What Happened Was…by Theatre Inconnu Feb 18-Mar 8 2014. A review.

What Happened Was by Theatre Inconnu Feb 18-Mar 8 2014. A review. Just like many a first date, What Happened Was (currently at Theatre Inconnu from February 19th –March 8th, 2014) is quirky, awkward and vulnerable. It also has a deliciously dark twist that elevates it from standard rom-com territory, and takes it into the realm of bold social commentary. All the action takes place in “real time” in the period slightly prior to, and during, … [Read more...]

Sip and Savour, March 27 2014 in Sidney BC.

Sip and Savour, March 27, 2014 in Sidney BC. One of the aspects of social media I have enjoyed the most since 2009 has been the opportunity to connect with individuals locally who I might not have met otherwise.  This is the case with Steven Duck of TIDES Group (The Island's Destination and Event Service).  Steve has a long history of guiding hiking, biking and gourmet tours—here on Vancouver Island, in BC, and also further afield in Italy, … [Read more...]

Victoria Spoken Word Festival 2014 – interview with Poet of Honour Barbara Adler

Victoria Spoken Word Festival 2014 (VSWF) - interview with Poet of Honour Barbara Adler. Barbara is a poet, spoken word artist, slam champion and musician (accordion). She'll be in Victoria for the festival March 4-9, 2014, and is also offering a workshop (Sunday March 9th) that will be open to the public. Photo: Tony Hoare 2013 You participated in the inaugural Canadian Festival of Spoken Word.  How have you seen the “scene” change in the … [Read more...]

Victoria Spoken Word Festival 2014 – Inside Story

The Victoria Spoken Word Festival - Inside Story, March 4-9, 2014 brings more than 20 artists from across North America to Victoria. I was part of a local group of grass-roots angel investors, the Awesome Shit Club, when spoken word artist Missie Peters pitched her plan to promote the first Victoria Spoken Word Festival in 2011. She’s grown the festival in size and scope every year since, bringing together spoken word artists to create and … [Read more...]

Fabulous French events in Victoria, Feb-Mar 2014.

Fabulous French events in Victoria, Feb-March 2014. It’s not often that a plethora of francophone events lands in Victoria at the same time.  In February and early March local francophones and Francophiles (people who love, appreciate and speak French as a second language) can rejoice. The big event is, of course, the 17th edition of the Festival Francophone de Victoria French Fest (March 6th – 9th)—and I promise a separate blog post with … [Read more...]

Picnic, UVic Phoenix Theatre, Feb 11-22, 2014. A review.

Picnic, currently at the Phoenix Theatre (February 11-22, 2014) thrums with hope and yearning. Nothing is as it appears in a small town.  In the space of one day, events can change the direction of people’s lives in spectacular, and devastating, fashion—the ripples felt throughout. Picnic may be set in small town Kansas in the early 1950s but there are definite parallels, even to our more sophisticated and inter-connected age. Hal (Jenson … [Read more...]

The Glass Menagerie by Blue Bridge Theatre at the Roxy (Feb 11-23, 2014). A review.

The Glass Menagerie, by Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre, at The Roxy in Quadra Village (February 11th -23rd, 2014) is a moody and lush theatrical feast, ambitious and true to the playwright’s original vision. Written in 1944, The Glass Menagerie catapulted American playwright Tennessee Williams to success (New York Drama Critics' Circle Award 1945). Staged as a “memory play” it stands alone among his works—mixing realistic moments with mimed … [Read more...]

Victoria’s First Funny Women Festival February 21 & 22, 2014

The intrepid Kirsten Van Ritzen is at it again—this time she’s launching Victoria’s first Funny Women Festival February 21st and 22nd (with a networking/hangover brunch on the 23rd). You might know Kirsten for her many roles with SinCity, the live improvised serial, or the searing Langham Court theatre production That Face in January 2013, or her regular stand-up and improv comedy classes. She’s also a novelist, solo performer and executive … [Read more...]

Shakespeare in Love: Scenes of Love from Shakespeare at Craigdarroch Castle, February 7-15,2014

Shakespeare in Love: Scenes of Love from Shakespeare at Craigdarroch Castle, February 7-15, 2014 Valentine’s Day has a special meaning for my husband and me since our anniversary is February 12th. And what better way, as an arts-lover, to celebrate both than to partake in Shakespeare in Love: Scenes of Love from Shakespeare at CraigdarrochCastle. Staged by Giggling Iguana Productions and the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival (GVSF) … [Read more...]

Proud at the Belfry Theatre February 11-March 9, 2014. A review.

Michael Healey’s play Proud, currently at the Belfry Theatre (February 11-March 9, 2014) is an outrageous, provocative, sexy and very funny tale of the behind-the-scenes political machinations of Canada’s prime minister. Proud has been surrounded by controversy since it’s inception. Healey (author of The Drawer Boy—seen at the Belfry in 2000) was the playwright-in-residence at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre; he resigned when Proud was pulled from … [Read more...]