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.
December 7, 2017 By Leave a Comment
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.
December 1, 2017 By Leave a Comment
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...]
Les Belles Soeurs at Langham Court Theatre November 15-December 2 2017. A review.
November 22, 2017 By Leave a Comment
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...]
Anne of Green Gables presented by the Victoria Operatic Society. Interview with Tara Britt and Molly Lydon.
November 20, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Anne of Green Gables presented by the Victoria Operatic Society. Interview with Tara Britt and Molly Lydon. In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, the Victoria Operatic Society is once again staging the quintessential Canadian musical—Anne of Green Gables November 24-December 3, 2017. Director and choreographer Tara Britt has a long connection with VOS; her mentor Sylvia Hosie choreographed the 2001 VOS production of Anne. Britt says … [Read more...]
The Madwoman of Chaillot at UVic Phoenix. Nov 9-25 2017. A review.
November 13, 2017 By Leave a Comment
The Madwoman of Chaillot at UVic Phoenix. Nov 9-25 2017. A review. The latest University of Victoria Phoenix Theatre production--Giraudoux’s The Madwoman of Chaillot November 9-25, 2017--is grandiose--huge in scale and extremely physical, playing on the edges with hints of the absurd, and yet, the dialogue sends shivers down the spine with its prescience and modernity. Giraudoux wrote the play during the Nazi occupation of France and did … [Read more...]
The Rocky Horror Show, produced by Atomic Vaudeville, October 18-29, 2017. A review.
October 23, 2017 By Leave a Comment
The Rocky Horror Show, produced by Atomic Vaudeville, October 18-29, 2017. A review. The Rocky Horror Show, now in its fourth year (on until October 29th at the Metro Studio Theatre), has become an annual theatrical tradition in Victoria. For decades people made a point of travelling to the Roxy Theatre (then a movie house) to view the Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight on Hallowe’en—many perhaps not even realizing that the musical … [Read more...]
Onegin by Amiel Gladstone and Veda Hille Belfry Theatre October 17-November 12 2017. A review.
October 20, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Onegin by Amiel Gladstone and Veda Hille Belfry Theatre October 17-November 12 2017. A review. As rich and luxurious as the plush red velvet curtains draping the stage, Onegin, book, music and lyrics by Amiel Gladstone and Veda Hille, based on Pushkin’s revered novel-in-verse and Tchaikovsky’s opera, is a marvel of complexity—replete with glorious costumes (Jacqueline Firkins and Alaia Hamer), inspired gypsy-jazz-Eastern European choreography … [Read more...]
Red Death by Launch Pad Theatre at Craigdarroch Castle October 17-31, 2017. A review.
October 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Red Death by Launch Pad Theatre at Craigdarroch Castle October 17-31, 2017. A review. Those cool cats at The Castle are hiding a grim secret. Try as they might to pretend everything is “groovy”, all is not well. Doom hangs in the air and seeps into nooks and crevices. Diana Nielsen and Christina Patterson. Photo: Derek Ford The wild and hyper lord of the manor, David Radford glad hands invited guests. Disco tunes fill the air with familiar … [Read more...]
A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline by Little Bowes Street Collective October 21-29, 2017. A preview.
October 17, 2017 By Leave a Comment
A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline by Little Bowes Street Collective October 21-29, 2017. A preview. One of Victoria’s newest theatre companies, Little Bowes’ Street Collective brings A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline to the Teechamitsa Theatre at Royal Bay Secondary October 20/21 and to the CCPA Performance Hall October 27/28/29. I spoke with co-founders Melissa Young (director of the show) and Alison MacDonald (who performs the role of Patsy … [Read more...]
Connect with me on: