Secret Theatre

I thought I would mention a few very obscure theatre events.

First up is Hamlet by Skipping Stones Theatre.  This company is so under the radar that they did a Christopher Durang play last April, and I don't believe it got into any of the theatre websites, even Mooney's.  That's a shame, as I would almost certainly have gone.  I've already missed the first week of the Hamlet run, but I could go Friday or Sat. evening.  I'm somewhat tempted to take my son, though this is a gender-bent and slightly modernized version (only 99% written by Shakespeare).  This may not be the ideal version to introduce him to the play.  I guess all things considered I'm leaning against it, though more and more the more accessible versions (in the parks and such) are pretty radical re-interpretations of Shakespeare.  (Actually, this piece makes it clear this is a quite radical re-interpretation with two Hamlets and the soliloquys are handled as dialogues!  This is definitely not right for my son, but this does intrigue me a bit, though it sounds like a (perhaps unintentional) riff on Müller's Hamletmachine.)

Second is The Theory of Accelerated Hotness at Assembly Theatre this week and next.  Tickets here.  This piece is made up of three short one-acts.  Apparently tonight and Sunday (25th) are PYWC.  I am definitely tempted to go tonight, but I think the family would object if I skipped US Thanksgiving, so I may go Sunday evening instead.  Anyway, this is quite under the radar, but I think it will be interesting.

Apparently, Leroy Theatre is doing Rajiv Joseph's Gruesome Playground Injuries in January at Assembly.  I just saw this a few months back, so I'll pass, but it is certainly an interesting play about two co-dependent people.

Finally, I had noted (and kind of dismissed) this weird space opera thing (based on Middleton's The Changeling!) running at Red Sandcastle (and tickets here), but then it got a pretty decent review in the Star, so now I am leaning towards going.  I will say it is great that the papers do actually review some of this totally obscure theatre, since that is generally where my interests lie as well.  The Sunday matinee is already sold out, though I was probably taking the kids to the ROM then anyway.

On a slightly downbeat note, Video Cabaret promised to do a version of Beckett's Happy Days in November, but this seems to have totally disappeared off the radar (and certainly off their website).  I remain hopeful that they will get around to this in December or early 2019.  At any rate, I will keep monitoring this and will report back when there is any news.

And with that, I must be off...