Rating: Two new pieces examine the relentless terror of a first date

I heard that dating apps can be a nightmare. I am one of Tinder's success stories: My husband was one of the first people I met when I moved to Toronto. Almost four years later, I can conveniently say that he is not a serial killer.

That means I understand why online dating gets such a bad reputation. The apps play the already terrible ritual of a blind datum sie reduce a potential buddy to a tweet length biography and a handful selfies. True love is, of course, deeper than what is rooted on how a person feels, sounds, acts. A tinder profile can only grasp as much of the soul of a person.

With apps and algorithms, two new pieces in Toronto question the relentless limit of the dating. The projects offer the same heart and together form a detailed snapshot, as it feels like a single according to Covid-19. But only one of the polish has ready to tour Canada, where you immediately went on the tour.

Table for two ,, Actor and written by Akosua amo attack and director of Djanet Sears in a co-production between Soulpepper and Obsidian Theater follows Abena, a Ghanaian woman who absolutely wants to settle, but it hesitates to define her border. In the course of an hour and 40 minutes we accompany Abena through the scenes of a blind date late.

The piece is funny, serious and moving, although it could use a few cladding – the foreword to Abenas Date with JD45 is mostly and lasts Table for two Jogging before we fall in love with Abena, her mother (Bola Aiyeola) and her best friend Janelle (Meghan Swaby). Abena's relationship with Janelle in particular is alive and sharp, and Sears' staging offers a nuanced portrait of friendship that is relieved by fluff or cheap jokes.

With small changes, Table for two Canadian productions could enjoy far beyond the world premiere. AMO attack, a familiar face at Soulpepper, has always been a great actress now she can add a “talented playwright” to her resume.

About the city in the Theater Passe Muraille, Blind data Similarly, the injustice, which is embedded in online advertising, grabs. Vivian Chong has been visually impaired since 2004 and is a visual artist, musician and athlete with an impressive list of hobbies, including kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding and hiking. In her 75-minute solo show, Chong remembers to get into her own as a blind adult, from learning to ask for help to find out how you can watch the activities that can be joy How to play the ukulele and swimming in the sea.

Blind data Has potential, but at the moment it is a number of short stories and songs that don't tell us much about Chong. Through The piece, Chong complains exclusively for her disability: “What about my Asia-ness?” She joked. While we learn a little about what Chong likes to do and we meet some of the men – Your childhood, her daily routines, your dreams.

Artistic director Marjorie Chan Helm Blind data From the feeling of the intimate, talkative monologue that it could become one day. AI-generated captions are only temporarily successful due to the Chong's accent, and mistakes in the transcription often have the performance of Chong in the opening evening of the opening evening, an unfortunate shot in the software led to chong more as “Turkey” more as “Türkiye” called “cheeky”. It is quite well known that AI has difficulty transcribing imperfect English, and the murisatures used by the Theaterpasse Muraille used The flin flon cowboy A few months ago – what is there?

There is a certain intersectional beauty Table for two And Blind data A cultural moment that was grasped by two women with valid, well -faced concerns with a society that can be wrong in the direction of racism and ability. You get the feeling that Abena and Chong connect to a party from Galentine's Day and maybe even friends could be convinced that dating is not always everything it has to do.

From personal experience: Table for two ensures a great appointment night, and my husband and I spent our way home from Soulpepper and laughed lovingly about the kitschy pickup lines that finally married us. I am less convinced of Blind dataBut I am quite delighted with the complementary meditations about the love that is currently booking Toronto – and hey, you will never know whether you wipe for yourself.

Table for two Runs in the Soulpepper Theater until March 2, 2025. Tickets are available from Soulpepper.ca. Blind data Runs until March 9, 2025 in the Theater Muraille. Tickets are available from Passemuraille.ca.

In the interest of consistency in all critics, The Globe has eliminated his star rating system in film and theater in order to align with reporting on music, books, visual art and dance. Instead, with the selection of a criticism, the entire reporting is made. (TV reviews that are usually based on an incomplete season are excluded.)