A Winter of Theatre January February 2018 in Victoria BC.

A Winter of Theatre January February 2018 in Victoria BC. It's official! There is no longer any downtime in theatre in Victoria BC.  The holiday pantomimes produced by Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People, St Luke's Players and Peninsula Players as well as Launch Pad Theatre's radio play and Atomic Vaudeville's NYE Cabaret are barely finished before Castlereigh Theatre Project and Bema Productions kick the year off in high style with two … [Read more...]

God’s Lake by Castlereigh Theatre Project January 4-6 2018. A preview.

God's Lake by Castlereigh Theatre Project January 4-6 2018. A preview. Anyone who follows my writing knows how difficult it is for me to select a list of top shows in the year.  It’s the same thing for work that I am looking forward to in 2018. However, I am making an exception for God’s Lake, produced by Castlereigh Theatre Project and appearing at the Metro Studio Theatre January 4-6 2018.  Due to its very nature—documentary theatre—and … [Read more...]

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by The Canadian College of Performing Arts. Interview with Barbara Poggemiller.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by The Canadian College of Performing Arts. Interview with Barbara Poggemiller. Director Barbara Poggemiller is no stranger to Victoria audiences—with directing credits that include, among others, The Winter’s Tale and As You Like It for the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival and The Odyssey and The Penelopiad for the Canadian College of Performing Arts.  She teaches acting currently at the college. In … [Read more...]

A Christmas Carol at the Belfry Theatre November 28-December 17, 2017. A review.

A Christmas Carol at the Belfry Theatre November 28-December 17, 2017. A review. When Michael Shamata arrived as the Belfry Theatre Artistic Director in 2007, he wanted to bring a treasured theatrical tradition to Victoria—his adapted production of A Christmas Carol, first produced at Theatre New Brunswick in 1990, and then at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto since 2001. The original Belfry production was in 2012, followed by an encore … [Read more...]

Whiskey, Fugue & Requiem at Theatre Inconnu. A review.

Whiskey, Fugue & Requiem at Theatre Inconnu. A review. Theatre Inconnu, keeping audiences on their toes since 1987—for over thirty years, presenting work that challenges—consistently, whether by content or form. A theatre that does not pander, preferring to engage and confront theatre goers with ideas and genres often outside the theatrical mainstream, and in so doing, offering patrons the opportunity to grow in their appreciation of an … [Read more...]

Blue Bridge Sings November 30-December 3, 2017 at the Roxy Theatre. Preview.

Blue Bridge Sings November 30-December 3, 2017 at the Roxy Theatre. Preview. Coming up next at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre will be Blue Bridge Sings! - an evening that celebrates Blue Bridge’s first decade of producing classic music theatre for the audiences of Victoria. Featuring songs performed by many of the original lead actor/singers who starred in such audience favourite musicals as The Fantasticks, Hank Williams, Fire, Little Shop of … [Read more...]

The Cornwalls’ All-Inclusive Cancun Christmas at the Chemainus Theatre Festival. A review.

The Cornwalls’ All-Inclusive Cancun Christmas at the Chemainus Theatre Festival. A review. Everyone has their favourite family story of Christmas disaster and dysfunction—it’s what makes movies like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story perennial favourites during the holiday season. The Cornwalls (introduced to Chemainus audiences in The Cornwalls’ Countryside Christmas in 2011) embark on an epic misadventure that … [Read more...]

Anne of Green Gables by the Victoria Operatic Society November 24-December 3 2017. A review.

Anne of Green Gables by the Victoria Operatic Society November 24-December 3 2017. A review. When modern life and the busy period leading up to the holiday season threaten to overwhelm, what comfort there is to be found in the quintessential and iconic Canadian tale—Anne of Green Gables.  This spunky orphan girl with fiery red hair has captured people’s attention since the book (written in the 1880s by Lucy Maud Montgomery) was published in … [Read more...]

Les Belles Soeurs at Langham Court Theatre November 15-December 2 2017. A review.

Les Belles Soeurs at Langham Court Theatre November 15-December 2 2017. A review. Take a trip back in time to La Belle Province with Les Belles Soeurs (currently at Langham Court Theatre November 15-December 2, 2017). It’s hard to imagine the circumstances seen from our modern (especially Western Canadian) and socially relativistic time, but to put events into context, when Les Belles Soeurs was written in 1965, abortion and the pill were … [Read more...]

Company C presents Wintertime by Charles Mee. Interview with director and cast.

Company C presents Wintertime by Charles Mee. Interview with director and cast. When Sara-Jeanne Hosie (Into the Woods) was invited back to direct the latest Company C—the year III program that sees students forming their own repertory company and taking on roles from production to performance—at the Canadian College of Performing Arts, she came upon the work of American playwright Charles Mee and “fell in love with his writing right away. He … [Read more...]