I have my own life to live
Did you know 2013 is the 50th anniversary of the African Union? To celebrate, join members of the African, Caribbean and Créole communities for Victoria's first-ever AfriCa Fest, May 17th - 25th. Free family-friendly activities will be centered around Centennial Square for the opening weekend May 17th - 19th and include musical performances, activities for children, exhibitions, and interactive games. … [Read more...]
Tackling Ovid’s epic poem Metamorphoses, in the famed Tony award-winning Zimmerman adaptation, is an ambitious undertaking for a group of high school students. Anger, lust, revenge, guilt, greed, gluttony, eternal love, transformation – all the themes of human existence summed up in the classic poems by Ovid, re-imagined for the stage by Mary Zimmerman, and brought to life by the students of Kate Rubin’s Advanced Performance Group. I … [Read more...]
In an uneasy case of “life imitates art”, George F Walker’s play Better Living, currently at Langham Court Theatre, presages by 30 years the reality TV show Doomsday Preppers. Written in 1985 as the first of Walker’s more hopeful "East End Plays", Better Living introduces us to a working class world, with characters trying desperately to get by. Intended to reflect aspects of life in Toronto’s poorer neighbourhoods, there is a … [Read more...]
At a time when age-ism is on the rise and it has become perfectly acceptable to poke fun at, and deride, the stereotype of the “little old lady”, the creators of Let Me Call You Sweetheart (currently at the Belfry Theatre) are to be applauded for this tale of fortitude and grit, told with humour, and staged with the light and deft touch of director Michael Shamata. It’s everyone’s worst nightmare, getting old and being shunted off, out … [Read more...]
I don’t remember how or when I first learned of the Royal BC Museum’s Amplification Project (now in its second year and originally called Site and Sound), but I knew I wanted to experience it. Some of my favourite performers have been involved, and the styles of performance span the genres. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday April 20th and tickets are available here. The Museum Amplification Project is curated by Chris … [Read more...]
In our hectic modern lives, taking the time to stop, breathe in, and listen to the sounds around us seems to be such a luxury. Afford yourself the treat of A Place to Listen 7, a concert for listening in the intimate venue of James Bay United Church. Victoria-area composer Daniel Brandes has been a student of Antoine Beuger's Wanderweiser School and now brings us a different way of approaching music. For our 7th concert, A Place to … [Read more...]
It's time again for my neighbourhood's favourite event - Quadra Village Day 2013! This year we celebrate the 11th annual event, one planned and executed with an entirely volunteer-run planning committee and close to 100 event-day volunteers. This vibrant diverse neighbourhood is proud to be "Building and Celebrating our Thriving Community". Thanks to generous sponsors and donors the event is entirely FREE - and that includes two breakfasts … [Read more...]
It’s time for some of the freshest and strongest young voices to represent as Victorious Voices comes to the Victoria Event Centre April 15th and 17th. If you think that poetry is only for the printed page, these young poets will show you the power of the spoken word. Victorious Voices is the Victoria-based high school slam poetry competition, which has grown to such an extent that it is now staged in the community. "When I was a … [Read more...]
From the moment we arrived, to leaving, our experience at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel for Will Millar’s Ireland: Where the Song & Dance Began in the David Foster Foundation Theatre was like being wrapped in a long hug from a dear friend. At street level the new Oak Bay Beach Hotel is grand, even imposing, but inside, a warm sense of hospitality and hominess permeates. Impressions are built on the small details – free parking, easy … [Read more...]
“A Theatrical Double Bill” (Ionesco’s The Lesson and Essay by Hannah Moscovitch) marks the first, in what Victoria audiences can only hope will be further, collaboration between Eric Grace (Dandelion Theatre) and Julian Cervello (Scrumpy Theatre). The partners are actors familiar for their roles with the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Inconnu, and the Victoria Fringe Festival. When Grace decided to mount The Lesson, he … [Read more...]
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