This piece is very funny, quirky, brutal, sensitive, in short it is about relationships specifically between a daughter and her mother. Maria Grazia is trying to make sense of her relationship with her mother, and other relationships along the way. Our mothers sometimes we think we know them completely, they brought us into the world and so we have a connection (like it or not) that is visceral we feel we know them completely and we are frequently shocked to find out that we may not know some of the pivotal moments in their lives. The reality is we can never...
So at the end of the show I look down to realize I don't have any notes... it means I was engaged. I loved watching these two experienced performers play. They had us at the entrance of the Teapot, followed by Jamesy Evans with his bumbling precision is outstanding and finally enters the straight man James Brown our solid sounding board also outstanding. The two of them play off each other as the seasoned pros they are, they quickly and effortlessly lay out the rules of engagement and we are all off on the High Tea, high seas, adventure.
Every...
Fringe Description: Funny · Family Friendly · Intellectual
If you are a fan of The Twilight Zone, Tales from The Crypt or CBS Radio Mystery Theatre, this is the play for you. If you aren’t, this play could make you a fan. The play opens with an announcer in the style of the 1940’s radio show “The Mysterious Traveller, welcoming us to Spectral Theatre’s Late Night Double Feature. Thus begins the first of the two stories.
The stories aren’t original, variations of them have been done in the mystery, science fiction, horror genre before, but that is beside the point. The execution of the themes is flawless and plays...
Don’t be fooled by the cute title. Little One is anything but. As the audience enters the theatre a man sits with his back to us. Once every one is seated he turns around. It seems he has been waiting to tell his story and once he starts it all spills out. What follows is a harrowing tale. What is disturbing about it is the believability of it all.
Little One features Daniel Arnold and Marisa Smith as brother and sister Aaron and Claire. They tell of their childhood growing up in a respectable neighbourhood in Ottawa. But all is...
From its description, I knew that this was a show that I wanted to see. Not just because I would catch every Buffy (the Vampire Slayer) reference, but also because I was intrigued to learn how and why Amy would transform herself. Nancy Kenny's one-woman roller derby adventure has been touring the Fringe circuit since May. The delivery was polished, the story was heart-warming, and show was so much fun to see.
Amy loves stories about superheroes and chosen ones, but she herself has never tested her own strength. She has also always been overshadowed by her younger sister, June. So...
Presented by ash street productions, the brief show description states simply: "Two young men's friendship leads to an awakening that, once realized, leads both down life altering paths."
To reflect my experience of this performance, a list of juxtapositions for Meatloaf Jesus is as follows:
Girls Boys Women Men Sex Drugs Alcohol Pot Pipeline Abuse Gretzky Belonging Friendship Identity Big Hair 1980’s Meatloaf Jesus
These juxtapositions encompass a coming of age story as told by the one of the characters returning to the location...
"didn’t see that coming" a phrase many of us can relate to you when reflecting on moments in our life. Beverley Elliott, a local actress known for her role as Granny in the TV series Once Upon a Time, shares her “didn’t see it coming “ moments of her life.
Online dating, her first rock concert and the endurance of a hot yoga class are some of her stories interspersed by original songs sung by Elliott in a clear, crisp powerful voice that captures the hope and awe this actress has in the life that has unfolded for her....
Anatolia has prepared a slide show and a speech to tell her English as a Second Language (ESL) class the story of her life in Edmonton and how she arrived there from Bosnia. The class interrupts her with questions and she is pushed to tell parts of her story that might not otherwise been told. As the slide show progresses the audience gasps when a photograph appears with Anatolia in the picture. The audience has been confronted with the reality of this play.
A powerful and painful story, Anatolia Speaks is an account of the genocide that was the Bosnia...
Halfway through Wet Ink Collective’s production, Nina (Susan McFarlen), the eponymous Dirty Old Woman, finds herself in the arms of a much younger lover. Time stops. Nina turns to the audience and asks “Is it wrong to delight in such beauty?” The answer to us, obviously, is no. The fact that writer Loretta Seto has heavily stacked the play’s conflict on conservative moral wisdom is the slightest detriment to what’s otherwise a very good production.
“But sir!” critics of critics might object, “is this not the same conservative antagonism that exists in the real world?” It is, yes,...
Unfortunate Ruth at 10 p.m. was my fifth show of the day, giving me a special high, a special buzz (is there a better word for this?), but far from my best reviewing self.
There are two Ruths, identical twins in parallel realities, both - of course - played by Tara Travis, the author, directed by Jim Travis. One Ruth is toothy and wears glasses while the other has made herself more attractive. They work at desks at opposite sides of the stage, busied with phones and intercoms.
Generally, I don’t like clowns; there is something unnerving about a clown. And after a particularly tough Saturday this reviewer wanted nothing more than to head home and crawl into bed. But, instead, I headed on over to the east side and saw MOM? And it was just what the doctor ordered – light, funny, skilled and infectiously joyful.
To begin there is just a blue box on top of a mountain. The literal box of clowns for which, I imagine the troupe gets its name. It is from this box that the clowns emerge to scatter the ashes of...
Natalia Hautala is Grace. And Grace is Muse. We know from the voice over of Dr. McDougall (Doctor Doodoo) and Nurse Vicky that Grace has had neurological damage, is OCD and doesn’t speak.
As we enter Studio 1398, Grace is playing the cello and singing. She plays, sings and speaks a lot and somehow Hautala makes it clear to us that we are inside Grace’s head and can hear her unspoken thoughts.
Hautala invites the audience to follow Grace’s hand gestures to become her backup singers. Entranced, we comply. Ba da DUM. Ba da DUM. Ba da DUM. She smiles at...
Fringe Description: Funny · Warm and Fuzzy · Poetic
The script of Greenland is published, one of the three scripts in Fault Lines, which won the Governor General's award for Drama last year. Thus sophisticated comparisons between text and performance might be made. One of the other two, Iceland (obviously related), was well staged in April at Studio 16.
Greenland is presented on a tug moored beside the Public Market, an original BYOV. The audience, limited to 30, is divided into groups of ten, two of whom will hear monologues at the ends of the boat, outdoors, with the third group squeezed into the tiny cabin. Finally all...
The Mad Hatter has become stuck in reality. Perhaps he can open a portal that will lead him back home if he can recreate the silliness of Wonderland. Andrew Wade's one-man performance at Studio 16 showcases his quick wit and improvisational talent. However, the world, the character, and the story felt half-formed and ultimately inconsequential.
Some moments were quite fun. My fellow audience members had gusto when it came to singing the Unbirthday Song, even though everyone seemed to be making up their own tune. After requesting a title, Andrew created a song on the spot which had a surprisingly...
Any event that shows at the Cultch’s Historic Theatre is automatically under pressure to be amazing and live up to the expectations of being intellectual, classy, and well-organized. The venue, one of East Vancouver’s most prestigious and well-respected performance spaces, is elegant and has beautiful acoustics.
Intellectual drama Apophis puts good effort into meeting these expectations, but drags on a smidge too long for comfort.
Apophis’ script focuses on dialogue rather than action. The conflict is a push-pull dynamic between three young adults who argue about which of them are going to stay put or flee the city...
