The smaller space at the Crow’s Nest Theatre is a great venue for The Howland Company’s production of Punk Rock, a show that inspires both admiration on a production level and some low-burn consternation. The play starts out as an ordinary story about several teenagers in a small British town: in the first scene we […]
Thom Pain (based on nothing) (Theatre By Committee)…
We live in a time of burgeoning awareness of the importance of diversity in our cultural storytelling. Productions like Hamilton, movies like Black Panther, and Oscar speeches championing ‘inclusion riders’ all serve as bellwethers for proof of the commercial success and cultural value of racial and sexual diversity. And yet, as much attention is rightfully being […]
Last Thursday I had the privilege of attending Finding Wolastoq Voice, a collaboration between playwright and composer Natalie Sappier -Samaqani Cocahq of Tobique First Nation and dancer/choreographer Aria Evans (Mi’kmaq/Black/British). Finding Wolastoq Voice is a Theatre New Brunswick Production presented by Native Earth Performing Arts as part of the Niimi’iwe: Indigenous Dance Showcase. The […]
The Overcoat: a musical tailoring (Canadian Stage with Tapestry Opera & Vancouver Opera) This new opera is a strong achievement for Tapestry- a smallish contemporary opera company that suffers for exposure while staying admirably dedicated to their fresh-feeling operatic ideals (James Rolfe’s score is pretty and the opera is light, modern and distinct in a […]
How far will you go to be famous? This is the key theme that is explored in Ruthless!, a musical that does not hold back in poking fun of the brutality involved in succeeding in show business and all the stereotypes that come with musical theatre. The show achieves its aims somewhat, satirizing the very […]
Set in a dystopic future post-war landscape and based on T. S. Eliot’s Wasteland, Bloom is a story of an old war veteran, Gerontion (Peter Farbridge), a young boy who lives with him (Liz Peterson), and Maria (Kim Nelson), a woman who haunts his memories. The story centers around Gerontion in old age, dealing with […]
I realize that The Lion King musical is a terribly high creative bar to reach twice, but Disney fails again and again to reinterpret its cartoon source material into worthwhile theatrical productions. Perhaps it is the allure of guaranteed ticket sales from a fiercely loyal fan base. Perhaps it is the incorrect assumption that a beloved animated […]