Results tagged “morrispanych”

The last time Birdland Theatre's production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot came through town, it won five Doras and the reputation of being "the best show nobody saw." With only five performances at The Distillery District's enticingly named Fermenting Cellar, there wasn't much of a chance to. This time around, they doubled the number of performances, but sadly, this still doesn't mean a very long run, and if you didn't make the trip to Mill Street and Parliament last night, you missed your last chance at catching this fabulous show.

Each week, we take a look at Toronto's theatre scene and tell you which shows are worth checking out.

Fish Shak isn't what it used to be. Literally. Last fall, that place in Kensington that always advertised enigmatic "fish tea" turned itself into Bread & Circus Theatre Bar, one of the tiniest places in the city to catch a show and drink a beer. And Fish Shak Co-op is the name of the company whose production of Morris Panych's two-hander Lawrence and Holloman is currently enjoying its second run inside the former seafood haven.

Morris Panych shows abound in this city. In the past few years alone, we've had Vigil, The Dishwashers, The Government Inspector, Habeas Corpus, Take Me Out, Amadeus, Sweeny Todd and The Girl in the Goldfish Bowl. After What Lies Before Us, The Overcoat is his second Canstage show of the year - and it's only February! He has become a theatre artist of a very divisive nature - some people love his whimsical physicality and often over-the-top sensibilities, and some can't stand it. But if you have to see (and enjoy) one Morris Panych show, The Overcoat is surely that show.

What Lies Before Us is the new play by Morris Panych, one of Toronto's theatre auteurs-du-jour. This one is only written by Panych, though, and directed by Jim Millan, ex-Artistic Director of Crow's Theatre. It's the story of two geographical surveyors stuck in the Rockies in pre-Railroad Canada with only a Chinese-speaking "manservant" to keep them company.

is full of doctors who feel up their patients, and vicars who look up girls' skirts. Booby-grabbing is frequently substituted for an actual punchline, and there is a running joke about the "permissive society" that flew right over our head. The older members of the audience (who were all tuxed up for the opening, which TOist loves to see) all seemed to have a good chuckle, so our nonplussed reaction may have been more of a generation gap problem than anything else. It's not that this production has nothing to recommend it; the inexplicable dance sequences are a lark, the lighting is beautiful, and Shiela McCarthy is always a joy to watch. And we certainly don't begrudge Panych his ribald whims, but we can't really help but wonder what CanStage, whose mandate is ostensibly to promote Canadian theatre, is doing with a dated (and misogynistic) British farce, no matter how shiny they've made it.

We owe it to Ms. Henry to see another one of her plays, and to stay violently awake throughout. And since Torontoist likes the plays of Morris Panych as well, we're going to see Vigil. It's a dark comedy about a nephew who keeps his aunt company as he awaits her kick off. Running until until Nov. 13th at CanStage.