Category Archives: Reviews

‘Sister Sister’ Theatre Review For Vue Weekly in November

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This review is for one of my all-time favourite pieces of modern theatre. I critiqued Northern Light Theatre’s Sister Sister for Vue Weekly back in November.

When it comes to Northern Light Theatre’s mandate of dark and provocative productions that challenge audiences, Sister Sister delivers and satisfies.

Playwright Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich’s script about two sisters’ reconnection after 15 years sets a grim theme, as the women come together to celebrate their deranged mother’s death. Read more

The two-woman performance from Louise Claire Lambert and Arielle Rombough was intense, and I’m glad I got to share my opinion with the community.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Ep.8 Review: Anglerfish Elma Bento

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Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid (Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon) introduces a new dragon furthers the main couple’s relationship this week. It’s warm. It’s what we’ve come to expect, and it’s funny too.

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ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Department Ep.8 Review: Disappearance

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Like previous episode of ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Department (ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka), this one picks up right where the last left off, but it does so in much more depth than you might have expected.

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Demi-chan wa Kataritai Ep.8 Review: Mediocre and Rote Slice of Life Fare

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Demi-chan wa Kataritai (Interviews with Monster Girls) eschews the small amount of momentum it regained last week, and grinds almost entirely to an uninspired halt. 

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‘La Cenerentola’ Opera Review for Vue Weekly

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I reviewed Edmonton Opera’s production of La Cenerentola for Vue Weekly earlier this month. I’ve never heard so many laughs in an opera house.

Edmonton Opera’s rendition of Cinderella is a funny, modernized take on Gioachino Rossini’s 1817 masterpiece La Cenerentola that’s as much a display of great theatre as it is a demonstration of the beautiful limits of the human voice.

Every acting performance in Cinderella is superb. Don Magnifico (Peter McGillivray) is great as a bumbling idiot who respects food and wine more than he respects people, and Tisbe (Sylvia Szadovski) and Clorinda (Caitlyn Wood) play their obnoxious sister roles perfectly. But it’s Dandini (Michael Nyby) who really steals the show. Read more

The La Cenerentola production already finished it’s run, but Edmonton Opera already announced its 2017-2018 line up. You can check it out on their website, featuring Les Feluettes, HMS Pinafore, and Don Giovanni.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Ep.7 Review: Bikinis and The Meaning of Life

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In the self-proclaimed fan-service episode of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid (Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon), we get a helluva lot more than Lucoa and co. in skimpy swimsuits. Ideological considerations mesh with warm animation in another stellar step forward for the anime.
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ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Department Ep.7 Review: Royal Rumble

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The rising actions kicks off in ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Department (ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka) this week as plain as can be. Revelations abound, built up within the episode by stellar pacing and call backs that substantiate the vagueness of episodes past.

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Footloose Review: A Triumphant Farewell at The John L. Haar Theatre

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Wrapped in a charged presentation of a musical theatre classic, Footloose, is the history of decades of MacEwan University theatre arts.

And while each performer’s voice may not hold a weighty, well-produced presence, the energy of their performance culminates in another triumphant night for the final season at the John L. Haar Theatre.

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Demi-chan wa Kataritai Ep.7 Review: Haphazard Intros and A Hint at Conflict

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In an episode titled “Succubus-san Is Inquisitive,” you’d think Demi-chan wa Kataritai (Interviews with Monster Girls) would develop Sakie’s character in a meaningful way. Instead, we learn about the broader instabilities that afflicted demi-humans in the past while getting an abrupt introduction to a couple new cast members.

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Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Ep.6 Review: Young, Queer, and Honest

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In Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid (Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon), Tohru steps into a foreign bedchamber for a good old fashioned maid-off this week — except she’s not a real maid, so she loses horribly.

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