The Pansy Craze by Avery Brennan an Intrepid Theatre YOU Show April 1, 2017. Preview.

The Pansy Craze by Avery Brennan an Intrepid Theatre YOU Show April 1, 2017. Preview. Avery Brennan has been extremely busy since graduating from the Canadian College of Performing Arts Year III program—Company C—in late 2013. As the artistic director intern at the college, he was the music director for Cities and Girls (February 2015), the assistant director for Smoky Joe’s Cabaret (April 2015) and helped début the Alumni Company, writing and … [Read more...]

Much (Less) Ado About Nothing by Launch Pad Theatre at Craigdarroch Castle. A review.

Much (Less) Ado About Nothing by Launch Pad Theatre at Craigdarroch Castle. A review. Launch Pad Theatre has hit upon a winning formula with their abridged and breezy versions of Shakespeare at Craigdarroch Castle--Bard in the Ballroom.  Their latest, Much (Less) Ado About Nothing—running Thursday through Saturday until April 8th—is vigorous and cheery, as befits a production that is, in theory, staged by a group of friends, circa 1920 in an … [Read more...]

Reverberations by Brian Linds at Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2017. A review.

Reverberations by Brian Linds at Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2017. A review. Well-respected actor and sound designer Brian Linds has had a “thing” for sound ever since his dad bought a tape recorder when he was 13.  In Reverberations, his sound installation/performance piece currently at the Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2017 until March 26th, learn more about Linds’ personal and family history in a series of vignettes, set in various … [Read more...]

Joan by Matthew Payne of Theatre SKAM, SPARK Festival 2017. A review.

Joan by Matthew Payne of Theatre SKAM, SPARK Festival 2017. A review. Joan by Matthew Payne of Theatre SKAM, at the Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2017 (March 17-26) is a rich and beautiful testimony to a much-loved iconic figure and to a unique friendship. For over 30 years Joan Mans was a fixture, not only in Victoria’s arts scene, but also in the city’s bars and small restaurants—she volunteered at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, the … [Read more...]

This Is Not A Conversation at the Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2017. A review.

This Is Not A Conversation at the Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2017. A review. Not a conversation—rather, a theatrical exploration—and, an uncomfortable one, at that. What happens when two people—one an Israeli-Canadian, the other, a Kuwaiti-Lebanese-Canadian whose family is part of the Palestinian diaspora initiated in 1948—begin to explore their mutual heritage, to ask the uncomfortable questions about land, race, ethnicity, religion and … [Read more...]

The Inspector at the University of Victoria Phoenix Theatre March 9-18, 2017. A review.

The Inspector at the University of Victoria Phoenix Theatre March 9-18, 2017. A review. Politics is politics, whether Russia in 1836 or Victoria in 2017, as Professor Linda Hardy’s mordant rewriting of Nikolay Gogol’s play, The Government Inspector (now called The Inspector) proves.  Anyone even vaguely connected to current issues will chuckle, and those with more of a bent for community activism are sure to guffaw from beginning to … [Read more...]

Taking Leave at Langham Court Theatre March 3-18, 2017. A review.

Taking Leave at Langham Court Theatre March 3-18, 2017. A review. Taking Leave by Nagle Jackson is a contemporary and timely examination of an impending public health crisis, writ small through the life of the family of esteemed Shakespeare scholar Dr Eliot Pryne (Alf Small).  At 62 Eliot is seemingly too young to be ravaged by Alzheimer’s—it’s a fact his daughters are having a hard time coming to grips with: Alma (Tammy Johnson) the eldest, is … [Read more...]

SPARK Festival 2017 at the Belfry Theatre March 9-26, 2017.

SPARK Festival 2017 at the Belfry Theatre March 9-26, 2017. One of my favourite festivals returns; every year I look forward to innovative and exceptional work, revealed at the Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival.  (media release follows). More than 80 theatre artists from across Canada will descend on Fernwood this March for the Belfry’s annual SPARK Festival - an opportunity to see some of the best theatre in the country. SPARK will kick … [Read more...]

Pride and Prejudice at the Chemainus Theatre Festival February 17-March 25, 2017. A review.

 Pride and Prejudice at the Chemainus Theatre Festival February 17-March 25, 2017. A review. In Janet Munsil’s witty and humourous adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (playing at the Chemainus Theatre Festival until March 25th) it’s easy to see Mrs. Bennett (Amy Lee Newman is splendid in the role, with abundant nervous energy channeled in short sharp bursts) as no more than a flibbertigibbet, an annoying, meddlesome mother, but in … [Read more...]

A Spring of Theatre March-May 2017 in Victoria BC

A Spring of Theatre March-May 2017 in Victoria BC March The Jazz P@ge, Victoria’s First Word in New Play-Writing The Dark Sequel March 1st Hosted by Outpost 31 and workingclasstheatre A series of new play reading nights at 2% Jazz at the Hudson Two New Plays ! Main Feature - FRANKENSTEIN : Ross Crockett's -workingclasstheatre- new version of Mary Shelley's gothic classic. Supporting Feature - THE BLUE HOUR : Kiana Karimkhani's … [Read more...]