Disney’s Beauty and the Beast by The Canadian College of Performing Arts April 21-29, 2017. A review. The kidverse is buzzing this spring with news of the live remake of the 1991 cartoon film Beauty and the Beast—it’s an auspicious moment for the Canadian College of Performing Arts to stage the 1994 musical version (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Asman and Tim Rice, book by Linda Woolverton). Originally based on the French eighteenth … [Read more...]
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast by The Canadian College of Performing Arts April 21-29, 2017. A review.
April 24, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Alice Munro Stories Belfry Theatre April 18-May 14 2017. A review.
April 22, 2017 By 1 Comment
Alice Munro Stories Belfry Theatre April 18-May 14 2017. A review. Literature is literature. Theatre is theatre. When the Belfry decided to adopt the innovative format pioneered by San Francisco’s Word for Word Theatre in tackling Alice Munro’s typically dense narrative-driven stories, there was excitement and questions. What would this form look like? Many a fine literary work has been adapted for the stage—one need look no further than … [Read more...]
The Dream Collectors by Impulse Theatre April 19-22, 2017. A review.
April 20, 2017 By Leave a Comment
The Dream Collector(s) by Impulse Theatre April 19-22, 2017. A review. Impulse Theatre has been enchanting and confounding me since 2012. I remember watching Andrew Barrett and Mathilde Cobanli performing in Light on Our Feet (Holly Vivian’s sadly departed fundraiser featuring dance artists from around the region), thinking “I must meet these young people, they are doing ground-breaking work”. Now in their seventh season, Impulse Theatre was … [Read more...]
2 Pianos 4 Hands at the Chemainus Theatre Festival April 7-May 14, 2017. A review.
April 11, 2017 By Leave a Comment
2 Pianos 4 Hands at the Chemainus Theatre Festival April 7-May 14, 2017. A review. When Ted (Max Roll) and Richard (Bryce Kulak) walk onstage and begin goofing around with the piano benches before sitting down to play the first tentative notes, the emotional connection is immediate—I grew up the eldest child in a family with a piano. There was no question that I would have piano lessons. Many years later my children endured endless reminders … [Read more...]
A Queer Trial by Dr Jennifer Wise. April 13-14 2017 in Bastion Square, Victoria BC.
April 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment
A Queer Trial by Dr Jennifer Wise. April 13-14 2017 in Bastion Square, Victoria BC. I don’t miss much when it comes to local theatre, but regrettably and unavoidably, I did miss theatre historian Dr. Jennifer Wise’s last production, the historical play Girl Rabbi of the Golden West, staged for the 150th anniversary of Congregation Emanu-El in 2013. When a note was posted to a local Facebook group informing students in the UVic Theatre … [Read more...]
The Pansy Craze by Avery Brennan an Intrepid Theatre YOU Show April 1, 2017. Preview.
March 28, 2017 By Leave a Comment
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.
March 27, 2017 By Leave a Comment
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...]
What a Young Wife Ought to Know at Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2017. A review.
March 23, 2017 By Leave a Comment
What a Young Wife Ought to Know at Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2017. A review. Sometimes a play is so powerful, speaks to you across time, place and position so directly that you feel you are in the room with the actors. And, as a critic/reviewer, you wish you had a little more time to grapple with the issues and themes it unfolds, rather than rush to produce the requisite words. Playwright Hannah Moscovitch has a reputation, and the … [Read more...]
Reverberations by Brian Linds at Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2017. A review.
March 22, 2017 By Leave a Comment
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.
March 20, 2017 By 1 Comment
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...]
