Sweeney Todd by Sondheim, currently playing at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre July 31-August 12, 2018, bristles with electricity and a terrible current of visceral vitality that keeps audiences spell-bound throughout. Daunting in scope for a small ensemble of ten players, this version of Sondheim’s cult hit—it’s been staged around the world since its original Broadway run in 1979, adapted as a movie in 2007 by Tim Burton with Johnny Depp … [Read more...]
Sweeney Todd at Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre July 31-August 12 2018. An interview.
July 30, 2018 By Leave a Comment
The behemoth that is Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd comes to the Roxy Theatre from July 31st- August 12th in Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre’s creative re-imagining. I met with Patrick Du Wors, set and lighting designer, and Graham McMonagle, costume designer, to discuss the many innovations they have employed to redefine the scenario while remaining true to Sondheim’s original intentions. “Sweeney Todd is extremely taxing, even for the largest … [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...]
Long Day’s Journey into Night. A conversation with designer Patrick Du Wors.
May 9, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Long Day’s Journey into Night. A Conversation with Designer Patrick Du Wors. Next up for Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre is Eugene O'Neill's classic Long Day's Journey Into Night (May 10-22, 2016). Set and costume designer Patrick Du Wors has a long history with Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre—he was the designer for the 2009 inaugural season—As You Like It, Death of a Salesman and The Fantasticks—designed A Street Car Named Desire in 2010, … [Read more...]
True West by Blue Bridge Theatre at the Roxy. A review.
November 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment
True West, by Sam Shepard, currently playing at Blue Bridge Repertory’s Roxy Theatre until December 1st, is a searing tension-filled drama of sibling rivalry that crackles and sparks with male energy and disdain. Shepard was only 37, and already a Pulitzer Prize winner for Buried Child, when he penned True West, considered to be the final play in his Family Trilogy (Curse of the Starving Class 1976, Buried Child 1979). The structure is … [Read more...]
My Fair Lady by Blue Bridge Theatre, a review
August 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Simply magnificent. There are no other words to describe the wonderful production of My Fair Lady by Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre currently playing at the McPherson Playhouse until August 18th. From the moment the audience enters the theatre, to a glorious vintage view of London (a scrim specially commissioned by designer Patrick Du Wors) the sense of anticipation is palpable. Brian Richmond (Henry Higgins) and Amanda Lisman (Eliza … [Read more...]
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