Martin Happer News Today

Witness for the Prosecution can be read as a damning indictment of a law system not so different from our own that prioritizes the performance of justice above all – and how easily that can be subverted by those with a sense of theatre

It’s been a strong year for Toronto theatre. I saw 145 shows this year in Toronto and beyond, and am happy to report that theatre is alive and well. I’ve laughed, sobbed, coughed (discreetly into a mask), and cheered my way through our stages in 2023. Here are some local highlights.

Plus: What else Shaw Festival and Stratford Festival stalwarts are up to this fall and winter (and what’s opening this week)

The play may be a classic French romantic comedy, but in this production the dialogue is improvised by the actors

Rooney is supported by a rock-solid ensemble of festival veterans and newcomers alike in this vivid comedy conducted with verve by director Eda Holmes

Jennie Hawkes has a key place in Canadian history as the first woman sentenced to hang in Alberta for murder. To wit: the killing of her philander husband’s lover and neighbour, Rosella Stoley. Jennie is the central (and controversial) figure in Tara Beagan’s play Thy Neighbour’s Wife, the latest offering of Theatre North West. The play runs from Feb. 3 to 21. Naomi Wright of Vancouver plays Jennie in the local production. As a drama based on real life, however, it falls on the shoulder...