Emma Healey's Stereoblind is a slim collection of prose poems. The word in the title, stereoblind, refers to the condition of not being able to visually perceive depth, i.e. everything is flattened out. While this would be most common among people who have lost sight in one eye, it can also impact people with two functioning eyes. I'll have to be honest here and admit that the poem that most closely dealt with stereoblindness, "Impossible Colour," didn't grab me as much as some of the others. Perhaps a case where the concept in the abstract was a bit more intriguing than the implementation.
I did like several other poems along two basic themes -- bureaucracy (and paperwork in particular) and riffing on Blade Runner. While Stereoblind came out fairly early in 2018 (and I am just getting around to reviewing it now), I imagine that the two Blade Runner poems ("ESPER" and "Voight-Kampff") were written quite a while back, i.e. before Blade Runner 2047 kind of brought Blade Runner back into general circulation in 2017. Who knows, it might have been the 30th anniversary edition DVD that got her into Blade Runner in the first place. (Just writing 30th anniversary makes me feel so very old. Granted I probably didn't see this in the theatre in its original run, though I'm not saying I didn't. I saw Tron a couple of times and that came out in 1982 as well. I definitely saw Blade Runner on early VHS a few times and then at a University of Michigan film society screening in 1988 or so (back when there was still the voice-over). So I am part of the original audience in that sense. Sorry for the digression...)
Since I have raised the Blade Runner connection, I will start with these two poems. Going into these poems, I definitely had the warm fuzzy feeling that you get when something connects with a part of your childhood (or very young adulthood).
"Voight-Kampff" takes a slightly cynical take on the technology: "At first I liked the test because I couldn't tell what made the questions like each other. ...[but] I was pretty disappointed when I got there on my own: it was just empathy and violence, like everything else is."
Then the poem riffs on the line "I'll tell you about my mother." Instead of unleashing unspeakable violence on the tester, the poet recalls her mother visiting her in Montreal, where she lived in a terrible apartment that had no interior doors and where the ceiling "was buckling in slow, beautiful waves." Her mother brought her a bike, which the poet was then afraid to ride. The poet then focuses on the tester. "I wanted to ask him whether he thought that story was about guilt or clarity or debt. ... But he didn't want to hear it. He was busy with his work."
I have to admit, this poem made me laugh as it wasn't too reverential about the source material.
I would have to say that "ESPER" is a little less successful, as it seems too faithful to the movie: "In this scene it's night, like always. Our hero stares down at a handful of old photographs, picks at the keyboard, maybe dreams about a unicorn, etc. ... The sink behind her out of focus, piled with dishes, kitchen floor in black and white..." That said, the poet does try to link to the earlier poem and make it a bit more personal: "Small trail of symbols, significance of the bicycle, all this glowing and pause. ... She looks good, caught up, flickering inside the question, almost there but not there yet."
The other poems I enjoyed were related to government bureaucracies in one way or another.
"Bad Dream" takes a somewhat apocalyptic view of government literally combusting: "The National Student Loans Service Centre not calling you, engulfed in flames. Bright, fast, on purpose. ... In the morning in one sense the country will wake and be lighter by one building. Not you. ... You will spend all of your life breathing letterhead in. Old T4s, bills, receipts. All that proves. Your own balance outstanding."
For me the outstanding poem was really a series of linked prose poems, called N12, which the poet helpfully explains in the notes is a form that tenants gets when he/she/they are being renovicated. This was and remains a major issue in Toronto given the sharp rise in property values (and rents) and the very low vacancy rate (under 2.5% in 2017, and basically the lowest in Canada). Thus, tenants feel very much at the mercy of their landlords in Toronto.
I can only quote a few of the lines from some of the poems in the series, but I find there is a nice mix of the absurd, the humorous (at least from the outside) and the sheer anxiety that must be going through the mind of the poet (assuming that this is either inspired by real-life experiences or the dread of same...).
"The real estate agent plants his sign in our lawn like a flag, takes a key. ... One night before bed, I lift my pillow and find one [business card] ... The real estate agent's gleaming white teeth are arranged in a neat, endless row, like piano keys in a nightmare."
"Our landlord drives a disappearing Lamborghini. Each time we see it, the rust has claimed more ground."
"One day, his brother follows in a very large truck. Together, in the bleak mid-morning light, they lean a ladder up against the shed and begin the complex ritual of removing years' worth of garbage from its roof."
"One day, there are no more first-time buyers. The next, too, the door stays locked. ... We all rush to the front window. The real estate agent is grimly unstaking his face from the lawn. ... The next two months proceed in a complex silence. It's dangerous to want, to fix, to ask."
"The first-time buyers return. This time they're men alone in suits that smell like plaster dust and money."
"For weeks I bike and sweat between the city's smallest places, breathing in centuries of dust, trying to imagine a future underground."
"I go to a party in an abandoned condo sales centre. Someone has wrapped all the showroom furniture in white vinyl. It looks like the end of the world."
"On the water, a man sits in the province's last remaining swan boat, playing a mournful song on the trumpet while two civilians paddle him around the perimeter."
Throw in some shout outs to raccoons early on (and even a reference to air rights), and one could hardly ask for a more in-the-moment poem about Toronto and the impact this latest property bubble is having on the city. I can strongly recommend Stereoblind, and particularly the series N12, for anyone interested in contemporary Toronto life.
Monday, December 31, 2018
What to Do on the Last Day of the Year
I'm still in a lousy mood. However, I did write a letter to the Councillor about the intersection rather than just stew over it. I believe I provided concrete solutions that would improve the intersection if actually implemented.
I'm finding it ridiculously difficult to find non-alcoholic cider for New Year's Eve. We eventually tracked this down in Vancouver, but I haven't seen it in any stores in Toronto. I did a bit of an internet search, and this doesn't really seem to be sold here. There is non-alcoholic wine, called Vin Zero, but it isn't sold in any the stores in my neighbourhood, so I wasn't just imagining it was hard to find. I may make a stop at a Loblaws on the way home, but my hopes aren't particularly high.
I've been getting many, many requests from charities* that are looking for charitable donations that will be matched. I did give a bit to the AGO a while back, and I made sure that my United Way payroll contributions were renewed. After some thought, I decided that I've give to the Theatre Centre, though not Factory Theatre or Theatre Passe Muraille. It's hard for me to imagine giving to the University of Toronto or even to Hart House, given the other major donors that they have backing them. I probably should just donate to a local food bank, given that local poverty is definitely up. (In the end, I went with Eastview Neighbourhood Community Centre, which indeed runs a food bank, but has other services as well.) I also made a one-time donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in honor of my father.
I'm still feeling pretty grinchy/grouchy, but I think in my small way I tried to make the world a slightly better place (rather than just take it out on other people and make things worse).
So Happy New Year, and let's see what 2019 brings...
* With about two hours to spare, I decided to give to the Heart and Stroke Foundation (again just under the wire for matching donations), at least in part because my father died of heart failure. I wasn't sure how they had my address in the first place, but this is one of the charities that the kids support in school, and I had supported a skip-a-thon or some such thing. But this is definitely it for charitable giving for 2018.
I'm finding it ridiculously difficult to find non-alcoholic cider for New Year's Eve. We eventually tracked this down in Vancouver, but I haven't seen it in any stores in Toronto. I did a bit of an internet search, and this doesn't really seem to be sold here. There is non-alcoholic wine, called Vin Zero, but it isn't sold in any the stores in my neighbourhood, so I wasn't just imagining it was hard to find. I may make a stop at a Loblaws on the way home, but my hopes aren't particularly high.
I've been getting many, many requests from charities* that are looking for charitable donations that will be matched. I did give a bit to the AGO a while back, and I made sure that my United Way payroll contributions were renewed. After some thought, I decided that I've give to the Theatre Centre, though not Factory Theatre or Theatre Passe Muraille. It's hard for me to imagine giving to the University of Toronto or even to Hart House, given the other major donors that they have backing them. I probably should just donate to a local food bank, given that local poverty is definitely up. (In the end, I went with Eastview Neighbourhood Community Centre, which indeed runs a food bank, but has other services as well.) I also made a one-time donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in honor of my father.
I'm still feeling pretty grinchy/grouchy, but I think in my small way I tried to make the world a slightly better place (rather than just take it out on other people and make things worse).
So Happy New Year, and let's see what 2019 brings...
* With about two hours to spare, I decided to give to the Heart and Stroke Foundation (again just under the wire for matching donations), at least in part because my father died of heart failure. I wasn't sure how they had my address in the first place, but this is one of the charities that the kids support in school, and I had supported a skip-a-thon or some such thing. But this is definitely it for charitable giving for 2018.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Black Mood Descending
I was in a generally upbeat mood towards the end of the afternoon. Yesterday I made a lot of progress on my year-end round up posts. I'd like to squeeze in one more formal book review and perhaps some general notes on what I have been reading lately before the end of the year, but it isn't the end of the world if I don't.
I even snuck in a half-trip to the gym, in the sense I went but mostly to use the stationary bike and only did a half set of weights, since I had just been there for a full work out on Sat. And I think my cold has finally let up, so that was a pleasant surprise.
I have pretty much given up on covering the roof of my Little Free Library with tiles. While it would probably look pretty nice, essentially every guide says that outdoor tiles won't stick to wood and in general it just isn't worth it because they'll have to be replaced within a season. I suppose I was starting to get turned off by the expense (this outdoor box is really starting to add up). So I will just get some roofing shingles and put them on the top with a bit of a slanted false roof on top of the actual box. This shouldn't be too hard to manage, though I don't know if I can just buy some spare shingles at the Home Depot. I'll check that out on my next trip. I will say that getting back across the parking lot was fraught, and then I slipped on my way back over the bridge, since they just don't keep it maintained very well in the winter. (The pedestrian underpass to replace this bridge can't come soon enough for me...)
Anyway, I decided to head right back out to try to see Cuarón's Roma, which was playing at Tiff Lightbox downtown. I just missed the bus by 30 seconds or so. That is, if I had left 30 seconds earlier, I would have been able to beat the bus across the intersection and make it to the bus stop in time. So I was thoroughly pissed. I ended up crossing the street anyway, to see if I could snap a couple of pictures of the sunset. I let one car go by, then crossed. Then next car not only didn't stop, but seemed to try to swerve around me so it wouldn't have to stop and crossed over the center line. The problem was, I had already moved that far across, so it was literally headed straight for me and it seemed to be speeding up. It missed me by only a couple of inches, and in fact the next driver stopped and asked if I had been hit, since it seemed impossible I hadn't been. I was just so furious and so shaken up. I turned around and went home. I've had enough crap happen this month that the last thing I need is to be out and get hit by a car. The universe seemed to be giving me the sign that it was not safe to be out and about. So fuck Roma. I have absolutely no intention of seeing it now, probably not even on Netflix. And fuck all you shitty Toronto drivers.
When I get in this mood, it isn't the black dog of depression (that Michael Williams, Judi Dench's husband used to get), but rather just a deep hatred for the vast majority of humanity. About the only good thing about climate change is that I will probably be still alive to see gas prices go up to $10/litre and watch all the selfish drivers suffer. Ideally, I'll even see oil patch executives charged as war criminals, but that may just be a bit far fetched. It's been a couple of hours since the incident, and I'm still royally pissed off. I am going to write the Councillor and explain how dangerous the intersection really is and demand some improvements. I might as well focus my ire on something reasonably productive.
I even snuck in a half-trip to the gym, in the sense I went but mostly to use the stationary bike and only did a half set of weights, since I had just been there for a full work out on Sat. And I think my cold has finally let up, so that was a pleasant surprise.
I have pretty much given up on covering the roof of my Little Free Library with tiles. While it would probably look pretty nice, essentially every guide says that outdoor tiles won't stick to wood and in general it just isn't worth it because they'll have to be replaced within a season. I suppose I was starting to get turned off by the expense (this outdoor box is really starting to add up). So I will just get some roofing shingles and put them on the top with a bit of a slanted false roof on top of the actual box. This shouldn't be too hard to manage, though I don't know if I can just buy some spare shingles at the Home Depot. I'll check that out on my next trip. I will say that getting back across the parking lot was fraught, and then I slipped on my way back over the bridge, since they just don't keep it maintained very well in the winter. (The pedestrian underpass to replace this bridge can't come soon enough for me...)
Anyway, I decided to head right back out to try to see Cuarón's Roma, which was playing at Tiff Lightbox downtown. I just missed the bus by 30 seconds or so. That is, if I had left 30 seconds earlier, I would have been able to beat the bus across the intersection and make it to the bus stop in time. So I was thoroughly pissed. I ended up crossing the street anyway, to see if I could snap a couple of pictures of the sunset. I let one car go by, then crossed. Then next car not only didn't stop, but seemed to try to swerve around me so it wouldn't have to stop and crossed over the center line. The problem was, I had already moved that far across, so it was literally headed straight for me and it seemed to be speeding up. It missed me by only a couple of inches, and in fact the next driver stopped and asked if I had been hit, since it seemed impossible I hadn't been. I was just so furious and so shaken up. I turned around and went home. I've had enough crap happen this month that the last thing I need is to be out and get hit by a car. The universe seemed to be giving me the sign that it was not safe to be out and about. So fuck Roma. I have absolutely no intention of seeing it now, probably not even on Netflix. And fuck all you shitty Toronto drivers.
When I get in this mood, it isn't the black dog of depression (that Michael Williams, Judi Dench's husband used to get), but rather just a deep hatred for the vast majority of humanity. About the only good thing about climate change is that I will probably be still alive to see gas prices go up to $10/litre and watch all the selfish drivers suffer. Ideally, I'll even see oil patch executives charged as war criminals, but that may just be a bit far fetched. It's been a couple of hours since the incident, and I'm still royally pissed off. I am going to write the Councillor and explain how dangerous the intersection really is and demand some improvements. I might as well focus my ire on something reasonably productive.
Best reads of 2018
I'd say that 2018 was not a particularly enjoyable year in terms of what I read, definitely worse than 2017 and even worse than 2016. I'm not even sure I can list 10 books total for the year that I truly enjoyed (rather than enjoyed in fits and starts) and instead of a top 5, I am going with a top 3! I found that I didn't care for most of what I was reading for several months straight, in some cases including books I decided to reread, which means that my tastes have changed significantly or I am reading books out of obligation, not for enjoyment, which seems peculiar.
Several books felt like a significant waste of time (The Death of My Brother Abel, Adjacentland, Faulkner's A Fable), though in most cases (aside from Burning City) I did soldier on and finish (so that I wouldn't wonder later on if they improved*). I think for 2019, I will have to seriously rethink this strategy and simply abandon more books earlier.
I had very mixed feelings about Updike's Rabbit novels. I realize they are a pretty significant achievement, taken as a collective whole (and which a "serious reader" should dip into), but there were so many things I disliked about the main character, to say nothing of his even-more-lousy son, that I can't say I really enjoyed reading them at all, though Rabbit is Rich seems the best of the bunch. I certainly will never revisit them.
At any rate, the top 3 books from 2018 were:
Arnold Bennett The Old Wives' Tale
Paul Auster Moon Palace
Russell Smith How Insensitive
The best book reread was
Don DeLillo White Noise
Honorable mention:
Julian Barnes Pulse
Chloe Benjamin The Immortalists
Joan Didion Play It As It Lays (too much ennui to be truly great)
Elizabeth Gaskell North and South
Mieko Kawakami Ms. Ice Sandwich
Adam Langer Crossing California (started strong but wore out its welcome)
Mary McCarthy Birds of America (the sucky ending kept this out of the top list)
Rabindranath Maharaj The Amazing Absorbing Boy
Alice Munro Friend of My Youth
Anthony Trollope The Way We Live Now
Most disappointing is certainly von Rezzori's The Death of My Brother Abel, as I had such hopes for it, though I suppose I more actively disliked Faulkner's A Fable, but I didn't have such high expectations in the first place.
* Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd is a special case, where technically I had read it before (in high school) and so much of the plot was spoiled by the introduction that I was quite confident that I wasn't missing out by bailing halfway through.
Several books felt like a significant waste of time (The Death of My Brother Abel, Adjacentland, Faulkner's A Fable), though in most cases (aside from Burning City) I did soldier on and finish (so that I wouldn't wonder later on if they improved*). I think for 2019, I will have to seriously rethink this strategy and simply abandon more books earlier.
I had very mixed feelings about Updike's Rabbit novels. I realize they are a pretty significant achievement, taken as a collective whole (and which a "serious reader" should dip into), but there were so many things I disliked about the main character, to say nothing of his even-more-lousy son, that I can't say I really enjoyed reading them at all, though Rabbit is Rich seems the best of the bunch. I certainly will never revisit them.
At any rate, the top 3 books from 2018 were:
Arnold Bennett The Old Wives' Tale
Paul Auster Moon Palace
Russell Smith How Insensitive
The best book reread was
Don DeLillo White Noise
Honorable mention:
Julian Barnes Pulse
Chloe Benjamin The Immortalists
Joan Didion Play It As It Lays (too much ennui to be truly great)
Elizabeth Gaskell North and South
Mieko Kawakami Ms. Ice Sandwich
Adam Langer Crossing California (started strong but wore out its welcome)
Mary McCarthy Birds of America (the sucky ending kept this out of the top list)
Rabindranath Maharaj The Amazing Absorbing Boy
Alice Munro Friend of My Youth
Anthony Trollope The Way We Live Now
Most disappointing is certainly von Rezzori's The Death of My Brother Abel, as I had such hopes for it, though I suppose I more actively disliked Faulkner's A Fable, but I didn't have such high expectations in the first place.
* Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd is a special case, where technically I had read it before (in high school) and so much of the plot was spoiled by the introduction that I was quite confident that I wasn't missing out by bailing halfway through.
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Concerts of 2018
Interestingly, 2018 is marked more by the concerts I didn't go to rather than the ones I did. Looking over the calendar, I think the only pop/rock concert I saw was David Byrne in August. I ended up passing on They Might Be Giants (because I would have had to stand the whole time). Indeed Lowest of the Low is playing Lee's Palace (I think the opening act is starting right about now). While this was vaguely temping (and I probably would have gone had my friend been in town to make the gig), I just don't like standing at a concert and almost never consider it worth doing. I probably could have gone to see 54-40 again at the Horseshoe, but thought it would be pretty much a repeat of the last time I saw them.
I couldn't find any tickets in a reasonable price range for Simple Minds, and Collective Soul was playing way out in the boonies (and it would have been all but impossible to see them and get back at night*). I went back and forth a bit on Nick Cave but decided that since he was being such an obnoxious jerk about artists who are boycotting Israel that I would boycott him.
I think I only saw Tafelmusik once (at one of their free summer shows) and Amici once. I didn't see Scaramella at all. I think I had planned to see them once, but it either fell through because I forgot the date or I had gotten sick. I pretty much stuck to the TSO for my classic music fix, though in Dec. I did see an organ recital of Messiaen's La Nativité du Seigneur at St. James on Bloor.
For classical music with a modern twist, I did see the Kronos Quartet in May, and I saw TorQ several times in 2018, including once up at York University. I did take my son to the York University concert, as well as to a performance of Dvorak's 9th Symphony by the TSO.
All that said, I still saw vastly more music than movies (either in at the cinema or at home). I basically only saw movies if I was taking the kids (Incredibles 2, Black Panther, Avengers Infinity War). I was pretty sure I was going to take my daughter to see Ralph Breaks the Internet, but that fell through for a variety of reasons including one movie theatre couldn't be bothered to keep their listings straight in terms of whether the movie was 2-D or 3-D! I'm leaning towards seeing Alfonso Cuarón's Roma tomorrow in the theatre, but that might well be the only serious movie** I've seen on the big screen for all of 2018! Movies just aren't really a big part of my life anymore.
* Of course, I find sometimes even local transit is so terrible that it makes it impossible to see in-town concerts, and I gave up on a Skye Wallace show when the TTC let me down badly.
** Not entirely sure if I should count Hotel Artemis, starring Jodie Foster, though I did see this in 2018, and I saw Brown Girl Begins just a week or two prior to that.
I couldn't find any tickets in a reasonable price range for Simple Minds, and Collective Soul was playing way out in the boonies (and it would have been all but impossible to see them and get back at night*). I went back and forth a bit on Nick Cave but decided that since he was being such an obnoxious jerk about artists who are boycotting Israel that I would boycott him.
I think I only saw Tafelmusik once (at one of their free summer shows) and Amici once. I didn't see Scaramella at all. I think I had planned to see them once, but it either fell through because I forgot the date or I had gotten sick. I pretty much stuck to the TSO for my classic music fix, though in Dec. I did see an organ recital of Messiaen's La Nativité du Seigneur at St. James on Bloor.
For classical music with a modern twist, I did see the Kronos Quartet in May, and I saw TorQ several times in 2018, including once up at York University. I did take my son to the York University concert, as well as to a performance of Dvorak's 9th Symphony by the TSO.
All that said, I still saw vastly more music than movies (either in at the cinema or at home). I basically only saw movies if I was taking the kids (Incredibles 2, Black Panther, Avengers Infinity War). I was pretty sure I was going to take my daughter to see Ralph Breaks the Internet, but that fell through for a variety of reasons including one movie theatre couldn't be bothered to keep their listings straight in terms of whether the movie was 2-D or 3-D! I'm leaning towards seeing Alfonso Cuarón's Roma tomorrow in the theatre, but that might well be the only serious movie** I've seen on the big screen for all of 2018! Movies just aren't really a big part of my life anymore.
* Of course, I find sometimes even local transit is so terrible that it makes it impossible to see in-town concerts, and I gave up on a Skye Wallace show when the TTC let me down badly.
** Not entirely sure if I should count Hotel Artemis, starring Jodie Foster, though I did see this in 2018, and I saw Brown Girl Begins just a week or two prior to that.
Best theatre of 2018
As always, there was much I enjoyed* in Toronto and occasionally elsewhere. This is a somewhat generous list in that I am listing plays when I may have only enjoyed certain elements, i.e. the script or the acting or the general feeling of inspiration and not necessarily all of them. I do know that a few of these I cooled on after further reflection, but I'll remain in the generous frame of mind for the time being.
Jan.
The Wedding Party @Crows Nest
Lear -- The Groundlings @ Harbourfront
A Delicate Balance by Albee -- Soulpepper
Mustard by Kat Sandler -- Tarragon
Krapp's Last Tape -- Video Cabaret @ Theatre Passe Muraille
Feb.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller -- Hart House
Bang Bang by Kat Sandler -- Factory Theatre
Dark Heart by Genevieve Adams -- Assembly Theatre
The Humans by Karam -- Canadian Stage
Richard III -- Shakespeare Bash'd
Jerusalem @ Crows Nest
No Foreigners -- Fu-Gen @ Theatre Centre
March
Come From Away -- Mirvish
Three Tall Women -- Broadway
The Overcoat by Panych -- Canadian Stage
April
Punk Rock by Simon Stephens -- Howland Company @ Crowsnest
Vanbrugh’s The Provoked Wife -- George Brown
Fear and Misery of the Third Reich by Brecht -- George Brown
Prairie Nurse -- Factory Theatre
June
Stephen Fry's Mythos: Gods -- Shaw Festival
Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph
July
Entrances & Exits -- Toronto Fringe
Police Cops in Space -- Toronto Fringe
A Kev 'n' Cal Mystery -- Toronto Fringe
August
The Private Life of the Master Race (cabaret version of Brecht's Fear and Misery of the Third Reich) -- Theatre Centre
September
Portia's Julius Caesar -- Shakespeare in the Ruff @ Withrow Park
The Tempest -- Stratford
Long Day's Journey into Night -- Stratford
Napoli Milionaria! -- Stratford
A Number by Caryl Churchill -- Solar Stage @ Wychwood Theatre
October
The Wolves -- Howland Company @ Crowsnest
November
Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel -- Toronto Irish Players
Durang, Enough Said -- East Side Players
Escaped Alone by Caryl Churchill -- Soulpepper
Kill the Poor by George F. Walker -- Assembly Theatre
Caucasian Chalk Circle by Brecht -- George Brown
The Theory of Accelerated Hotness -- Assembly Theatre
Space Opera Zero -- Eldritch Theatre @ Red Sandcastle
I actually did not see any shows in December, which is a bit rare for me. I found out about A Christmas Carol at Campbell House too late and all the tickets were gone. As I said earlier, I'll see if they bring it back in 2019, and I'll go then. I did actually see a play in May, but really disliked all aspects of the show (unlike most local critics), so I'll stay schtum.
For sure, this was a very different year in theatre for me, as I participated in Fringe, which sucked up a huge amount of my time. Although the reviews for Final Exam weren't particularly kind, most people that actually went had a good time and we came very close to selling out three dates. I don't think you can ask for much more than that. However, I don't think I'll enter another show into Fringe again, as it really was too much work. I actually saw close to 10 Fringe shows, going for the full immersion experience, but I'll just list the 3 that were the funniest.
The oddest highlight for sure was Space Opera Zero, which was a gonzo SF extravaganza (put on by only 3 actors) at Red Sandcastle. But what makes it stand out is that it is built on the bones of Middleton's The Changeling. What a hoot! I will definitely see if Eldritch Theatre attempts something similar next year.
Another surprise was George Brown's production of Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle. It had essentially been turned into a musical. In some cases they were singing the original dialogue, and in a few other cases it seemed that they had added songs to comment on the action. I had debated taking my son, though they had originally said the production ran close to 3 hours. In the end, they cut one intermission and tightened it up to something closer to 2 hours 15 minutes. Had I known, I would have taken him, and I think he would have enjoyed it. C'est la vie...
Between Shaw and Stratford, I enjoyed the spectacle of The Tempest (taking my son) and the sets and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the plot of Eduardo De Filippo's Napoli Milionaria! (though my goodness did they mis-market this as a heart-warming comedy!). Panych's The Overcoat at Canadian Stage also was very impressive on the spectacle side of things and the singing was also strong.
The best musical I saw was Come from Away by far. I'd say the best play overall I saw was Karam's The Humans at Canadian Stage, which did live up to my expectations, while other things I had looked forward to fell a bit (or a lot) short.
It's hard to say what 2019 will bring. I am slated to see a couple of things done by George Brown, and I'll probably check out Shakespeare Bash'd doing Othello in Feb. It's looking very unlikely that I will get out to Rochester to see Yankee Tavern, but I haven't completely given up hope. I've pretty much given up on Tarragon (after yet another boring, uninspiring season) and I am so not interested in the so-very-woke offerings at Factory and Theatre Passe Muraille (to say nothing of the furor over at Buddies in Bad Times, which is so incredibly depressing). I've also cut way, way back at Soulpepper to the point where I can't even put a mini season of 4 plays together, so I'll just try to drop by a couple of times to go the rush ticket route for an evening of Pinter shorts and possibly Frayn's Copenhagen (though I have to admit this one doesn't really grab me). I am expecting storefront theatre to largely fill in the gaps, and in one case jailfront theatre (one company is putting on Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Don Jail, and I definitely need to see when tickets go on sale for that). I'm reasonably optimistic that, in the end, I'll see as much interesting theatre in 2019 as I did in 2018.
* Out of curiosity, I looked at Glenn Sumi (of Now) and his top 10 list for 2018. As it happens, I saw 6 of his 10, but only put 4 in my list above, but I'm not going to indicate the two where we disagree. I will say, however, that the minute I heard Every Brilliant Thing was going to rely very heavily on audience participation, I crossed it off my list of things to see and haven't regretted that decision for a moment. Many critics loved it, but Carly Maga of the Star was much more on my wavelength and didn't like it particularly much. I am certain I would have hated it.
Jan.
The Wedding Party @Crows Nest
Lear -- The Groundlings @ Harbourfront
A Delicate Balance by Albee -- Soulpepper
Mustard by Kat Sandler -- Tarragon
Krapp's Last Tape -- Video Cabaret @ Theatre Passe Muraille
Feb.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller -- Hart House
Bang Bang by Kat Sandler -- Factory Theatre
Dark Heart by Genevieve Adams -- Assembly Theatre
The Humans by Karam -- Canadian Stage
Richard III -- Shakespeare Bash'd
Jerusalem @ Crows Nest
No Foreigners -- Fu-Gen @ Theatre Centre
March
Come From Away -- Mirvish
Three Tall Women -- Broadway
The Overcoat by Panych -- Canadian Stage
April
Punk Rock by Simon Stephens -- Howland Company @ Crowsnest
Vanbrugh’s The Provoked Wife -- George Brown
Fear and Misery of the Third Reich by Brecht -- George Brown
Prairie Nurse -- Factory Theatre
June
Stephen Fry's Mythos: Gods -- Shaw Festival
Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph
July
Entrances & Exits -- Toronto Fringe
Police Cops in Space -- Toronto Fringe
A Kev 'n' Cal Mystery -- Toronto Fringe
August
The Private Life of the Master Race (cabaret version of Brecht's Fear and Misery of the Third Reich) -- Theatre Centre
September
Portia's Julius Caesar -- Shakespeare in the Ruff @ Withrow Park
The Tempest -- Stratford
Long Day's Journey into Night -- Stratford
Napoli Milionaria! -- Stratford
A Number by Caryl Churchill -- Solar Stage @ Wychwood Theatre
October
The Wolves -- Howland Company @ Crowsnest
November
Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel -- Toronto Irish Players
Durang, Enough Said -- East Side Players
Escaped Alone by Caryl Churchill -- Soulpepper
Kill the Poor by George F. Walker -- Assembly Theatre
Caucasian Chalk Circle by Brecht -- George Brown
The Theory of Accelerated Hotness -- Assembly Theatre
Space Opera Zero -- Eldritch Theatre @ Red Sandcastle
I actually did not see any shows in December, which is a bit rare for me. I found out about A Christmas Carol at Campbell House too late and all the tickets were gone. As I said earlier, I'll see if they bring it back in 2019, and I'll go then. I did actually see a play in May, but really disliked all aspects of the show (unlike most local critics), so I'll stay schtum.
For sure, this was a very different year in theatre for me, as I participated in Fringe, which sucked up a huge amount of my time. Although the reviews for Final Exam weren't particularly kind, most people that actually went had a good time and we came very close to selling out three dates. I don't think you can ask for much more than that. However, I don't think I'll enter another show into Fringe again, as it really was too much work. I actually saw close to 10 Fringe shows, going for the full immersion experience, but I'll just list the 3 that were the funniest.
The oddest highlight for sure was Space Opera Zero, which was a gonzo SF extravaganza (put on by only 3 actors) at Red Sandcastle. But what makes it stand out is that it is built on the bones of Middleton's The Changeling. What a hoot! I will definitely see if Eldritch Theatre attempts something similar next year.
Another surprise was George Brown's production of Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle. It had essentially been turned into a musical. In some cases they were singing the original dialogue, and in a few other cases it seemed that they had added songs to comment on the action. I had debated taking my son, though they had originally said the production ran close to 3 hours. In the end, they cut one intermission and tightened it up to something closer to 2 hours 15 minutes. Had I known, I would have taken him, and I think he would have enjoyed it. C'est la vie...
Between Shaw and Stratford, I enjoyed the spectacle of The Tempest (taking my son) and the sets and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the plot of Eduardo De Filippo's Napoli Milionaria! (though my goodness did they mis-market this as a heart-warming comedy!). Panych's The Overcoat at Canadian Stage also was very impressive on the spectacle side of things and the singing was also strong.
The best musical I saw was Come from Away by far. I'd say the best play overall I saw was Karam's The Humans at Canadian Stage, which did live up to my expectations, while other things I had looked forward to fell a bit (or a lot) short.
It's hard to say what 2019 will bring. I am slated to see a couple of things done by George Brown, and I'll probably check out Shakespeare Bash'd doing Othello in Feb. It's looking very unlikely that I will get out to Rochester to see Yankee Tavern, but I haven't completely given up hope. I've pretty much given up on Tarragon (after yet another boring, uninspiring season) and I am so not interested in the so-very-woke offerings at Factory and Theatre Passe Muraille (to say nothing of the furor over at Buddies in Bad Times, which is so incredibly depressing). I've also cut way, way back at Soulpepper to the point where I can't even put a mini season of 4 plays together, so I'll just try to drop by a couple of times to go the rush ticket route for an evening of Pinter shorts and possibly Frayn's Copenhagen (though I have to admit this one doesn't really grab me). I am expecting storefront theatre to largely fill in the gaps, and in one case jailfront theatre (one company is putting on Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Don Jail, and I definitely need to see when tickets go on sale for that). I'm reasonably optimistic that, in the end, I'll see as much interesting theatre in 2019 as I did in 2018.
* Out of curiosity, I looked at Glenn Sumi (of Now) and his top 10 list for 2018. As it happens, I saw 6 of his 10, but only put 4 in my list above, but I'm not going to indicate the two where we disagree. I will say, however, that the minute I heard Every Brilliant Thing was going to rely very heavily on audience participation, I crossed it off my list of things to see and haven't regretted that decision for a moment. Many critics loved it, but Carly Maga of the Star was much more on my wavelength and didn't like it particularly much. I am certain I would have hated it.
Academic Dreams
I try not to try to share dreams, as they generally aren't very interesting to people outside of one's own brain, but this dream had some odd features. It started out where I was sitting around a seminar table with other grad students. The teacher was pretty terrible (and I suspect this was the transposition of a bad temporary manager I had a couple of years ago). At some point, as the class was breaking up, I realized that I didn't need to go to class any more, since I already had been awarded my PhD. Then there is a transition that is a bit unclear, and then I was being driven down the street with a young, female grad student.
I was probably trying to be helpful (and subtly put the moves on her) when I started offering up some advice on getting key informants in the schools. At this point, I realized that my research was based on just three interviewees, and I was worried that if anyone found this out, my PhD would be taken away. So I was trying on one hand to sound like an expert but also prevent her from probing too closely and finding out the secret.
She seemed to have things well underway (perhaps she was studying the school where her daughter went). So I opened up a bit more, but for some reason I couldn't remember the title of my dissertation. At that point, we must have parked, since we were walking, and we actually went by the school I had researched. I debated going in, but she wanted to go through an open air market nearby. I guess I was getting more desperate to impress her at this point, and I suddenly had the dissertation in my hands (as one does in dreams), I kept flipping through it but couldn't find the title. Too frustrating! There was a little bit of the dream left over about losing her in the crowd, but I was definitely starting to wake up by this point. I suspect the disconnect was that my dissertation was on transportation politics and not urban education, so it would have been quite a stretch to completely make up an entire dissertation on another topic, even in dreamland.
Of course, it would have been far worse had it been the reverse -- if I dreamed I had my PhD, then woke up to find it was just a dream (and I had a long slog still ahead). I don't recall ever doing that, but it must have happened to some budding academics...
I was probably trying to be helpful (and subtly put the moves on her) when I started offering up some advice on getting key informants in the schools. At this point, I realized that my research was based on just three interviewees, and I was worried that if anyone found this out, my PhD would be taken away. So I was trying on one hand to sound like an expert but also prevent her from probing too closely and finding out the secret.
She seemed to have things well underway (perhaps she was studying the school where her daughter went). So I opened up a bit more, but for some reason I couldn't remember the title of my dissertation. At that point, we must have parked, since we were walking, and we actually went by the school I had researched. I debated going in, but she wanted to go through an open air market nearby. I guess I was getting more desperate to impress her at this point, and I suddenly had the dissertation in my hands (as one does in dreams), I kept flipping through it but couldn't find the title. Too frustrating! There was a little bit of the dream left over about losing her in the crowd, but I was definitely starting to wake up by this point. I suspect the disconnect was that my dissertation was on transportation politics and not urban education, so it would have been quite a stretch to completely make up an entire dissertation on another topic, even in dreamland.
Of course, it would have been far worse had it been the reverse -- if I dreamed I had my PhD, then woke up to find it was just a dream (and I had a long slog still ahead). I don't recall ever doing that, but it must have happened to some budding academics...
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