Reviews 2016
Reviews 2016
✭✭✭✭✭
by Jessica Mass, directed by Charlotte Gowdy
Theatre Mischief, Factory Theatre Mainspace, Toronto Fringe Festival, Toronto
July 1-10, 2016
A landlord has posted intimate videos from a hidden camera of his plus-sized female tenant (Ashley Botting) and her out-of-shape boyfriend (Brandon Coffey) on the web. Jessica Moss’s dazzling new play combines vital, up-to-the-minute concerns about body shaming, the blurred line on the internet between public and private and the development of voyeurism as normal behaviour. Brimming with both humour and rage Moss urgently asks why new media leads us to debase others and ourselves.
Ashley Botting, well known for comedy from her stint at Second City, gives a stunning breakout performance in a serious role that merges strength and vulnerability, whimsy and fury, to create an unforgettable, fully realized character who comes to dominate the action. Cam Baby is ready as is for a commercial run. The play’s topicality, insight and complexity should guarantee it success in theatres across the continent.
©Christopher Hoile
Note: This review is based on a review published in NOW magazine July 3, 2016.
Photo: Ashley Botting and Brandon Coffey. ©2016 Dahlia Katz.
For tickets, visit http://fringetoronto.com/fringe-festival/shows.
2016-07-03
Cam Baby