Interview
iPhoto caption: Photo by Marc Chalifoux.
At Next Stage 2024, two shows complicate the meaning of a night out
Gemini, by Louise Casemore, and Prude, by Lou Campbell, explore the hospitality industry and bar culture from different perspectives.
iPhoto caption: Wonderful Joe production still by Ian Jackson.
‘What the hell do I do with all these puppets?’: Inside the wonderful world of Ronnie Burkett
“More than a few people said to me, ‘so this is your last show’,” says the legendary puppeteer ahead of his production of Wonderful Joe at TO Live. “Trust me, I never said this is my last show. I think that’s maybe a bit of ageism, or wishful thinking.”
iPhoto caption: Members of the company in Cymbeline. Stratford Festival 2024. Photo by David Hou.
“I warn my friends before they come — I’m like, ‘it’s a long show!’” says Jordin Hall, who plays Posthumus in Stratford's Cymbeline. “And then by the end, they’re all usually like: ‘it didn’t feel that long.’ That’s the greatest compliment they can give us — that we kept them hooked for three hours of crazy, not-often-done Shakespeare.”
iPhoto caption: Headshot courtesy of Davinder Malhi.
Speaking in Draft: Davinder Malhi
“When I was younger — around when I graduated theatre school in 2020 — queerness meant identity and identity politics,” says multi-hyphenate Malhi. “In many ways, it still does, but I’ve gotten to a place now where I don’t desire to discuss the identity part of queerness.”