Canadian Stage’s Intermission is a new immersive event series inspired by the current programming of the company. Vol. I drew on Robert Lepage’s hit from last season, Needles and Opium, and the upcoming multi-media piece Helen Lawrence, using music and media to suggest the underground art scene of the 50s and 60s. The series seems […]
For their inaugural production, socially conscious Clock Tower Theatre chose a contemporary Canadian play limited neither by its time nor its place. Rather, The Harrowing is one of those no-frills political thrillers that could just as easily be about Jesus as about Maziar Bahari or a dystopian hero of the future. Designer/AD Justin Büyüközer embraces […]
At the Papermill Theatre last week, the East Side Players premiered one of the most ambitious and beautiful works in the Canadian theatrical canon- Timothy Findley’s Elizabeth Rex. The complex hypothetical places the “virgin” Queen rather outlandishly in the barn where Shakespeare’s troupe The Lord Chamberlain’s men are lodging after performing Much Ado About Nothing […]
This month’s selections can only be described as tackling the smart and difficult topics left untouched by most of society. Too often, it is easier to ignore our problems and issues rather than facing them. These productions offer the touch discussions, from race to living life without regret to questioning the safety of our youth. […]
Earlier this season, my colleague Brian Balduzzi reviewed Hovey Players’ production of Geoffrey Nauffts’ Next Fall and had very little good to say of that production. So, one would hope that The Wellesley Players’ production, directed by Todd Sandstrom and starring Ryan MacPherson as Luke and Nick Bennett-Zendzian as Adam would have more to offer and […]
It’s hard to articulate exactly what I saw when I witnessed Maureen Keiller’s remarkable performance in the emerging hit White Rabbit, Red Rabbit by Nassim Soleimanpour. The one-man (or woman) play, produced as limited one-night engagements featuring other popular Boston actors such as Victor Shopov and John Kuntz, is a treat for anyone interested in […]
Plays are short. Obviously, we’ve all been to plays that feel far too long, but when it comes down to it, a full-length play has only a few hours to express everything that the playwright wants to say. A novelist can ramble for hundreds of pages but a playwright must be brief, confining all the […]
I love reality television. I do. I’ll watch Real Housewives of just about any city (except for Miami), and, if it’s on Bravo, I’ll probably watch it (except for Millionaire Matchmaker; something about rich people clumsily falling in love is just not compelling to me). I’m pretty unashamed about my love of trash TV, but […]