It can be quite the question in these times.
I seem to keep missing the small, very short-run productions that some of the actors I know from SFYS are in. This is unfortunate, but clearly tied to the fact SFYS has been on hiatus for months and months and months, and so I don't check the website and of course I don't have the interaction with the actors to flag these short-run streams. However, it looks like we are back in business for May 3, so I had better stat writing!
Anyway, I've enjoyed a few of these on-line productions, but not universally. I bailed on something that UMichigan pulled together as it seemed to basically be lazy sitcom writing (as exciting as it was to see people interacting in real time was, i.e. it wasn't just a Zoom call production). In general, I am tired of Zoom conference calls and can't muster up much enthusiasm for Zoom-based drama. That's a major problem facing theatre-goers and theatre companies these days.
As it turns out, Tarragon is trying to go forward with radio plays. I listened in on Forever Yours, Marie-Lou by Michel Tremblay, but I just don't think it worked well at all. Without the visual cues, I personally found it too hard to follow what was going on as the dialogue bounced back and forth between the adult sisters and their parents (before the tragic automobile crash). To be honest right now I couldn't tell you if the sisters also play themselves as children when talking to the parents or if the two sets of actors don't directly interact. I really liked Albertine in Five Times (when I saw it live) but I think this would be even worse. Maybe Hosanna would work as a radio play but so few of his other plays would (in my view).
I wasn't that grabbed by the rest of the series (there are currently 4 left), but I was debating tuning in to the incendiary Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad. But now I am just not convinced they would handle the various reveals well in an audio format, so I am going to pass after all.
I wonder if Soulpepper will deal with the audio play format better, as basically all of its productions in its Around the World in 80 Plays series are audio plays. I have grave doubts that The Seagull would work, and I was going to give this a miss anyway. I suspect Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author would translate reasonably well, and I might check that one out in early May. I think perhaps also The Parliament of the Birds and She Mami Wata & The PxssyWitch Hunt (which is actually a solo storytelling outing so video should in fact be fine) would work. Now I am not all that interested in these plays anyway, and the rest of the batch seem to me to be problematic in audio play format, so I don't think I will end up supporting Soulpepper much until 2022 at the earliest.
One play (in Zoom-type format) that I will take a chance on is an adaptation of Chekhov's The Three Sisters by George Brown. Note that this will be performed in real-time so each performance will be slightly different. Three Sisters runs through this Sat. with showtimes at 7:30. Performances are free, though donations are greatly welcomed.
Factory apparently is doing some audio plays, and Glenn Sumi was impressed by the latest one. I may give them a trial this weekend as there is so little to do otherwise.
Another time limited performance is the TSO's performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, which disappears tonight (Thurs. evening). Tickets are $17. Presumably this was recorded a while back when small ensembles could still perform in one space.
The current rules in Ontario still allow for the tv/film industry to shoot but blocks musicians from recording, even to put a live-streaming performance together. No question this seems arbitrary and unfair, like so much of living under COVID.
I was wondering whether the livestreamed Barenaked Ladies concert scheduled for this weekend would be cancelled, but apparently they shot this at Danforth Music Hall in March or even before (so obviously it is not remotely live). I'll probably watch the Sat. show. I would have sworn when I was checking yesterday they had summer concert plans (mostly in the States) for this summer, but right now the dates have all been "flipped" to 2022. Sigh...
I need to wrap this up pretty soon, but it is interesting how differently the Shaw and Stratford Festivals are handling summer planning. While the theatre capacities are going to be lower at Shaw, it basically looks like they are just taking their 2020 season and dropping it into 2021. They are even planning on running a bus down from Toronto! I have to say this seems completely unrealistic and more than a little negligent. Basically the only acknowledgement that things are "different" is that they have cancelled all the musicals.
The contrast with Stratford couldn't be greater. As far as I can tell, the bus is completely kiboshed, which is understandable but unfortunate. They are planning some smaller musical cabarets in place of the big musicals. They also expect to do all the plays outdoors and are keeping audiences well spaced out with no more than 100 guests. Plays will be kept to 90 minutes with no intermissions (and no mingling)*. I do wonder if they will go to the extreme of just Porta-potties like Bard on the Beach in Vancouver. Part of me thinks this would be a really interesting and memorable experience, but the other part worries about rain and just how hard it would be to arrange to drive there. So I probably will pass for one more summer. They also seem to recognize that some people still won't want to (or be able to) come (particularly without the bus) and they will be filming some performances for in-home streaming. I suspect this is how I will watch Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters, which I had so wanted to see last summer. That said, I will at least consider going in person, but I think it is unlikely.
It's just too early to tell if there will be outdoor theatre in Toronto proper this summer, but I expect a lot of companies will try, so that is something I will keep an eye out for, as it is, in almost all cases, a step up from streaming. However, the Toronto Fringe has already decided to not try for outdoor performances but will be digital, so that naturally dampens my enthusiasm. Oh well.
* This cuts deeply into how much Shakespeare they can put on! It will only be Midsummer's Night's Dream and an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet this summer. That said, they are doing Albee's Three Tall Women and you have to come back for the second act at a later time the same day, which doesn't seem to be to make any sense at all. I think this probably should have been pushed to 2022.
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