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Category: Culture

Review: David Suzuki at Just For Laughs (no, seriously)

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When the line-up for Toronto’s Just For Laughs Festival 42 was announced, an unlikely jokester stood out from the regular throng of comics: David Suzuki. Yes, that David Suzuki. Almost immediately, buzz about the environmentalist’s show grew faster than a fruit fly (more about those later). Would he crack jokes on carbon footprints? Would he chaff on climate change? Anticipation started to mount.

Theatre Review: Come Back, Little Sheba

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A few decades ago, playwright William Inge was regarded with the same sense of respect and admiration as his contemporaries Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller.  His play, Picnic, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953, but it is rarely performed anymore. Inge was certainly not untalented, but he was always a sentimental playwright who lacked the wit, sharpness and insight of his post-war contemporaries.

Theatre Review: the Shaw Festival’s Hedda Gabler

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Let me flatly state my feelings about the Shaw Festival’s revival of Hedda Gabler: this one is for the ages. From Richard Eyre’s adaptation (more than merely a translation) to director Martha Henry’s grand direction to the blood-curdling artistry of Moya O’Connell’s astonishing title character to Jim Mezon’s inspired, evil Judge Brack, the production finally gives the magnificent playwright Henrik Ibsen his due.

Weekend Warrior: Just for Laughs 42, Canada’s Walk of Fame, UFC 152, the Canadian Olympic Parade and Slash

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It’s time for Just For Laughs 42, an all-out comedy assault on the city of Toronto led by Louis CK. The star of FX hit Louie will be one of 42 comic acts to unleash war on the city’s funny bone during the eight-day festival, which begins tomorrow. Under the category of “Wait, they’re funny??”: David Suzuki and the odd-couple pairing of Elizabeth May and Raine Maida will also perform.