Theatre

Musings about being an actor before an audition for “cashier #2”, Vancouver-based film and television actor Morgan Brayton reflects on her adolescent ideas of being a successful actor and all her apparently “golden ticket” opportunities in Give It Up.

The show is filled with moments that make you laugh because they are true. Like the second-hand embarrassment you feel when Morgan shares with the audience how she has failed all her prepubescent dreams of having a spin off series, sharing the cover of Teen Beat with Scott Baio and being invited to late night talk shows.

Never...

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed when I realized that each of Henry’s wives were going to be played by the same actor. One of the things I look forward to in theatre, especially in period pieces, is the costumes. With one woman in one costume I could tell this wasn’t going to be a “costume drama”. So with the revelation that Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII was a one-woman show, aka, a one costume show, I prepared for an attire-less evening.

Within minutes all my disappointment evaporated with the laughter that engulfed me from...

Presented by Gas Pedal Productions, Love, Lust, & Lace is a 60 minute Commedia dell'arte performance that has a little bit of everything. It’s like watching a live cartoon: there’s action, buffoonery, clowning, lots of audience interaction and of course romance!

A sensual evening set to the classic tale of two lovers, it is full of wonderfully dramatic characters and includes lots of audience participation. These actors are ready to do anything, and they are ready to handle anything their audience throws at them. I was very impressed with the actors` ability to take input from the audience and...

Eugenius (played by Sean Amsing) is a dick. More specifically he's a super villain with an epic plot to rule the world. Antagonist takes us through a day in the life of an angry, angsty, outrageous evil genius.

The whole cast does a wonderful job of framing Eugenius’s frustrations with himself and the world. From the mediocre evil plots of his coworkers to the lady in the fifteen-items-or-less-lane, to his mother's attempts to get grandchildren, they all do an amazing job of igniting his rage. Even his supervillain colleagues are innocent and hurt at his outbursts, and have...

Jeff Newman has chops, that’s for sure. And he probably knows I think that about him. His show will amaze you as he peers into the minds of his subjects with his shockingly blue eyes and reads the very thoughts from them, thoughts he has no conceivable way of knowing other than clairvoyancy.  His show was sprinkled with storytelling and humor which was a mix of cheesy and clever. His charisma is palpable and he truly is a master of his art.

As the show started, the tricks were relatively simple. The usual tell a joke, pick the right...

Do you have your dancing shoes on? You’re going to need them for this show. Cydney Eva and Lindy Sisson are a mother-daughter duo that is going to explain to you the influences of dance and showmanship that have been ever present in their lives. From Ballet to Burlesque, they’ve got it all.

This really is a tribute show to Cyndey and Linda’s father/grandfather, Hal Sisson, who was in “The Biz”. Although you could tell that this show meant a lot to them, it might not mean as much to the audience. A big chunk of the show is...

Let me start with the positive things, as there were some. The most enjoyable thing about this spectacle was the music. The songs ranged from classical opera to Latin influenced music with a few more modern classical types thrown in. There wasn’t a single one I didn’t enjoy listening to and that didn’t perfectly fit the mood that Thomas 'MUDD' Monahan was going for. A new idea was presented that I’d never seen before: a clown in a war and possibly with PTSD, although I can’t say for sure that I was right on the last one. I also...

Chloe Ziner and Jessica Gabriel of Vancouver’s Mind of a Snail company have again constructed, composed, mimed, sang, and wiggled into our hearts with their unique version of how the unicorn lost its horn through a virus from a little critter whose environment has been destroyed by the unicorn’s corporate construction.  

Behind the white backdrop the magical unicorn shadow puppet appears at home in his or her high rise having coffee and ‘surreal’ before going off to bid on a contract. We won’t tell you all the fable’s treats, so go and experience the visual genius of...

NeOn (Ne.On) is about love and the way love has changed over the past seventy years. It follows the stories of a grandmother, two young women, and two young boys seeking the affection of the unattainable Miki. The stories are interwoven among time and space and the story goes through a series of fractured moments which the audience is left to piece together.

The production was touching: well conceived and executed. I really enjoyed the incredibly energetic role of Nathania Barnabe as Miki – the childlike goddess who refers to herself as “princess of the universe!” The slice of life feature also...

Joanna Gaskell plays a phenomenal role in this production. I cannot gush enough about how much intensity and passion she brings to her performance and how captivating her storytelling is. Iris O'Neill was the real star of the show however, all two feet of her!

The actual production is about Joanna, playing the role of a fighter pilot in the US military, telling the story of her journey from flying her F-15 “Tiger” in Iraq, to returning stateside as a new mother, to flying drones from Las Vegas. Sam (played by O’Neill) is her pre-school aged daughter and...

Pages