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11 Comments

news

Theatres eaten, beaten and bruised.

By J. Kelly

2004_12_13thespians.jpgSeems like it’s just bad news piled upon bad news for the city’s small theatres this fall…
- First, falling closely on the heels of the closings of the Tim Sims Playhouse and the Poor Alex, Artword Theatre is told to vacate the premises of 75 Portland St by March (Hello condos!);
- Then, the Great Hall at Dovercourt and Queen went on sale, putting the Theatre Centre‘s future in doubt (Hello condos?);
- Now, Torontoist hears a rumour that The Globe and Mail has put out a memo that it will no longer be reviewing plays put on at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, or any of the smaller theatre companies (which, granted, will not perturb Nightwood or Obsidian or any of the other theatre companies who have mused about banning Globe reviewer Kamal Al-Solaylee)…
TAPA — the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts — is apparently having a meeting tonight to discuss these unfortunate developments.
Another unfortunate setback for the theatre community TAPA should look into: The mysterious disappearance of Review the Reviewers, a critic-bashing site that vanished and is now replaced by bingo advertising. Anyone know what happened? (Psst… Ari Lipsey’s Toronto theatre blog is still running, mind.)

Comments

  • http://slapdeebarnes.blogspot.com Dave M.

    the Poor Alex is neither permanently closed nor being converted into condos. (see http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_08.11.05/arts/artsweek.html)
    hmmm…maybe you feel like Rumsfeld because you can’t get your facts straight?

  • a

    Kamal Al-Solaylee is such an idiot.

  • http://www.torontoist.com Alison

    Dave M., it was never implied that the Poor Alex was being converted into condos. And the Poor Alex IS closing permanently as a theatre space – it is being converted into a jazz club.

  • http://slapdeebarnes.blogspot.com Dave M.

    the upstairs is being converted into a jazz club, but the downstairs is going to be run by the Fringe. also Valerie from the Poor Alex says she’s going to be opening another theatre space under the Poor Alex name.

  • http://www.nestruck.com JKelly

    Yo, Dave M.: I interviewed one of the new co-owners of the Poor Alex and a couple of folks from the Fringe Festival two weeks ago. Talks between the owners and the Fringe broke down in September (the month after the article you link to) and the owners now plan to convert the bottom floor into a jazz/blues club. I think I was the first to report that in the Post a couple of weekends ago and I’ve been hoping the Toronto weeklies would pick up on the story, which is partly why I posted this here. There’s a serious crunch for space for small theatre companies in this city right now and productions have already been postponed or cancelled because of it.

  • http://slapdeebarnes.blogspot.com Dave M.

    fine, but you still neglected to mention Valerie Morgan’s upcoming venture under the Poor Alex name (which she owns – see the old Poor Alex website). you also didn’t seem to notice that Monday nights at the new Second City building are Tim Sims Nights, which are available to the same groups that used the old space. i’m not disputing that there’s a crisis going on, i’m just saying that you might want to spend a little more time shoring up your research before you start taking potshots at other journalists in Zoilus’ comment boxes.

  • http://www.nestruck.com JKelly

    Look, I’m trying to bring attention to a certain problem facing small theatre companies in Toronto. It’s great that Valerie is planning on carrying the Poor Alex name to a new space, but it doesn’t change the fact that the old building is no longer available for theatrical productions. And the fact that there’s a “Tim Sims Night” at the new Second City theatre doesn’t mean that the city hasn’t lost an actual, physical theatre space by that same name.
    As the exec director of TAPA Jacoba Knaapen told me, “TAPA is very, very very concerned about the loss of these theatres to the community… There’s such a great amount of media attention to the new opera house, the new ROM, new Telus centre, but what’s being lost in all the glitz is the nuts and bolts, the heart and soul of the theatre industry.”
    So, Dave, I appreciate that you’re angry because I made fun of your Ninja High School review on Zoilus… but perhaps you and your fragile ego could take that up with me on, I don’t know, Zoilus instead of distracting from or belittling a serious issue facing the theatre community? Thanks.

  • http://slapdeebarnes.blogspot.com Dave M.

    the fact that both the Poor Alex and the Tim Sims Playhouse are or will be continuing on (albeit in different venues with reduced capacities) certainly would seem to undermine your argument that these venues are disappearing. at any rate, i’ve made my point, and will happily pack up my tattered ego to make way for your gigantic soapbox.
    but perhaps in return for my leaving, the next time we’re over on Zoilus trying to have a serious discussion about the politics of cultural appropriation, you could keep your declarations of “worst thing ever” to yourself?

  • http://www.nestruck.com JKelly

    Dave, you clearly don’t have the foggiest clue about the difference between an actual physical venue and the name of a theatre. The VENUES are NO LONGER.
    When the Second City Building on Blue Jays Way was sold to condo developers, the main stage and the Tim Sims Playhouse closed. Second City opened up a single theatre, slightly smaller than the old main stage, across the street. The 105-seat Tim Sims Playhouse, where Nia Vardalos presented her one-woman show, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and where Sean Cullen put on his first solo show, has not been replaced. There is a net loss of theatre space. You can’t run two shows at the same time in the same space. I could designate my living room the “Tim Sims Living Room” on Wednesday afternoons, but it would not mean that the Tim Sims Playhouse has returned from the dead.
    The building at Brunswick and Bloor that we used to call the Poor Alex is no longer available for theatre. As for the “Poor Alex” opening in a new venue, I’m glad to hear it. When you determine what actual physical place this will take place in, please let us know. Seriously. Unless a new theatre space is opening, though, there is still a net loss of theatre space.
    Your “point,” by the way, is that I did not make a single factual error in my post, but I didn’t mention a couple of essentially irrelevant details that you think are relevant because you have no friggin’ idea. And, in making your “point,” you made actual factual errors.
    Retreat! Back away! Stop digging!

  • Cameron

    Kelly, what is this mathematic devilry that you are on about? Subtraction? Net loss? Next you’ll be telling us of crazy notions of seating capacity and their being a finite amount of money for theatre productions.

  • http://city-folk.com Chad

    what about the bathurst street theatre … do small theatre companies use it? just curious. I was looking online for interior pictures today and found none.
    there is most certaintly a net loss in small theatre space. particularly small company ownership.
    and do we really need more jazz/blues space. yuk.
    c