With the 2020 theatre season cut short by a global pandemic, I expected my list of favourite theatre for the year would be very short. I miss live theatre and that glorious experience of the lights going down and a group of strangers sharing an experience together, but I think the circumstances (both Covid-19 and then the Black Live Matter movement making important and long overdue conversations happen in the arts) have forced companies to innovate in lasting ways. Here are some of the theatre experiences, whether live, live streamed, or recordings I found for the first time, I loved this year:
“Caroline, or Change” (Obsidian Theatre/Musical Stage Company)
I don’t care for this musical. I don’t understand what the personifications of inanimate objects add to the story and it’s a musical where very little actually happens with a score that I find forgettable. That said, I can’t imagine a better production of this musical than the one I saw in February. It didn’t hurt that this was the first performance I’ve ever seen in one of Toronto’s most beautiful but little used (for theatre anyway) locales, The Winter Garden Theatre! The set was gorgeous and used levels well to denote place, but what really sold this was a tremendous cast anchored by R&B singer Jully Black as Caroline. Black’s portrayal of Black maid CarolineThibodeaux during the Civil Rights movement and the assassination of President Kennedy was subtly powerful and her voice was enough to make you leap from your seat to applaud. Rising star Vanessa Sears was also a standout as Caroline’s more progressive daughter, Emmie.
“Amadeus” (The National Theatre)
I’d only ever seen the 1984 movie adaptation of Amadeus, so I jumped at the chance to watch the National Theatre livestream of their 2018 production during quarantine. It’s an excellent production in almost every way. I love the costumes, set, and direction and I thought Lucian Msamati’s performance as Salieri was a masterclass. Unfortunately I wasn’t keen on Adam Gillen’s Mozart. It’s a difficult role that really requires balancing Mozart’s childlike naiveté, his genius, and how insufferable and proud he can be. A balance that Tom Hulce gets so right in the movie. Gillen too often came off as childish rather than childlike, throwing tantrums like a toddler, and I wound up entirely on Salieri’s side. It’s a shame the balance wasn’t there because everything else about this production I adored.
“A Streetcar Named Desire” (The National Theatre)
A bright spot in the pandemic was learning that my library had subscribed to some performance databases, including the National Theatre Collection. Looking through their productions led me to this Gillian Anderson-led gem. I’d only ever seen a ballet adaptation of Streetcar, so it was really interesting to watch a production of the play. Anderson gives a masterful performance as Blanche and it took me awhile to even recognize The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby! I wasn’t quite as taken with Ben Foster’s Stanley, but this play was still so compelling that it didn’t feel long at all. Highly recommended.
“Julius Caesar” (The National Theatre)
Another National Theatre Collection find was Julius Caesar, starring Ben Whishaw (Brutus), Michelle Fairley (Cassius), and David Morrissey (Mark Antony). Julius Caesar is a play that I had never read before Project Shakespeare asked if I had any interest in playing Cassius. I absolutely fell in love with it and watched two productions, of which I much preferred this. Whishaw and Fairley have a lovely dynamic as Brutus and Cassius and the modern setting, which doesn’t always work for me, was very effective here. I’ll probably watch this again ahead of Project Shakespeare Round II: Julius Caesar.
“Ghost Quartet in Concert” (Crows Theatre)
It really took most theatre companies about six months to figure out how to make effective streaming theatre, either by pre-recording or by performing live for the camera. The live production of Ghost Quartet in 2019 was one of my favourite theatre experiences of the year and I listen to the music from it a lot so I couldn’t wait to see the cast reunite and film a concert version of the show in October. This was one of the isolation theatrical experiences that felt most like being at the theatre to me. My mom and a few friends all bought tickets for the same date/time and afterwards we texted about our experiences. The sound was absolutely glorious, the four-person cast had terrific chemistry and were in fine voice, and I loved that the creative team who made the live show so engaging an experience were involved in this filmed and streamed concert version.
“Porchside Songs” (Musical Stage Company)
One Toronto theatre company that pivoted quickly and intelligently to our present conditions was The Musical Stage Company. Their announcement in the summer and fall that they would put on a series of socially distanced, live music concerts, each featuring a few well-known local artists (including the exquisite Hailey Gillis) in a Toronto front yard was innovative and exciting. I immediately texted a friend and while we missed out on the first set of timeslots trying to find a date that fit everyone’s schedules, the performances sold out and new dates were added, one of which she secured. The performers stood more than six feet away and wore masks when not performing, audience members (who adhered to public health guidelines) were also masked except when in our six feet apart chairs, and when the music started I was not alone in blinking back tears. That feeling of experiencing live performance with a group is like no other and this performance meant the world. Also Hailey Gillis was in my friend’s yard singing with her beautiful voice and accompanied by another fave, Andrew Penner! Just an exquisite night.
“Secret Life of a Mother” (The SLOM Collective/The Theatre Centre)
Neither the friend I went to see this with in February or I have kids or ever intend to have kids, yet both of us teared up over this raw, darkly comic exploration of pregnancy and motherhood. Breaking taboos right, left, and center, this one-woman confessional piece talks about miscarriage, panful childbirth, and feeling like a failure as a mother. Playwright Hannah Moscovitch and real life close friend, actress Maev Beaty (who have collaborated before on “Bunny”) are a match made in heaven. Beaty was already on my short list of Toronto actors I would see in literally anything and this only affirms that view. I really wish I’d gone earlier in the run so I could tell every woman I ever met to go see this.
“The Cellist” (The Royal Ballet)
Oh how I loved this! Choreographer Cathy Marston (who choreographed the Jane Eyre ballet I saw in 2018) created this one-act ballet about talented post-war cellist Jacqueline du Pré, whose career and life were cruelly cut short by multiple sclerosis. The Royal Ballet premiered this work in February 2020, just before everything shut down, and the ballet was streamed for a limited time in June by the Royal Opera House. Lauren Cuthbertson, who originated the roles of Hermione in The Winter’s Tale and Alice in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, is exquisite here, giving a nuanced performance as du Pré. Her sense of loss as her condition deteriorates is keenly felt and left me weeping. Marcelino Sambé is equally compelling as her cello. So often in ballet the story is centered around a pair of lovers, the better to allow for pas-de-deux, but The Cellist is focused on a woman’s love for her instrument and the beautiful music they create together and I found that especially moving. It looks like a DVD/Blu Ray will be released in February and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!
“Acts of Faith” (Factory Theatre)
Like many of you, I’ve found it hard to concentrate and remain focused during the pandemic. I keep reaching for my phone and absently scrolling, but I didn’t reach for my phone once during Factory Theatre’s live streamed performance of Acts of Faith, a one-woman play starring Natasha Mumba. The story follows Faith, a young African woman who gets mistaken for a prophet. Faith begins using her ‘gift’ to right wrongs and punish the wicked, but her actions erode her own faith and drive her away from home and church. I literally couldn’t take my eyes off of the charismatic Mumba for the entirety of the play and the script was funny, moving, thoughtful, and tightly paced. If you ever get a chance to see a production of this play, do it!
“Angels’ Atlas” (The National Ballet of Canada)
How surreal that I saw this just over a week before the world shutdown! Even in a parallel universe where we had a full theatre season, this would still be the best thing I saw. There aren’t enough superlatives in the world to describe how much I adored choreographer Crystal Pite’s Angels’ Atlas. The ballet is a perfect blend of luminous lighting design, music that accentuates the emotional aspects of the ballet, particularly the rapturous choral music, ingenious choreography by Pite, and a talented company of dancers able to execute Pite’s version perfectly. Fittingly for our times, Angels’ Atlas is a ballet about human connection, which means I haven’t been able to stop dwelling on it over the last ten months. It left me breathless and teary-eyed; I hoped it would never end. I can only imagine how much more meaningful it would be after the pandemic when we’re able to safely gather again. I’m desperately hoping The National Ballet brings this one back soon – ideally as their return to the stage. Reader, I would weep buckets.
PROJECT SHAKESPEARE
What can I say about Project Shakespeare that I haven’t already said and that can’t be summed up by overuse of the heart eyes emoji? Project Shakespeare has honestly saved me. Living alone and with no work to do from home it fulfilled my need for social interaction, not only bringing me closer to friends but introducing me to supportive, talented, new friends. It forced me to stop doomscrolling and put me in touch with my creative side as I took on costumes and props ranging from 18th century hair to The Bear in the famous stage direction from The Winter’s Tale to building a life-size cardboard coffin! It brought me out of my shy, introverted shell and released my inner Leo. It made me laugh at a time when I couldn’t stop crying. And, of course, it gave me a renewed appreciation for The Bard. Thank you Abby and Rachel for making this happen. For giving me theatre at a time when there’s been precious little, and for letting me make theatre, when I had only ever been a fan before. Truly a highlight of the year. Also, we’re famous in England.
How was your year in theatre? Did you take advantage of global streaming from The Stratford Shakespeare Festival or the Royal Opera House? Did you participate in theatre with your friends? Let me know in the comments!