The God That Comes at the Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2015. A review. In The God That Comes (Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival March 17-21) modern minstrel and story-teller Hawksley Workman delivers a wildly hypnotic performance that defies theatrical convention. The Juno-award winning musician is a multi-instrumentalist of phenomenal ability whose blazing virtuosity will remain seared in memory long after the show is over. Three years of … [Read more...]
2014 a Theatre Year in Review in Victoria BC
March 14, 2015 By Leave a Comment
2014 a Theatre Year in Review in Victoria BC Don’t let anyone ever tell you that Victoria is a cultural backwater—in a year that included a wonderful week at the Stratford Festival (with performances by legends like Martha Henry, Colm Feore and Shauna McKenna), I managed to see 90 theatrical performances in the regular season as well as 42 shows at the Victoria Fringe, and a regrettably smaller number of concerts, dance, comedy and spoken word … [Read more...]
Amadeus by UVic Phoenix Theatre March 12-21, 2015. A review.
March 14, 2015 By 1 Comment
Amadeus by UVic Phoenix Theatre March 12-21, 2015. A review. Modern history has not been kind to Antonio Salieri, a composer and Kappelmeister in the Hapsburg court of Emperor Joseph II. Despite his considerable musical influence in the development of Italian opera of the era, and the fact his students included Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Liszt, his life has been reduced to the portrait painted by Peter Shaffer in … [Read more...]
Boys With Cars and Let Me Borrow That Top at Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2015. A review.
March 12, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Boys With Cars and Let Me Borrow That Top by Anita Majumdar at the Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival March 10-15, 2015. A review. Majumdar’s Fish Eyes (performed at the Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival in 2012) first introduced us to the interactions of a group of teenagers at a fictional Port Moody high school through the eyes of Meena, a young Indo-Canadian straddling two worlds. Majumdar’s classical kathak dance training comes to the fore in … [Read more...]
A Spring of Music 2015 in Victoria BC. March-May.
March 11, 2015 By Leave a Comment
A Spring of Music 2015 in Victoria BC. March-May. Regular readers of my Monday Magazine column and this website know that I have a wide interest in the arts; it spans not only theatre but music, art and dance. In fact when my children were young (and taking piano and trumpet lessons) our arts experiences were mainly focused on concerts with the University of Victoria School of Music events being some of our favourites. In recent years I have … [Read more...]
Waiting for Godot at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre March 5-15 2015. A review.
March 9, 2015 By 2 Comments
Waiting for Godot at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre March 5-15 2015. A review. The entire arc of humanity onstage—life, death, love, hatred, indifference to the plight of others, boring mundanity and joy. Waiting for Godot at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre March 3-15, 2015 is a brilliant microcosm. Laughter and horror co-habitate in exceptional performances by Peter Anderson (Vladimir), Brian Linds (Estragon), Scott Hylands (Pozzo) and Trevor … [Read more...]
The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Langham Court Theatre March 4-21, 2015. A review.
March 8, 2015 By Leave a Comment
The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Langham Court Theatre March 4-21, 2015. A review I never had the chance to see Jerry Gosley’s legendary Smile Show (which played in Victoria for over 40 years until the 1970s) but I’m sure his legacy is in good hands after seeing The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Langham Court Theatre (March 4-21, 2015). Drood (the original title of Rupert Holmes’ 1985 musical) is quick-witted, high-energy, expertly executed, fast … [Read more...]
A Spring of Theatre 2015 in Victoria BC. March-May.
February 25, 2015 By 2 Comments
A Spring of Theatre 2015 in Victoria BC. March-May. Spring is a busy time in the local arts calendar. It’s book-ended by two festivals—SPARK in March and UNO Fest in May—and features works by emerging and well-established companies—local, Canadian and international. There’s a chance to experience the classics (Waiting for Godot, Hedda Gabler), Shakespeare (Macbeth), musicals (Chorus Line Cabaret, Bye Bye Birdie, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, … [Read more...]
Dave Morris of Paper Street Theatre opens new studio March 2015.
February 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Dave Morris of Paper Street Theatre opens new studio March 2015. Dave Morris is an award-winning improviser, teacher of improv, magician and founder of Paper Street Theatre. I first came to know him at the Victoria Fringe Festival in 2010 when he presented the provocatively-titled Dave Morris is an Asshole. This full-length improvised show upended my preconceptions of the genre, and I have followed his career closely since then. After … [Read more...]
Waiting for Godot at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre. Interview with director Jacob Richmond.
February 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Waiting for Godot at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre. Interview with director Jacob Richmond. March 3-15, 2015. Victoria BC. Waiting for Godot has been called the most significant English language play of the 20th century. Written by the great Irish playwright Samuel Beckett in 1949, first in French and then translated by the playwright into English, it had its premiere in 1953 at the Théâtre Babylone in Paris. A “tragi-comedy”, it was one of … [Read more...]
