RECOVERY SHOW: A powerful story of personal and political recovery comes to Victoria Fringe (media release) Racks of dead bodies in the Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre. Government conspiracies to sell brain-space real estate. Comings to terms with the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Recovery Show is a riveting solo performance based on Clara Madrenas’ own experiences of psychosis during a field study of the Rwandan genocide and the … [Read more...]
The Drawer Boy at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre July 3-15,2018. Cast interview.
June 22, 2018 By Leave a Comment
The Drawer Boy at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre July 3-15,2018. Cast interview. First a note—it’s draw-er boy, a boy who draws, not drawer boy, a boy in a drawer as I imagined it to be. “¨Perhaps the most successful play in Canadian theatre history and produced world-wide since its premier (at Theatre Passe Muraille) in 1999, this touching comic drama about Southern Ontario rural life explores the power of storytelling in creating and … [Read more...]
All My Sons at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre May 29–June 10 2018. A review.
May 31, 2018 By Leave a Comment
All My Sons at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre May 29–June 10 2018. A review. Brian Richmond has always had an expansive artistic vision and nowhere is it more evident than in the magnificent Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, onstage at the Roxy Theatre May 29-June 10, 2018. Over the past decade, since founding the company in 2009, he has steadily gathered together an ensemble of artists that would be … [Read more...]
All My Sons at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre. A preview.
May 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment
All My Sons at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre. A preview. Director Brian Richmond’s biggest hope for the coming production of All My Sons by Arthur Miller (May 29-June 10, 2018), who he considers to be “quite possibly the greatest American playwright of the 20th century”, is that audiences will be “brought to tears by the cathartic experience of a play that allows you to connect fully with other human beings and leaves you, ultimately, with … [Read more...]
The Only Good Indian at UNO Fest 2018. A review.
May 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment
The Only Good Indian at UNO Fest 2018. A review. Intrepid Theatre’s UNO Fest, now in its twenty-first year, runs May 9-19, 2018 in Victoria BC. It features eighteen shows, including two as part of the new Family Fest Series, and a spotlight on women’s indigenous voices with a guest indigenous curator, Yolanda Bonnell. I’ll be featuring interviews, previews and reviews during the festival. Follow http://janislacouvee.com/tag/uno-fest-2018/ … [Read more...]
Lessons by Wendy Graf. Bema Productions April 12-22, 2018. A review.
April 13, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Lessons by Wendy Graf. Bema Productions April 12-22, 2018. A review. Bema Productions does it again with the nuanced production of Lessons by Wendy Graf (performed in the most appropriate 153 year old heritage synagogue Temple Emanu-El April 12-22, 2018). Now in their fourth season, Bema has come to be known for insightful renderings of scripts that on the surface appear simple—it is director Zelda Dean’s single biggest gift—to find the … [Read more...]
Tomorrows Child at Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2018. A review.
March 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Tomorrows Child at Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2018. A review. The mind-bending experience of Tomorrow’s Child by Ghost River Theatre (currently at the Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2018 March 20-24) begins long before entering the theatre. Panels and poster boards provide information on the company and the main creators. Bright-eyed “performer mecs” greet patrons assembled in the lobby for this auditory immersive piece. Instructions are … [Read more...]
Cafe Daughter at Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2018. A review.
March 21, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Cafe Daughter at Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2018. A review. Café Daughter, the fictionalized story of the life of Senator Lillian Eva Quan Dyck, by noted Cree playwright Kenneth T Williams, currently at the Belfry Theatre SPARK Festival 2018 March 20-24, is a deep dive into systemic and internalized racism through the eyes of a child, told with humour and grace. Yvette Wong (Tiffany Ayalik), growing up in small town Saskatchewan in the … [Read more...]
Crimes of the Heart at UVic Phoenix Theatre. A review.
February 19, 2018 By 1 Comment
Crimes of the Heart at UVic Phoenix Theatre. A review. In 2018, Beth Henley’s southern-based drama Crimes of the Heart (set in small town Mississippi in 1974 and at the University of Victoria Phoenix Theatre February 13-24, 2018) is problematic—on one hand, it’s the story of three sisters bonded through a troubled childhood, on uneasy terms with one another as adults; on the other it’s a fine example of racism so pervasive as to be invisible, … [Read more...]
Neva by Guillermo Calderon at Theatre Inconnu. A review.
February 16, 2018 By 1 Comment
Neva by Guillermo Calderon at Theatre Inconnu. A review. Three actors. One stage. Minimal set décor. Costumes, lighting and classical music. Neva by Guillermon Calderon (at Theatre Inconnu February 13-March 3 2018) as imagined by director Clayton Jevne and his ensemble, is theatre reduced to its essential elements; theatre relying solely on the director’s interpretation and the cast’s ability to carry it through ninety minutes of in-depth … [Read more...]
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