Whose Lineage Is It Anyway? An Improvised Shakespearean History
2026 Toronto Fringe Festival
July 9, 2026, 11:54 p.m.

The virtue signalling at the beginning was grating: repeating the land acknowledgement, the first actor impressing us by showing she knows the Indigenous name for Vancouver, assuring us that they wouldn't do Shakespeare with any of the values of Shakespeare. It set the wrong tone: she could have been connecting with the audience by sharing a small personal story or asking a question to someone in the audience because she soon had to pivot to getting a story from us. But the cast has talent and timing and I laughed a lot.