Toronto Fringe Festival 2022

Istvan Reviews ➤ THE GARDEN OF ALLA ⏤ Toronto Fringe Festival 2022

Posted by istvandugalin on July 11, 2022

Posted in: Theatre Reviews, Toronto Fringe Festival 2022. Leave a comment

The photograph features three people dressed in well-to-do 1920s-style lounge attire. The person to the left is Shawn Lall (he/him) playing Charles Bryant. He is bald and sports a moustache and goatee. He wears a white shirt with a cravat tucked into it and a crimson smoking jacket with black trim. His eyes are closed, and he is leaning in as if to kiss the cheek of the woman in the middle, his head a few inches away from hers. He has one hand resting on the woman's shoulder. The person in the middle is Rebecca Perry (she/her) playing Alla Nazimova. She is a redhead and has black eyeliner and red lipstick. She wears a black, decorative headband in a 1920s flapper style, and has silver earrings on. She a black dress and a pattered shawl. She is smiling directly at the camera. The person to the right is Neta J. Rose (they/them) playing Natacha Rambova. They have curly red-brown hair, and are wearing black eyeliner and red lipstick. They are wearing a long black dress, a sheer red gown (open) with an embroidered pattern, and a necklace. They are leaning in as if to kiss the cheek of the woman in the middle, their head slightly closer than the man's. One hand is resting on the woman's shoulder.

Shawn Lall, Rebecca Perry and Neta J. Rose, Photo by David Kingsmill

Presented by Minmar Gaslight Productions

You’ve likely heard the buzz about The Garden of Alla. Playwright Steven Elliot Jackson’s ode to queerness and artistry in 1920s Hollywood is a Fringe hit. And it is, absolutely, a delight. This art-deco dreamscape of mannered eccentricity is very compelling, but it didn’t strike a deep chord with me. Continue Reading