Jayson McDonald’s Underbelly, UNO Fest 2013, is a considerable achievement for this perennial Fringe favourite performer who came to the attention of Victoria Fringe audiences with the sleeper hit Giant Invisible Robot in 2007. In the intervening years his shows Boat Load, Fall Fair and Gunpowder have played to sold out audiences. His ability to craft and portray an entire cast of characters single-handedly is remarkable; the plasticity of … [Read more...]
Broken – UnoFest 2013. A review.
May 26, 2013 By 1 Comment
Have you ever misplaced your keys, forgotten the name of someone you’ve just been introduced to and found it difficult to count backwards by sevens from 75? All signs of cognitive impairment or early stage Alzheimer’s as Brian Fidler gently informs us in Broken, now playing at Uno Fest. Broken celebrates the relationship between 10 year old Will and his grandfather, an accomplished photographer who now lives in the family’s basement. Photo: … [Read more...]
Kaleidoscope Theatre presents War of the Eagles at Fort Rodd Hill, May 25/26 2013.
May 24, 2013 By 1 Comment
Fort Rodd Hill stands in for wartime Prince Rupert in Kaleidoscope Theatre's site-specific adaptation of Eric Walters multiple-award-winning children’s of the Eagles (now part of the BC school curriculum). Photo: Miles Lowry Canadian history is rife with shameful incidents of colonization and racism, yet how do you translate them to a younger audience in a way that will resonate with their experiences? War of the Eagles, despite some … [Read more...]
How to Disappear Completely – Uno Fest 2013. A review.
May 24, 2013 By 1 Comment
Lighting Designer Itai Erdal How to Disappear Completely has designed for opera, dance and the stage. In Victoria you’ve seen his work at the Belfry Theatre (The Life Inside, Billy Bishop Goes to War, Where the Blood Mixes) and Metro Studio (Three Sisters by Theatre SKAM). In 2011 he won the Victoria Critics Spotlight award for The Life Inside. By his own admission, he’s “not an actor”. He is, however one of the best lighting designers in the … [Read more...]
My Pregnant Brother, Uno Fest 2013 – a review
May 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Joanna Nutter (My Pregnant Brother) uses a simple piece of chalk to lay down the lines of her Montréal plateau neighbourhood and immediately catapults the audience through time and place into her family’s life. With compact clarity, insight and humour this remarkable story teller moves us between east coast and west coast, gender, family and love, as she unravels the threads of her family’s story. Raised by a single hippy mother, her … [Read more...]
UFO Festival at Little Fernwood Hall, May 22 – June 2 2013
May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Graham McDonald, principal of Mr UG Productions is proud to present the first Little Fernwood UFO (UNO Festival off-site) May 22nd – June 2nd, 2013. Inspired by the success of Little Fernwood Hall as a venue at the Victoria Fringe Festival, and by UNO Fest (North America’s longest running festival of solo performance at 17 years), McDonald approached Janet Munsil, artistic director of Intrepid Theatre, producers of UNO and the Fringe, to … [Read more...]
Metamorphoses – Kate Rubin Theatre and Drama Studio. A review.
May 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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 was … [Read more...]
Better Living – Langham Court Theatre. A review.
April 29, 2013 By 1 Comment
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 universality to … [Read more...]
Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Belfry Theatre – a review
April 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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 of sight … [Read more...]
The Museum Amplification Project, April 20th 2013
April 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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 O’Connor who … [Read more...]
