The Tempest at the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival 2018. A review. Under a lowering sky, brimming with the promise of pent-up rain, a feral being (an impressive Trevor Hinton as Caliban), clothed in rags and tatters, galumphs across a dry and rocky landscape—then, quickly seizing upon a small furry creature, proceeds to kill and eat it—raw. Welcome to The Tempest at the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival. Director Chelsea Haberlin … [Read more...]
Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival 2018. Interview with Artistic Director Karen Lee Pickett.
June 22, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival 2018. Interview with Artistic Director Karen Lee Pickett. The Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival celebrates their 28th year in 2018. Now firmly established in the repertory model since 2014 under the artistic directorship of Karen Lee Pickett, they benefit from two professional mentor actors—this year, Trevor Hinton who audiences will remember from the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons, and new to the … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the Victoria Fringe 2017 Day Two
August 26, 2017 By 1 Comment
Dispatches from the Victoria Fringe Day Two The venue of choice for Day Two was the Metro Studio Theatre (Venue 3) where I watched a puppet eco-drama Beaver Dreams from Lost & Found Puppet Co, the Gift by two-spirit, mixed (settler and First Nations) performing artist John Aitken and Gail Noonan and LEER, a steam-punk themed, Hell-based, gender-bent adaptation from Shakespeare by David Elendune of Outpost 31. (My review of LEER will be … [Read more...]
Leer by Outpost 31 Victoria. Victoria Fringe 2017. An interview with David Elendune.
August 8, 2017 By 2 Comments
Leer by Outpost 31 Victoria. Victoria Fringe 2017. An interview with David Elendune. Back for a third year in recent memory, we caught up with the playwright. How long have you been producing work on the Fringe circuit? As an artist/company? Always late to the party, I finally lost my fringe cherry with Good Night Uncle Joe in 2009 – Which strangely enough is getting a public reading in polish in the Baltic tourist town of Sopot … [Read more...]
Jocasta Regina by Nancy Huston at Theatre Inconnu May 2-20, 2017. A review.
May 5, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Jocasta Regina by Nancy Huston at Theatre Inconnu May 2-20, 2017. A review. Wendy Magahay (Jocasta) and Monty Bjornson (Oedipus) light up the stage with their sexy frolicking in Jocasta Regina, Nancy Huston’s female-centric retelling of the Oedipus myth, currently at Theatre Inconnu until May 20th. Not in recent memory has there been such a passionate, believable, down-to-earth depiction of a fervent long-term loving marriage. The fact that … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the Victoria Fringe 2016. Day One.
August 26, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Dispatches from the Victoria Fringe 2016. Day One. Victoria Fringe Festival August 22-September 4, 2016. Review of The Old Lady's Guide to Survival: Site A--Congregational Emanu-el, 1461 Blanshard Street. Reviews of The Jupiter Rebellion: A Zach Zultana Adventure by Jeff Leard, An Improvised Quentin Tarantino 2--The Playful 8 by Paper Street Theatre Co, Perpetural Wednesday by White Collar Crimes and Half the Battle by Owen Bishop. All at … [Read more...]
The Old Lady’s Guide to Survival at the Victoria Fringe Festival 2016. Interview with director Zelda Dean.
August 8, 2016 By Leave a Comment
The Old Lady’s Guide to Survival at the Victoria Fringe Festival 2016. Interview with director Zelda Dean. How long have you been producing work on the Fringe circuit? As an artist/company? This is the second year for Bema Productions to be a part of the Victoria Fringe Festival. We had so much fun last year playing to almost full houses with The Best Meal You Ever Ate and we are expecting an equal success this year. I personally was … [Read more...]
A Lie of the Mind at Theatre Inconnu May 3-21, 2016. A review.
May 4, 2016 By 1 Comment
Lie of the Mind at Theatre Inconnu May 3-21, 2016. A review. Sam Shepard is arguably one of America’s greatest living playwrights—his scripts veritable treasure troves of “bon mots” and aphorisms, constructed to reveal the discordant and unhappy underbelly of a society disassociated with itself. His caustic and probing examination of family structures and the ties that bind is in sharp relief in A Lie of the Mind, currently running at Theatre … [Read more...]
Dispatches from the Victoria Fringe 2015. Day Four.
August 31, 2015 By 2 Comments
Dispatches from the Victoria Fringe 2015 Day Four. Victoria Fringe Festival August 26-September 6, 2015. Reviews of Casino Royale, the Birdmann in Momentous Timing, Soul, Ha! and Sperm Wars. Elegant drama, quirkiness galore, physical comedy, heart-felt story and dramatic comedy filled my Fringe Day Four with the wide variety I’ve come to expect at the Victoria Fringe. The day started with David Elendune’s adaptation of Ian Fleming’s Casino … [Read more...]
Humble Boy at Langham Court Theatre June 10-27, 2015. A review.
June 15, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Humble Boy at Langham Court Theatre June 10-27, 2015. A review. Not your typical bucolic English country-side romp, this tale of a mother and son relationship gone terribly awry reserves many surprises for the audience. Sharply observed dialogue and situational comedy give way to rousing and revelatory soliloquies and deep philosophical ponderings. Felix Humble (Kyle Kushnir) is a research fellow in astrophysics—more attuned to the music of … [Read more...]
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