Praxis Theatre

Just the facts: Next Stage Theatre Festival Edition v3

The Rake’s Progress: Do You Know Where Tom Rakewell Is?

Who: MacKenzieRo
Where: Factory Theatre Mainspace, Toronto, Canada
What: Adapted from the opera by Igor Stravinsky and the original engravings by William Hogarth, this show charts the course of Tom Rakewell through a loutish and debauched London.
Why: The 18th century engravings of The Rake’s Progress alarmed and thrilled, the 20th century opera’s lustiness astonished the 1953 Edinburgh Festival, how will 21st century audiences react to this updated evolution?
Web: MacKenzieRo Website
Hype: MacKenzieRo’s previous production of DISCO PIGS was a hit at the 2007 Toronto Fringe, followed by a highly successful remount at Alchemy Theatre in 2008.

Reesor
Who: Reesor Collective
Where: Factory Studio Theatre, Toronto, Canada
What: Combines live music, performance, shadow-puppets, baking and a man in a bear suit to tell the story of a ghost town in Northern Ontario.
Why: In 1926, 400 people called Reesor, Ontario home. Now, all that remains is a pile of stone.
Web: Reesor Myspace Page
Hype: Toronto Fringe 2007 Best Overall Production, Best Music, Critic’s Pick – NOW Magazine, “Best of the Fringe Series” – Diesel Playhouse

Humans Anonymous
Who: The Anonymous Co-op
Where: Factory Theatre Mainspace, Toronto, Canada
What: One is afraid of loneliness. Two is afraid of happiness. Three is afraid of ignorance. Four is afraid of judgment. Five is afraid of gremlins – even the nice ones. One loves four; three loves one; five loves cats.
Why: Returns to Toronto with new material and a New York run under its belt with the Bridge Theatre Company.
Web: The Official Kate Hewlett Fansite.
Hype: Not only did this 2006 Fringe show garner enough attention to transfer to New York, but playwright Kate Hewlett’s subsequent fringe play, The Swearing Jar, was also a hit at the 2008 Toronto Fringe.