I'll be falling off the Internet in about a week when we head out on our annual trip to Dublin. Of course there's plenty of internet in Ireland, but my in-laws don't have a connection so it'll strictly be coffee-shop usage while I'm away (twenty minutes here and there). Because of that, if you message or email me while I'm gone I likely won't be back in touch until sometime after July 5th.

In the event that you're going to be in Toronto this summer, whether you live in its orbit already or are just coming for a visit, I want to share with you a neat free thing to do while in town. I'm a really big fan of walking tours and only last year discovered that the Royal Ontario Museum leads a range of free walking tours (Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings) around the city from June through October. You can find out more on this page of the ROM website but here's a list of the next several tours:

The Grange - Wednesday June 12
Wednesday, June 12, 2013 | 18:00 - 20:00

St. James Cemetery - Sunday June 16
Sunday, June 16, 2013 | 14:00 - 16:00

ROM and its Neighbours - Wednesday June 19
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 | 18:00 - 20:00

Whiskey, Wharf and Windmill - Sunday June 23
Sunday, June 23, 2013 | 14:00 - 16:00

Cabbagetown - Wednesday June 26
Wednesday, June 26, 2013 | 18:00 - 20:00

Historic Toronto - Sunday June 30
Sunday, June 30, 2013 | 14:00 - 16:00

The Annex - Wednesday July 3
Wednesday, July 3, 2013 | 18:00 - 20:00

The tours are led by knowledgeable volunteers and if you're curious about the city I highly recommend them. Also, if you're going to be here soon and are a theatre fan you really want to catch Kim's Convenience at Soulpepper in Toronto's Distillery District. It was a big hit for the company last year, they brought it back this May and the run has now been extended until June 26th. The Toronto Star's theatre critic has this to say about the production, “[it] has so many things right with it that it’s the kind of show that restores one’s faith in the theatre.” Having watched the show nearly two weeks ago, I heartily agree with him. Kim's Convenience was a deeply emotional experience. The writing and performances, particularly Paul Sun-Hyung Lee in the lead role as the owner of Kim's Convenience, completely awed me. Read the entire Toronto Star review here.

The other bit of entertainment that recently delighted me is one you can watch just about anywhere: Before Midnight.

 

If, like me, you were enchanted by Celine and Jesse's realistic yet romantic brief encounters in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset I know you'll want to catch up with them again. While this wasn't my favourite movie of the trilogy it's a perfectly believable, intimate portait of an aging relationship between two characters we feel we know so well.

I first stumbled across American monologuist and actor Spalding Gray's autobiographical work in the late 80s when the filmed performance (directed by Jonathan Demme) of his monologue, Swimming to Cambodia, was shown on TV. Just Spalding, sitting at a desk in a plaid shirt, talking about his experiences in Southeast Asia while playing an ambassador's aide in The Killing Fields.

If I had any idea who he was when I first encountered Swimming to Cambodia it would've only been because of Spalding's acting roles in movies like Beaches, Clara's Heart and (of course) The Killing Fields. But I was instantly hooked on his unique brand of storytelling filled as it was with keen observations, much angst, confessional humour and a constant underlying sense of the bittersweet nature of life. So revealing is Spalding Gray in his monologues that I almost felt like I knew him by the time he died in 2004 (He was last seen on the Staten Island ferry on January 10th of that year and his body was pulled from the East River roughly two months later).

Over the years I was lucky enough to see two of Spalding Gray's monologues live—Monster in a Box in the early nineties in Toronto and It's a Slippery Slope in Dublin in the late nineties. I also enjoyed his novel, Impossible Vacation, and his monologues Terrors of Pleasure and Gray's Anatomy, which I still have VHS copies of. I was hoping to see more of him over the years and watching And Everything is Going Fine, a documentary about Spalding Gray composed mainly of clips of Spalding talking about his life and work (the two seem indivisible), is like one final visit with the great monologuist.

I'm thinking now, of my very favourite moment in Impossible Vacation, when main character Brewster North entertains a six-year-old child.

I reached down and took the pillow that Shanti was sitting on and lifted him up from the couch real high and held him there, as if he were flying on a magic carpet, then I let go of the pillow and dropped him. Shanti squealed and let out with a wild laugh as he and the pillow hit the floor and bounced; and then, making an immediate recovery, Shanti jumped back on the pillow and cried out, "Do it again!" I made up my mind right away to try to totally satisfy him so that perhaps for once in his life at an early age, he would know the condition of complete indulgence and satisfaction. He would have no leftover longings; at least for this day he'd be cured of the longing for the event that never happened.

I'm thinking how we'll never hear more stories from Spalding Gray. We will never be cured of the longing for the event that will never happen.

And Everything is Going Fine closes at the TIFF tomorrow.

I owe Megan Follows and Dawn Greenhalgh an apology. I know it's not possible to offer a standing ovation after you've left the theatre but so emotionally ragged was I after watching Soulpepper's current production of 'Night, Mother from my seat in the front row yesterday afternoon that all theatre etiquette was momentarily forgotten.

The real-life mother/daughter acting team is so emotionally honest in this production of the Pulitzer Prize winning 'Night, Mother that many members of the audience (myself included) were in tears before the end. Once again Soulpepper have outdone themselves.

If you think you can handle the raw tension that Jessie's (Follows) planned suicide and her mother's (Greenhalgh) desperate counter-arguments delivers you shouldn't miss 'Night, Mother. Follows, Greenhalgh and director Alisa Palmer all deserve a standing ovation for this one - even if the audience are too shell-shocked to realize it until they find themselves shuffling out of the theatre.

'Night, Mother runs at the Young Centre until June 28th.

I'm still in Irish mode, not that I need that kind of excuse to listen to Gemma Hayes. I've had This Is What You Do as my profile song on MySpace since before we left for Ireland so I guess it's about time I put it up here. I picked up her new CD, The Hollow of Morning, while I was away and it's very good indeed. I would've loved to have caught her instore appearance at Tower Records in Dublin on the 9th but unfortunately couldn't fit it in with previous plans.

This is the problem with visiting somewhere you used to live. I feel like I'd need months to really get my fill of Ireland—not weeks. Every minute needs to be spent doing something (to maximize time back in town!) which means that moment is no longer available to be spent doing something (no doubt equally enjoyable) else.

Happily, one thing I did get to do while in Dublin was hit the theatre. The Gate's putting on an incredible production of The Deep Blue Sea at the moment—a Terrence Rattigan classic about a woman who has left her wealthy, influential husband for an ex-RAF pilot who doesn't love her with anywhere near the same passion she loves him. The performances are hugely affecting and anyone in Dublin before the end of the month would do well to pick up tickets. In fact, I'd see it again in a heartbeat if I had the chance but don't take my word for it, read The Guardian review.

Now that I'm thinking about it, one of the lines from This Is What You Do aptly describe Hester's feelings about the love of her life, Freddie, for the majority of the play:

“You never fully leave me but you, you never fully stay.”

Oh, the ache.

Yesterday I mentioned how much I enjoyed Soulpepper's production of The Odd Couple. The play was originally scheduled to run until April 19th but this morning I received an email from Soulpepper's marketing coordinator letting me know that the show has been extended until May 3rd by popular demand. So if you enjoy good theatre and are going to be in the Toronto area during the next two weeks, definitely pick up a ticket. I can't remember the last time a production made me smile so hard.

This afternoon we went to see Soulpepper's production of The Odd Couple, which was every bit as entertaining as the reviews proclaimed. Unfortunately, today was the end of the play's run so I can't recommend you buy tickets. I would, however, highly recommend catching virtually any Soulpepper production. The company's a wonder.

One of the other tremendously great things about today was the weather. It's been summer in Southern Ontario since Thursday when we hit the heavenly temperature of 23. After a long hard winter people are basking in our turn of luck. Everyone's outside, grinning in T-shirts, strolling around in flip-flops and eating on patios. Especially eating on patios!

Because I already mentioned my Africam addiction I might as well add that this morning featured more fun animal sightings. First I saw a herd of these

which included some playful locked horns

and then one of these (who may look similar from a distance but, unlike those above, didn't have horns).

Next some giraffes showed up at one of the watering holes and hogged the spotlight shamelessly.

It's hard to believe that a day featuring a hilarious production of The Odd Couple, patio weather AND real time giraffes could ever be topped but I'm hoping for rhinos, hippos and monkeys next. After all, summer is just getting started!

The Toronto Star gave Soulpepper's new production of The Odd Couple a four star review and lauded Albert Schultz and Diego Matamoros' teamwork. Having tickets myself, I'm very happy to hear this but not at all surprised. I've caught several Soulpepper productions since they relocated to the Distillery District and haven't been disappointed yet. In fact, I've found that some costly festival mounted plays don't hold up very well in comparison.

Speaking of $, the Songwriters Association of Canada has proposed placing a $5 per month fee on Canadian subscribers' Internet bills. This fee would make downloading music without additional charges legal.

Music sales in Canada were $1.3 billion in 1999 but only $704 million in 2006. Compared to 2006 CD sales are down 20% worldwide and a whopping 35% in Canada.

When we're looking at a situation where only 2% of song downloads are purchased obviously something needs to be done to help out the music industry. Of course, there are Canadian Internet users who either don't download music or are already downloading legally—and they could balk at the idea. I also wonder if the film and software industries will eventually want to add charges of their own. It's been estimated that over 90% of peer to peer traffic worldwide infringes the copyrights of movie, music and software businesses.

You can have a look at SAC's proposal here or get more info by calling 1-866-456-7664. SAC will be discussing this idea at a public forum at Ryerson University's Oakham House tonight at 7. The proposal would require federal approval and would largely negate the need for music selling sites like iTunes.

Earlier this week I read a Toronto Star article about how we tend to regard fast talkers as more intelligent. Apparently the "average adult talks at about 170 to 190 words per minute. But the average central nervous system can only process information at about 120 to 124 words per minute." It seems after the age of 36 our nervous systems slow, making it harder for us to understand swift deliveries and by 70 "we have the listening capabilities of a 3-year-old."

Keeping this in mind, I'm glad I caught The Philanderer at The Shaw Festival today. Ben Carlson's witty performance, delivered at a speed that often falls short of breakneck by only a whisker or two, is delightful. I'd hate to have missed 30% of the dialogue due to a processing lag. And yes, I'm convinced Ben Carlson is as exceedingly clever as he is talented.

Last time we caught Carlson at The Shaw we missed out on the extended version of Man and Superman but this time around we were lucky enough to score a performance of The Philanderer's 'missing act', set a few years after the first three. I hope to see more Shaw plays and more Carlson in the future, all the better if the two go together. Ironically, as time goes by and the less I'm able to keep up with them, the smarter I'll believe them both to be.

I first caught The Frames in Dublin on New Year's Eve, 1993, and then waited another thirteen years to rediscover them. I shudder to think of the countless Frames concerts and music I missed while living in Ireland during the nineties but better late than never, as they say.

So excited was I about the upcoming Frames show here on the 20th that I was sure the entire band would come down with Strep Throat or a freak late April snowstorm would hit Toronto, preventing their arrival. None of that happened and I'm happy to report that I saw The Frames, am crazy about The Frames and will most certainly be keeping better track of them from now on.

Below I've embedded youtube footage from Friday night's gig at The Phoenix. My sole complaint is that an hour and a half the show was much too short. When Glen Hansard explained at the outset that's all the time they'd have because it was an early gig, everyone booed with gusto. "I know, I think it's shit too," he said. He went on to complain that the venue had to get us all out before getting a second crowd in at twice the price. If I had the money I'd have no qualms about jetting over to Dublin to watch them play a longer set at Vicar Street at the end of May but as it stands I'll have to settle for some ardent CD listening.

Here's the setlist from the show and you can check out some terrific photos here.

Revelate, The Phoenix, April 20th, Toronto:

Star Star, The Phoenix, April 20th, Toronto:

Rent Day Blues & I Have The Moon (cover),
The Phoenix, April 20th, Toronto:

The next day it was on to an outstanding production of Tom Murphy's A Whistle In The Dark at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto's Distillery District. Sitting three rows from centre stage, watching the volatile Carney family lurch towards disaster, I can honestly say I'd never felt tenser watching live theatre. Painful truths are tough enough to deal with on the page but watching them unfold directly in front of you, and with a cast this talented and brave, well it's awe-inspiring and brutal. When Jonathan Goad, Allan Hawco et al. took their final bows they looked entirely spent. Impossible to imagine how they'd have a drop of energy left to pour into the evening performance. This is the best theatre I've seen in a long time and I imagine I'll be saying that for quite some time to come.

Finally, here's The Distillery District on an improbably warm April 21st, 2007: