Top Posts of 2014. I've been writing articles since 2009 (on Wordpress.com and the now-defunct Posterous), but the url janislacouvee.com became active in 2011 (I transferred the older content). Traffic has grown incrementally since then and the focus has shifted substantially from community events and news of upcoming arts events to a heavy emphasis on reviews--and it shows in the top posts of 2014. Ignorance by the Old Trout Puppet … [Read more...]
Alice the Musical at Theatre Inconnu November 30-December 20, 2014. A review.
December 6, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Alice the Musica at Theatre Inconnu November 30-December 20, 2014. A review. Alice by Tom Waits, Paul Schmidt, Kathleen Brennan and Robert Wilson, currently at Theatre Inconnu (November 30-December 14, 2014) is a hallucinating and troubling journey into the relationship between Charles Dodgson (Graham Roebuck) and the young girl (Melissa Blank) who inspired his books—the children’s classics Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the … [Read more...]
Sense and Sensibility by Company C at St Ann’s Academy. A review.
December 3, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Sense and Sensibility by Company C at St Ann's Academy. A review. With crisp precision and nuanced flourish, under the inspired direction of Glynis Leyshon, CCPA’s Company C brings Jane Austen’s 200 year-old romantic comedy of manners Sense and Sensibility to life in the sumptuous setting of the chapel and grounds of St Ann’s Academy. As readers of my website know, I’m a big fan of site specific theatre; Victoria is fortunate to have … [Read more...]
Early and Night Shift at the Royal BC Museum November 21, 2014
November 27, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Early and Night Shift at the Royal BC Museum November 21, 2014. Media release and preview. This past year, the Learning Department has invited three Victoria artists—Aimee van Drimmelen, Lindsay Delaronde and Gareth Gaudin—into the Royal BC Museum for a year-long residency. In addition to taking part in our Wonder Sunday and Night at the Museum events, they went behind the scenes to creatively chronicle the extraordinary objects and … [Read more...]
Hubris in Athens, a new play by John Green, November 28/29 in Victoria BC.
November 27, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Hubris in Athens, a new play by John Green, November 29 in Victoria BC. Media Release. Electoral reform: a snore-making topic to be avoided in polite society, a cause worthy of passionate debate, or something to laugh about? Victoria playwright John Demmery Green suspects that most people would pick answer one, but for him the battle to achieve proportional representation is both a passion and something people should have fun with. Green’s … [Read more...]
17 Stories by Bema Productions November 29/30 in Victoria BC
November 27, 2014 By Leave a Comment
17 Stories by Bema Productions November 29/20 in Victoria BC at Congregation Emanu-El Synagoge. Life is full of small happenstances. I would not have known about Victoria's newest theatre company, Bema Productions, if I hadn't stopped to chat after RKO Productions' Rocky Horror Show. Little did I know that Jessica Van der Veen, who I knew more for her political forays, was an actor. Following the great success of the arts festival celebrating … [Read more...]
The Small Room at the Top of the Stairs at Langham Court Theatre. A review.
November 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Small Room at the Top of the Stairs at Langham Court Theatre. A review. The Small Room at the Top of the Stairs, currently at Langham Court Theatre, November 18-December 6, 2014 is rich, replete with interpretations and claustrophobic in its psychological intensity. Grace (Julie Forrest) has everything a young woman can desire—a rich husband, Henry (Justin Carter) who loves her and showers her with gifts, a beautiful mansion (28 rooms of … [Read more...]
Alice vs Wonderland at Blue Bridge Theatre. Interview with director Sara-Jeanne Hosie.
November 19, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Alice vs Wonderland at Blue Bridge Theatre. Interview with Director Sara-Jean Hosie. November 23-December 14, 2014 in Victoria BC. The second show in Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre’s “Gold Standards” seventh season features a re-mixing of Alice in Wonderland by Brendan Shea, Alice vs Wonderland billed as “Lady Gaga meets Lewis Carroll”. Sara-Jean Hosie last directed My Fair Lady for Blue Bridge in 2013, and was approached by Artistic … [Read more...]
Venus in Fur at the Belfry Theatre. A review.
November 14, 2014 By 2 Comments
Venus in Fur at the Belfry Theatre. A review. To portray Venus in Fur, currently at the Belfry Theatre November 11-December 14, as a play uniquely about S&M is akin to calling the Pacific Ocean a pond. Venus in Fur opens with a bang—to the rumblings and claps of a thunderstorm—and the sparks fly continually for the next 100 minutes without let-up. Vince Gale (Thomas) and Celine Stubel (Vanda Jordan) last appeared together at the … [Read more...]
James and Jamesy in High Tea. November 13-16, 2014 Victoria BC.
November 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment
James and Jamesy in High Tea. November 13-16, 2014 Victoria BC. One of my favourite duos, the acclaimed, multi-award-winning James and Jamesy return to Victoria BC with their summer 2014 Fringe hit High Tea. Unknown to Fringe audiences before 2013, their high energy physical performance attracted attention and garnered sell-outs from coast to coast. In particular, I was struck with their ability to incorporate four audience members into the … [Read more...]
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