A Night in Toronto

A sold-out run indicates another triumph for Against the Grain Theatre. Their Figaro's Wedding, with a new, updated and English libretto (which set it in Toronto), traversed that fine line between laughs and poignancy that is a hallmark of Mozart's original masterpiece. Set in a downtown wedding venue, with the audience as guests who moved between two rooms to enjoy the action, this was a fantastic evening of biting wit and beautiful music. This is the third production I've seen from this small and potent group, and I urge everyone not to miss whatever they come up with next.

Here's a sample of the catchy social media they have used so effectively to draw in the sold-out audiences.




Pre-show we had dinner at Pomegranate, somewhere I've always wanted to try, being a fan of Persian food. The lamb was very tender, in fact all the food was perfectly cooked, and there was lots of it. But there was something wanting in the food, a certainly blandness in everything, even though it all looked very colourful. The fact that the bread was very generic seemed to me to be unforgiveable. Toronto is a great bread town! I wonder if the chef is Persian? One of my companions doubted it. I enjoyed myself but am unlikely to return.