The Toronto Fringe Festival starts next week, so between now and the start of the fest, and in between seeing and reviewing Jazz Festival shows, I’ll be previewing some plays that I’m particularly excited about seeing. Yes, I’m covering the Fringe, which starts June 30, and also covering the jazz festival with Mark, so I won’t be sleeping much the next two and a half weeks or so. If you see me napping during someone’s Fringe play, try to be understanding, and wake me up gently…
First up: Brothers and Arms, a brand new work on war, love, and best of all, comic books. From the show’s press kit:
“Set during World War Two and the current Iraq fighting, Brothers And Arms explores the conflict between the world of comic book war propaganda and the realities of war. Two brothers, separated by opposing views and the love of a woman, face off one afternoon in an apartment confrontation with dire consequences. In this captivating debut, award winning playwright Steven Jackson offers a drama filled with richly drawn characters and a production that will radiate with intensity. Brothers And Arms is a play not to be missed.”
In the interests of disclosure, I must tell you that the playwright is a friend of mine, and as a result I’d really like his show to be sold out every night with great success. This is my ulterior motive in previewing his play first. I also know that Stephen is a talented guy with good taste in theatre, so I’m going to go ahead and say that his show will be really, really good and that everyone should go see it. I will admit, I’m not entirely sure how comic books fit into this play from reading the press release, other than it’s “dealing with the changing roles of comic books and the realities of war,” but I’m interested in finding out.
The Fringe runs between June 30 and July 11. Check the Fringe website for passes and advance tix. Brothers and Arms is at Venue 3, the Royal St. George Auditorium, just north of Bloor and east of Bathurst. Tickets are ten bucks at the door. Here’s the schedule:
Wednesday, June 30th @ 10:30pm
Saturday, July 3rd @ 7:30pm
Monday, July 5th @ 3:00pm
Tuesday, July 6th @ 8:30pm
Wednesday, July 7th @ 2:00pm
Thursday, July 8th @ 10:30pm
Sunday, July 11th @ 4:30pm
