; there are not too many cities with the abundance of theatre we see happening all year round.
There is an official theatre season which usually runs from fall (mid-September) to late spring (April), but then there is the summer season, inluding:
- The Fringe of Toronto theatre festival
- SummerWorks theatre festival
- Soulpepper, with their all-year theatre season
- Canadian Stage's Dream In High Park, a Toronto summer staple
Then there is Quiggfest artist throwdown and a few other small theatre get-togethers that are sure to gain momentum over the years. This does not include the big musical productions that are currently running in the city!
Toronto's Independent Theatre Scene
Every year Toronto theatre lovers look forward to the slew of great productions that come from the stable of independent companies that dot the city's landscape, and this years offerings looks as good as ever.
Many of the theatres in the city concentrate on producing new works by Canadian playwrights. Companies like the Tarragon and Factory has made that their mandate, and in fall 2008 Factory has two new premieres to start off their season of many with a play by Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman entitled Scratch (October 4 to November 8), which will be followed in the new year by a new play from Chalmers Award-winner Andrew Moodie that takes on the contrversial topic of racial profiling by cops in the city of Toronto, The Good.
Over at the Tarragon, they kick off with Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad (September 4 to 28), a play that deals with the legacy of war and family. It is followed by Black Rider (October 15 to November 16), a play penned by singer/songwriter Tom Waits, Robert Wilson and William S Burroughs. In the Tarragon Extra Space, indie theatre company Theatre Smash – and they are many of those in the city – opens their production of Norway. Today (September 5 to 21), an award-winning Norwegian play that takes a look at love, suicide and the internet in a romantic comedy setting.
Canadian Stage Season Openings
The Canadian Stage Company, hot off another successful run of A Midsummer Night's Dream in High Park, opens their season with a political piece titled Frost/Nixon (October 13 to November 8); the name hints at what ticket holders can expect. The feminist theatre company Nightwood Theatre is coproducing their season-opener with Canadian Stage; it is Wild Dogs (October 4 to November 8), a play adapted from a novel by author Helen Humphreys.
Other Mainstages
Buddies in Bad Times' offerings for the season, which are usually the most racy, raunchy and contrversial fun, lead off with Agokwe (September 23 to October 12), a tale about gay love on the Rez. For the youngsters, there is the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre For Young People (LKTYP). It's always fun to sit in a theatre full of children and hear how they react to what's on stage, and this year the eternal cartoon Peanuts come to life with their production of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown (November 9 to December 30). Kids of all ages should be amused,
We move back to Soulpepper, who never stop producing plays. They have the New York Drama Critic Award-winning Raisin In The Sun as part of this year's repertory season. Lorraine Hansberry's play was ground-breaking in 1959 when it first appeared on Broadway and is still to a great extent relevant today.
All in all, the 2008-2009 season is off to a great start. But to enjoy we just got to get past the Toronto International Film Festival with all its glitz and glamour. A great source for further information as the season progresses is Toronto's NOW Magazine.
