For the past four years, I’ve been ranking every film I see- just the new releases, from January 1st to December 31st. The rankings are subjective, based entirely on how much I enjoyed and/or connected with or appreciated the film rather than on some sort of objective artistic criteria. Basically, this is a list of […]
I got far too hyped discussing the last big Hamlet and, worst of all, it ended up not being that big—Cumberbatch was competent, but the production didn’t generate discussion beyond theatre demography and the post-show ‘fuck the politicians’ appeal. This one, in the Almeida’s tight proscenium, is far larger, in thought rather than aspect, and […]
Virtual reality is one of those things that most of us are aware of, but for many (me included), its uses don’t appear to extend much beyond teenage boys wearing a headset and playing the latest video game. In Lindsey Ferrentino’s new play, the technology is presented as an antidote to physical pain, specifically the […]
With a rock opera-esque musical, you usually know the kind of thing you’re going to get: a focus on song over story, a tendency for melodrama over subtlety and a production design which more resembles a rock concert than a traditional stage; these quirks can succeed if the songs and performances are strong. Lizzie adheres […]
Of Human Bondage is back for its third staging at Soulpepper. Written by Vern Thiessen, and based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, the play traces the life of Philip Carey, an artist turned med student. Philip isn’t just just training to care for others but has himself a physical vulnerability – he has […]
As I waited in traffic on the highway leading to JFK airport, I skimmed the review requests filling my Inbox. Despite having a frenzied month at work and preparing to move overseas, as soon as I got word that the President had signed an executive order banning refugees and immigrants from traveling into the country […]
*spoilers below* Jordan Peele wrote and directed something that, by all means and practices, shouldn’t exist. I say shouldn’t not because I disliked Get Out or because I don’t want it to exist, but because of the time and circumstances of the world in which it was made, the odds of it being made were […]
Joseph Moncure March’s initially controversial poem, The Wild Party, is subject to possibly one of the biggest coincidences in musical theatre history. Back in the 1999/2000 Broadway season, two totally separate musicals emerged, both using the exact same source material for their narrative—even more peculiar given the poem isn’t exactly the most obvious source material […]