"Monks", Tarragon Theatre, Toronto, ON

This evening Gord and I saw Monks. It’s been sold out the last two times it’s been playing. Gord had seen it a year and a half ago at The Theatre Centre and said it was a hoot so we bought tickets as soon as we saw it was scheduled. 

In this monastery of mayhem, nothing is sacred … The monks who reside in the hilltop monastery have always lived in total isolation. But when the Abbot ventures into town, two medieval Brothers seize the chance to invite a wagon full of strangers into their austere abode.

Across this one-hour clown epic, the monks’ daily rituals — counting lentils, caring for their donkey, and keeping the monastery from collapse — become the quest of a lifetime.

Accept their invitation and step inside this shockingly dumb, interactive journey, packed with daring physical comedy, unbridled chaos, and every possible interpretation of the word ‘ass’.

It’s hilarious! Lots of craziness, improv and audience participation. This evening was the first show and it runs until November 15 (extra shows have been added).

"Julie", Tarragon Theatre, Toronto, ON

I saw Julie this afternoon at the Tarragon Theatre on Bridgman Avenue. 

It was good but intense.

A seductive dance of power and pain unfolds when Julie leaves her late-night party with London’s elite, opting instead to spend the night with her father’s driver. What follows is a savage fight for survival. Vicious and unrelentingly relevant, ‘Julie’ is Polly Stenham’s critically acclaimed 2018 adaptation of Strindberg’s 1888 classic Miss Julie, reframed for today’s world.

Greenhouse Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Toronto, ON

I spent this afternoon and evening volunteering at the Tarragon Theatre at the second annual Greenhouse Festival, a process-led residency program. 

As an usher, I saw “Quid Pro Quo” and “Hot Girl Yoga” … both were very good.

"Bella Donna", Taragon Theatre, Toronto, ON

Gord and I saw Bella Donna at the Tarragon Theatre ... this evening was the opening night and it runs to June 1.  Our pal, Dewey Stewart, is in it and plays Giovanni (he looks fabulous in a gown and sneakers!).

"Bella Donna" invites audiences into the world of intrigue, politics, sex, and power, all controlled by one of history’s most powerful and misunderstood women: Lucrezia Borgia.

While Pope Julius II excommunicates Lucrezia Borgia (alleged daughter of his predecessor, Alexander VI) and her husband, Duke Alfonso D'Este of Ferrara, Alfonso dallies with his young mistress, Angela DiGhilini. Disguised, Lucrezia goes to seek a secret audience with the Pope. There she meets Giovanni, a young soldier, who doesn’t realize who Lucrezia is and may be evidence of a guilty secret even more devastating to Lucrezia. Sister Bibiana, Lucrezia’s confidante, arranges for Giovanni to come to Ferrara, where he is adroitly poisoned by Alfonso. As the evidence mounts, so do the dramatic stakes.

Our contemporized production of Bella Donna is directed by the Gina Wilkinson award-winning emerging female director, Anita La Selva, and stars Françoise Balthazar, Martha Chaves, Michael Giordano, Paul Hopkins, Chelsea Russell, and Dewey Stewart. Are you ready to be seduced?

It's a story from the early 1500s that has been modernized.  It was funny and all the actors did a great job in their roles.  The stage is minimal with props being carried in and out by the actors during the scenes.

Because it was opening night, there was a reception afterwards.