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Ilana Lucas
Ilana Lucas is a professor of English in Centennial College’s School of Advancement. She is the Vice-President of the Canadian Theatre Critics Association. She holds a BA in English and Theatre from Princeton University, an MFA in Dramaturgy and Script Development from Columbia University, and serves as Princeton’s Alumni Schools Committee Chair for Western Ontario. She has written for Brit+Co, Mooney on Theatre, and BroadwayWorld Toronto. Her most recent play, Let’s Talk, won the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival’s 24-Hour Playwriting Contest. She has a deep and abiding love of musical theatre, and considers her year working for the estate of Tony-winners Phyllis Newman and Adolph Green one of her most treasured memories.
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iPhoto caption: Sara Topham in Hedda Gabler at the Stratford Festival. Photo by David Hou.
Gatekeep, gaslight, girlboss: The delight of female rage in theatre
Personally, I support women’s rights and women’s wrongs — especially when it comes to my girl Hedda. And it seems that at least two Ontario directors share my viewpoint, with Hedda Gabler opening twice in the same month at Stratford and at Coal Mine Theatre in Toronto. What makes her story so appealing?
iPhoto caption: Photo by Rick Clifford
REVIEWS: Toronto International Film Festival 2024
A filmed production of an experimental Egyptian opera, a TV series penned by Jordan Tannahill, and the moviemaking debut of Broadway director Marianne Elliott are among the offerings at this year’s TIFF with connections to the world of theatre.
iPhoto caption: Kailin Brown in the Broadway National Tour of Chicago. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
I’m not a woman, I just play one
“As a performer, my job is to play a character, and if that character is right for me it doesn’t matter what gender they are,” writes non-binary actor Kailin Brown. “What matters is that I can make a difference in someone’s life who can relate to the character, or to me as the actor.”
iPhoto caption: Promotional image from The Tempest: A Witch in Algiers at Shakespeare in the Ruff. Photo courtesy of Shakespeare in the Ruff.
REVIEW: The Tempest: A Witch in Algiers brings new meaning to a classic tale
You may think you know the story of The Tempest, Shakespeare’s shipwrecked saga about wizards, spirits, and nobility on a remote island. But in The Tempest: A Witch in Algiers, playwright Makram Ayache invites new consideration of canonized characters,
iPhoto caption: Starr Domingue and Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane in Something Rotten! at the Stratford Festival. Production stills by David Hou.
Yes, those standing ovations at Something Rotten! are real — just ask Portia and Bea
Two mid-show standing ovations? Really? Yes, really. Or so say the leading ladies of Something Rotten!. For those who’ve spent the summer living under a rock, Something Rotten! (written by...
iPhoto caption: A stock image of Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover.
Lighthouse Festival Theatre announces 2025 season, curated by incoming artistic director Jane Spence
Lighthouse Festival Theatre, located in Port Dover and Port Colborne, has announced its jam-packed 2025 summer season.
iPhoto caption: Witness for the Prosecution production still by Emily Cooper; My Fair Lady production still by Michael Cooper.
Shaw Festival reviews: My Fair Lady and Witness for the Prosecution sing
Through the Shaw Festival’s elegant, sharp handling, both works manage to feel fresh and germane to a 2024 audience.
REVIEW: Eldritch Theatre’s The House at Poe Corner delights and disturbs
Michael O’Brien and Eric Woolfe’s mashup of Edgar Allan Poe and Winnie the Pooh is Poe-sitively droll.
REVIEW: Shifting Ground Collective’s Merrily We Roll Along reminds us to tend to our dreams
If you don’t have the, uh, time to make it to the Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff production in Manhattan, Shifting Ground’s version of Merrily We Roll Along is a worthy contender, urgently ticking along.
REVIEW: Shakespeare BASH’d brings novelty to the Bard’s most under-produced work
In Shakespeare BASH’d’s intimate, stripped-down production of The Two Noble Kinsmen, we discover why even lesser Shakespeare is still worthwhile in the ways it explores different kinds of love and desire.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Henry Chan Jr.
REVIEW: We Quit Theatre challenges existing narratives in its exploration of autofiction
The opposite of “quiet quitting,” this collection makes a joyful noise — and I don’t think anyone would want its creators to resign.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Ilana Lucas.
And in that moment, I, too, was a cheesehead
When you ponder Wisconsin, you might think of copious dairy or a passionate football fan base, rather than live theatre or new play development.
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