Waiting for a performance to begin is normally a solo affair. If you are lucky to have other people you know with you, the experience becomes somewhat less fulfilling. For me, anyway. Of course, don’t get me wrong, I like it when my friends attend the theatre with me. It is a far too rare occasion these days. But I also enjoy a good, singular think - and most of the time, a dark and reasonably quiet theatre is a great place for it. I like the feeling of having found my seat and, while I look at the...
Movent takes us to a new location on Main Street (10th at Broadway in the Ukrainian Centre) but brings along their dance floor and black drapes. Its 29th iteration features James Fagan Tait as the poetry-quoting emcee and a diverse line-up of dancers co-curated by Julie-Anne Saroyan and Karissa Barry. Come early to enjoy perogies and sausages (or just grab a drink and chat with friends).
The evening features nine different choreographies. Overall, it feels somewhat sci-fi and futuristic to me (which I think is a combination of costumes, music and titles). Small Stage has a special place in my...
I sat down. I saw. I laughed. The performers (Nyla Carpentier, David Kaye and Brad Duffy) have a blast performing this show and you can tell. They bounce off and react to each other quite well. David Kaye, who plays the Trickster Coyote, has a super quick wit and I am just wondering aloud here but did he remind anyone else of Aziz Ansari? Nyla Carpentier, who plays the Trickster Raven and who also wrote the show, is a beautiful performer and luckily we got to witness some stunning dance moves. Brad Duffy, as the MC, turned an...
Genre definition = Naughty · Warm and Fuzzy · Intimate
One woman. One trombone. The apocalypse. Such is the premise of Sarah Liane Foster’s show. As with most Fringe shows the luck is in the draw and I had no idea what to expect when walking into the theatre. Foster is an endearing performer and her energy is appraisable. The character however I began to lose patience with quite quickly.
The characterization, voice and physicality never changed. There was so much information crammed into the script that the character was never allowed to breathe. Therefore we aren’t either. Which can sometimes be good but in...
Here is what I have to say about The Last Piece. Ready? Go see it. Really. Seriously. Go see it. Get up right now and go. Only if they have a show time right now as I wouldn’t want you to get there and stand around but you get the point I am trying to make. I was really impressed with this little gem of a show.
We meet Kate (Tara Pratt) and Lee (Joanna Gaskell) in a bookstore and a strange and heartbreaking friendship is born, if only for a night. These opposites attract...
I begin with a story. Sketch comedy and homelessness. A combination not suitable for the Vancouver East side. (In my best Al Pacino voice.) “Yah, funny.” Granted, I feel that way because I had a short interaction with a homeless person out in front of the theatre just prior to the show.
“Hey, can you spare some change?” She said in a slightly cracked voice.
“I have a dime I don’t need for parking.” I handed her the pittance.
“Thanks, man. Saved me.” She said and walked off.
It wasn’t a unique experience. This is Vancouver after all. But,...
In 1898 Henry James penned the Ghost Story Novella – “The Turn of the Screw”. The story of a fresh faced young woman who is seduced into the position of Governess to two children who had been left orphaned. She arrives at her new position to find the old housekeeper, and a mute young girl at the manor “Bly”. The boy Miles was off at boarding school. She quickly learns from the housekeeper that the governess who preceded her had a violent sexual affair with the male Valet and they are now both dead.
My question is, why isn't everyone clamouring to see this show? Last week I knew nothing about Theatre Terrific. Today I want to make sure I see everything they ever produce.
Performed at the Vancouver Japanese United Church, Portraits is a beautiful ensemble piece that examines what makes us all unique and in doing so exposes how similar we all really all. In almost any other context, the format (members of the ensemble coming forward, introducing themselves, explaining their self-drawn portrait and sharing a snippet of their history) might get tiresome. However, this group of individuals approach the...
Based on a story by Robert J Sawyer and originally scripted by Jae Dunphy, director Alberto White’s dystopian near future may not be so far away from our present. As he says in his program notes: “Humans are bad at change, like the frog in the pot of water brought to a boil, we don’t notice anything changing until it’s too late.”
Terrance Hayman plays detective Andrew Walker with energy and nuanced assuredness. His emotional range is as broad as it is deep as he’s called to respond to and deal with professional, family and external challenges in...
In what very well may be the most interesting BYOV (Bring Your Own Venue) performance of this year's Fringe Festival, performer Phoebe Vlassis draws the audience/visitors/acquaintances? into her room. Then, through storytelling, she draws us into her life and decisions about her future.
It’s a lot to cram into 30 minutes but the pacing isn’t at all rushed and the small room expands to Greece and London and Spain and New Orleans and a room overlooking Pender Street in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Phoebe brings to life in a charming and sympathetic way the people she meets along the way and the...
