A Midsummer Night's Dream at UVic Phoenix Theatre. A review. Boisterous, rambunctious and full of heart, the current UVic Phoenix Theatre production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (November 2 -22, 2014) is a treat. Director Fran Gebhardt has set the play in 1970s New York City, imagining factions of hippies, punks and preppies, complete with an extensive collection of music of the time (Kieran MacNaughton sound design) The Duke—Theseus … [Read more...]
Laughing Allowed! —The Slapstick World of Neighbourhood Activism. November 8th, 2014.
November 3, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Laughing Allowed! —The Slapstick World of Neighbourhood Activism. November 18th, 2014. My readers may remember local theatre director Will Weigler for his community-based work that resulted in From The Heart: Enter the Journey of Reconciliation. He's at it again--this time with a more comedic bent. It’s great when neighbours unite and work hard to make their community better, but sometimes there are bumps on the road to getting … [Read more...]
Intrepid Theatre launches New Play Reading Series
November 3, 2014 By 2 Comments
Intrepid Theatre launches New Play Reading Series. I'm a big fan of play readings and play workshops. They are an important part of the play development process and represent an opportunity for the playwright to "test" their work in front of a live audience. I received the following message from Janet Munsil, Artistic Director at Intrepid Theatre. Intrepid Theatre has launched a New Play Reading Series at the Intrepid Theatre Club, on … [Read more...]
The Rocky Horror Show by RKO Productions October 23-November 1, 2014. A review.
October 26, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Bold, energetic and full of heart, The Rocky Horror Show by Rebel Knock Out Productions (currently at the Metro Studio October 24-November 1, 2014) was an initiation to the cult classic musical that exceeded all my expectations. How I’ve missed both the film and the musical up to this point remains a mystery, and other than a few signature songs I was completely in the dark, other than availing myself of a plot synopsis. Thankfully I wasn’t … [Read more...]
Spring Awakening by Company C, October 21-November 2, 2014. A review.
October 25, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Spring Awakening by Company C, October 21-November 2, 2014. Presented at the Belfry Theatre in Victoria BC. Edgy and frank, with catchy and raw tunes that remain days later, Spring Awakening (the current Company C/Canadian College of Performing Arts production at the Belfry Theatre October 21-November 2, 2014) takes us back in an instant to the chaotic days of our adolescence. Based on Frank Wedekind’s scandalous (and later banned) 1890 … [Read more...]
Faces of Love, Portraits from Our Place by Elfrida Schragen
October 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Faces of Love – Portraits from Our Place by Elfrida Schragen. When artist Elfrida Schragen was approached about a month-long artist-in-residency program at a local resort, she immediately knew what – and who – she wanted to paint. In 2007, Schragen painted a series of portraits featuring people from all walks of life who used the services of Our Place, an inner-city community centre for the most vulnerable of Greater Victoria. When she … [Read more...]
Spring Awakening by Company C, October 21-November 2, 2014. Preview.
October 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Spring Awakening by Company C October 21-November 2, 2014. Presented in association with the Belfry Theatre Victoria BC. 14 highly talented Year III performers from Oak Bay’s Canadian College of Performing Arts (CCPA) are working tirelessly to produce the region’s first-ever staging of Spring Awakening. Claiming an astonishing eight Tony’s in 2007, Spring Awakening is a ground-breaking musical by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik that … [Read more...]
Gaslight at Blue Bridge Theatre October 21-November 2, 2014. A review.
October 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Gaslight, currently at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre’s Roxy (in Quadra Village), October 21-November 2, 2014 is an intense game of cat-and-mouse that will have you perched on the edge of your seat. Written in 1936 in the style of a Victorian thriller, but bearing none of the signature over-the-top melodrama, Patrick Hamilton’s classic harkens back to a simpler time while retaining a modern sensibility in the script. It becomes apparent soon … [Read more...]
The Extemporium by Paper Street Theatre October 22-25 2014. A review.
October 23, 2014 By Leave a Comment
The Extemporium by Paper Street Theatre, October 22-25 2014. A review. Improvisation so expertly executed as to appear scripted. In fact, the actors of Paper Street Theatre have great difficulty at times in dissuading audience members from the notion that it is. What is the secret to this seemingly effortless endeavour? Preparation—months and months of studying the works of the author (or genre)—in this case, Franz Kafka—and playing with … [Read more...]
Gaslight at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre. Interview with cast members Adrian Hough and Wes Borg.
October 18, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Gaslight by Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre October 21-November 2, 2014. Interview with cast members Adrian Hough and Wes Borg. Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre opens their seventh season (the second in the Roxy Theatre in Quadra Village) with the classic Victorian thriller Gaslight. Originally written by Patrick Hamilton in 1938, it received wide recognition for the film version featuring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. Adrian Hough joins … [Read more...]
