Miracle on Queen Street

So, thanks to my Torontoist editor David Topping, who is a friend of Tyler Clark Burke, Ayngelina and I were able to attend a "miracle fruit" tasting last Thursday and we posted about it on Monday. Many high profile media people were there (Toronto Life, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, CBC) as well as little old us. We were crammed together on a tiny back patio and it was really fun.

Due to my own mix-up, we were double-booked that night and had to go to the Performance Gallery at The Gladstone as well, which we were slightly late for. After having some berries (which make everything eaten afterwards taste sweet) and scarfing down too much of the test foods (lemons, salt-and-vingear chips, sour candy, hot peppers, vinegar, tequila), we made a hasty exit and had just 45 minutes to see all of the gallery's performances.

At one point, we were watching a fabulous performance called German Lollipop that took place in the bathroom on the second floor. The night's performances were supposed to be over already, but since we were media, they did an extra one for us. In the show, Hannah Cheesman played a German wife who was being gradually driven to madness by her husband. It was a creepy, powerful performance and it was fantastic. I loved it, but the door was shut and it was a million degrees in there and my stomach was super mad that I filled it with dietary acid at the party. Word of caution: do not make plans to do anything after a "flavour-tripping" party.

Photo by Ayngelina Brogan.

Theatre Buff

With all this writing for Torontoist, my own blog is getting terribly neglected. Between the Pride Parade and now, I've had the amazing opportunity to review plays for the Toronto Fringe and SummerWorks. I've always loved theatre and see quite a bit of it usually, but this is the first time I've written any formal reviews.

During the Fringe, I went to see about 16 plays, mostly with Marcelo, and loved every minute of it (well, the vast majority). I couldn't get enough. Even at lunchtime, I snuck away to the Factory Theatre (just down the street from my office) and squeezed in an extra play.

As for SummerWorks, so far, I've seen only three traditional SummerWorks plays, one SummerWalk, and one visit to the awesome Performance Gallery. I simply fell in love with Quietness by Anthony Bergamin. I am a sucker for opera or any singing really.

So, belatedly, here are the posts I wrote for the Fringe and SummerWorks (to date) for Torontoist:

• First Class Baggage (review of Baggage)


• Bert and Eye (review of Bert and I)


• #FringeTO (collection of tweets by Fringe performers)


• It's in the Bag (review of BAGS: Obsessions of a Hoardaholic)


• Night at the Performance Gallery


• Remember Lola Lita (SummerWalk walking tour)