We muse little on the cult of death in 2013. Instead of funerals, everyone is invited to attend a celebration of life. But a funeral is what it is. A memorial service. A remembrance of a soul gone from this earth.
As we enter the theatre, fog is everywhere. A man in a top hat wanders and mutters. There is a printed card on my seat which reads: "All kinds of black fur and seal-skin are worn in deep mourning." Now the man climbs up near the balcony and he keens: "Listen to the little lady!" The little...
Ballet BC’s Giselle is running for 3 nights only at the Queen Elizabeth theatre. A contemporary re-imagining by choreographer José Navas, this performance is both accessible to the uninitiated and bursting with artistic depth, passion and integrity.
I believe that a production should stand on its own merit without any background knowledge. I like to go in to a performance as “blind” as I can without having read any reviews or even the program notes in order to get a clean, unbiased experience.
When it comes to ballet I consider myself an ignorant enthusiast. My friend that typically joins me...
In their production of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, Jane Heyman and Jesse Johnston, together with the company of The Only Child Collective, have offered up a rare gift to Vancouver theatre-goers.
Not to say the production is without flaws, but it is a tribute to one of the 20th century’s great literary giants and, at the same time, a breathtaking leap of faith for a small, unfunded collective to do what so many larger wealthier companies do not, i.e.: challenge their audiences with complex, nuanced material, and a large ensemble cast of 13 actors.
Anton Chekhov...
Bob Frazer and Emma Slipp in The Only Child Collective production of Three Sisters. Photo by Emily Cooper.
The techno-dance aliens have landed. There are twelve of them. They wear beige unitards, have their hair pasted to their skulls and their eyes whited out. The unitards give them the look of shaven Caucasian babies, with adult sexual organs straining to break free of the latex epidermal membrane.
We first encounter them in a circle, facing in, with their arms outstretched to the heavens, from where they have apparently been teleported to Earth. Nature sounds—birds singing, etc.— fill the air. These are soon obliterated by a machine-made pulse. The techno-babies have come to dance and they prefer to...
Dance House’s presentation of Carte Blanche, a program of the Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance
The difficulty in writing about a show such as 2 Pianos 4 Hands is that there is very little left to say that hasn’t been said or repeated in the 16 years and 5,000 performances that have elapsed since it appeared, to great acclaim, in its first incarnation at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.
Far more accomplished reviewers than I doubtless ran out of superlatives years ago in writing about this show as it progressed from venue to venue and country to country, garnering more than two million in attendance, so I will just get in line and say...
Written, Starring, and Directed by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt
Drawing from a number popular dystopian themes, Broken Sex Doll is a slick, silly, scifi satire. Kinda like if Ray Bradbury had written Grease.
The story revolves around, as you can imagine, a “broken” sex doll but there are a number of twists and turns in the plot to keep you on your toes. The musical numbers are strong, the set is fabulous, and the acting is fun and fearless. Without giving too much away I’d like to say that my favourite parts were the very first action sequence, the umbrella montage and some very expressive leg acting.
I’ve been struggling to make full sentences of this review, the performance was so image-heavy. So I thought I’d start out with some images:
Rolling sky, luscious mountains, fog and mist and forests green, lovers through the landscape running, clowns and antics in their dream.
Now that I have that out of my system...
Vancouver Opera’s Magic Flute is a vivid spectacle. Images projected on a layered scrim swirl and crescendo with the overture, stirring up my emotions then stilling down into a forest or quiet ocean backdrop. The set is truly beautiful and...
The 2013 Alcan Award winner is Theatre Conspiracy. Their newest show, Extraction, is a bilingual documentary-style theatrical experiment that explores the connections between China and Canada in both Mandarin and English. Inspired by the real life experiences of two men and one woman, Extraction offers interesting viewpoints but little depth.
In Extraction, the show creators are exploring some powerful ideas about Canada and China, about tar sands and their environmental impact, about the individual lives of those who toil in resource extraction and those of us who are merely affected by this work. They query the audience repeatedly through...
Extraction featuring Jimmy Mitchell, Sunny Sun and Jason Wilson (photo credit Tim Matheson)
The director's notes for Pi Theatre's Terminus include descriptions such as “classic storytelling. It's an explosive yarn full of chill, spills and a few dark laughs”. . . “surreal, violent tales with an urban focus.”
I'm really not sure I can provide a more accurate description than that.
Mark O'Rowe's Terminus is beautifully written. Its poetic, aggressive style is an effective blend of the mundane and the surreal. Poetic language is always a challenge, but all three actors attacked the text with gusto and the woven monologues kept my rapt attention for the full 115 minutes. John Emmet Tracy was...
Holmes and Watson Save the Empire is a musical farce produced by First Impressions Theatre running in North Vancouver until March 16th. The writers Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner flew in from Oregon to direct the Canadian premiere of their script.
As advertised this is a genre piece, not for seriously intellectual Sherlock Holmes fans. The script is peppered with contemporary word play and the characters indulge in much pomp and silliness. The musical accompaniment is similarly tongue-in-cheek and for the most part the plot progresses with a light-hearted, energetic pace that will keep your feet tapping. The script was fun, but some of the refrains and dialogue became...
Damon Calderwood , Gordon Roberts in Holmes & Watson, photographer Ryan Crocker
