Housed in architectural artworks like Factory Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille, some performances celebrated early playwrights and others embraced local inspiration for modern day tales. However different the plays, there was a consistency in the sense of community Summer Works brings to Toronto.

Local musical guests closed the festival nightly, the box office felt more like a market with baked goods, beverages and art as audiences waited for the doors, and the Art Bar in MOCCA courtyard allowed theatre goers to mingle and spark critique.

If you missed the event this year, I recommend you join their mailing list to stay in the loop for 2012 : http://www.summerworks.ca/. SummerWorks brings a unique artistic vision to contemporary Canadian Theatre and is worth checking out. Where else can you see a game show featuring the world’s most dominating leaders, listen to three men on a boat civilly discuss who among them to eat first, or watch three friends wait in outer space for 200 years to pass by, and then find relevance to them all in your own modern day experience? 

Festivals like Summerworks are a great way to recognize all the amazing creative wheels turning inside the warehouses and curious buildings around town. The artistic talents of Canada’s next generation of theatre arts creators speak to the pulse of the city.

~ Vanessa Brazaeau