Forget About Tomorrow by Jill Daum at the Belfry Theatre. A review. Theatre is a gift that can allow an audience an experience far above mere entertainment, offering a way to examine the human condition, with all its challenges and difficulties. Playwright Jill Daum, who for decades has been entertaining generations of theatre goers with the questions and antics of motherhood as one of the co-creators of the Mom’s The Word series, turns her … [Read more...]
Forget About Tomorrow by Jill Daum at the Belfry Theatre. A review.
A Christmas Carol at the Belfry Theatre November 28-December 17, 2017. A review.
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...]
I Think I’m Fallin’–The Songs of Joni Mitchell at the Belfry Theatre November 8-December 4, 2016. A Review.
I Think I’m Fallin’--The Songs of Joni Mitchell at the Belfry Theatre November 8-December 4, 2016. A Review. A dark and sombre mood hangs in the air—it’s November, season of grey skies and rain; south- of-the-border politics infiltrate every discussion, Remembrance Day is around the corner and, Leonard Cohen, troubadour to a nation, has just died. It falls to the artists of I Think I’m Fallin’ to lift the audience out of a collective … [Read more...]
A Christmas Carol at the Belfry Theatre December 1-20, 2015. A review.
A Christmas Carol at the Belfry Theatre, December 1-20, 2015. A review. Michael Shamata’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, currently at the Belfry Theatre December 1-20, 2015, represents theatrical craft of the highest level. Under Shamata’s careful and insightful guidance, the large multi-generational cast brings the beloved story to life with thoughtfulness, care and great joy. A Christmas Carol is definitely Shamata’s … [Read more...]
Speed the Plow by David Mamet at the Belfry Theatre September 15-October 11, 2015. A review.
Speed the Plow by David Mamet at the Belfry Theatre September 15-October 11, 2015. A review. Like light shifting and playing across the garden, its mercurial quick-silver nature un-capturable, so too the power dynamics in David Mamet’s Speed the Plow, currently opening the 40th season at the Belfry Theatre (September 15-October 11, 2015). Changes are as subtle as a word, a heightened tone, a brief touch, or as forceful as a barrage of … [Read more...]
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at the Belfry Theatre. A review.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at the Belfry Theatre. A review. There’s something to be said for the absence of the traditional curtain in modern theatre for it allows time to admire and appreciate the set design before the action begins, and to wonder all the while about what it divulges of the characters who will soon appear. Cory Sincennes design reveals a very comfortable and elegant abode, absent clutter and filled with family … [Read more...]
Venus in Fur at the Belfry Theatre. A review.
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...]
Spring Awakening by Company C, October 21-November 2, 2014. A review.
Spring Awakening by Company C, October 21-November 2, 2014. Presented at the Belfry Theatre in Victoria BC. Edgy and frank, with catchy and raw tunes that remain days later, Spring Awakening (the current Company C/Canadian College of Performing Arts production at the Belfry Theatre October 21-November 2, 2014) takes us back in an instant to the chaotic days of our adolescence. Based on Frank Wedekind’s scandalous (and later banned) 1890 … [Read more...]
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