Tag Archives: Theatre

‘Soliciting Temptation’ Theatre Preview for Vue Weekly

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Here’s a preview I wrote for Vue Weekly about an exciting looking play called Soliciting Temptation opening at the Varscona Theatre tonight.

Soliciting Temptation tackles the social complexities of sex tourism from the inside of one nondescript hotel room set in an exotic country. And that hotel room shuttled from Calgary to Edmonton this week for a new crowd to see. Read more

The Jason Mehmel-directed play is coproduced by Calgary’s Sage Theatre and Edmonton’s Shadow Theatre, starring Patricia Cerra and Mattie Overall. The 90-minute, two-person performance opens at 7:30pm tonight and runs until Mar. 26.

‘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.

Wildfire Teen Improv Festival Preview for Vue Weekly

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I missed this preview going live on Vue Weekly earlier in the month, but the Wildfire Teen Improv is still ongoing. The junior high division finals of the competitive festival are on Saturday with additional performances tonight and tomorrow.

“Wildfire Teen Improv Festival is very strange,” says 17-year-old Darby Gynane.

She’s heading into her fourth run at the festival alongside her teammates from Louis St. Laurent. The improv competition, running from Feb. 7 to 25 at the Citadel’s Ziedler Hall, pits teams of junior and senior high students from across Edmonton and Alberta against each other to see who’s the most spontaneously entertaining.

“You see people who are creating art in front of your eyes that they’re never going to do again and you’re never going to see again,” Gynane says. “It’s very much an in the moment kind of thing.” Read more

Rapid Fire Theatre is an absolute force in Western Canada, and their festival that develops youth is no exception. You can get tickets for the last three shows of the festival through Eventbrite. Each performance starts at 7pm in the Citadel’s Ziedler Hall.

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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Henry V: Vue Weekly Theatre Review

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Here’s part of my review for Grindstone Theatre and The Malachites Henry V which appeared on Vue Weekly yesterday.

‘All things are ready, if our minds be so,’ but fighting the nature of our own ears isn’t always an achievable task.

The elegance of the space inside Holy Trinity Anglican Church certainly lends itself to champion the spirit of Shakespeare in a modern time, but the effects of that grand mission statement are lost when I can’t hear what the players are saying. Read more

The joint production between Edmonton’s Grindstone Theatre and London, England’s The Malachites is directed by Benjamin Blyth. Brynn Linsey’s performance and King Henry V marks a Canadian first, and you can try to listen to her great performance at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church. The play runs tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm.

Peter Fechter: 59 Minutes: Vue Weekly Theatre Review

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Here’s a part of my review for Cardiac Theatre’s Peter Fechter: 59 Minutes which appeared on Vue Weekly yesterday:

No one knows what it’s like to die, at least no one alive to recount the experience. Still, the seconds, minutes, and hours before death can be observed and communicated with as much precision as a dying person’s five senses and remaining faculties will allow. Peter Fechter: 59 Minutes is an incredibly lucid journey that leads us through the mind of a boy who suffered one of the most politically public deaths of the 20th century. Read more

Cardiac Theatre’s production of Peter Fechter: 59 Minutes is directed Harley Morison and written by Jordan Tannahill. You can catch Bradley Doré in the lead role while the play runs at the PCL Studio Theatre of ATB Financial Arts Barns. It plays tonight at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm.

Fringe 2013: Matthew Harvey is…Dangerman!

Matthew Harvey drops a truthbomb in his stand up poetry set, Matthew Harvey is…Dangerman!, “saying, ‘I don’t like poetry’ is like saying ‘I don’t like music,’” and he’s right.

Both mediums encompass a wide rage of styles and emotions. It would be unfair to denounce all of them in a blanket statement. And while Harvey put on a good show, the style of poetry that he was throwing down wasn’t something I was interested in picking up.

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Fringe 2013: Mexican Blindness review

In his first return to the Fringe in eight years, Paul Matwychuk presents an autobiographical monologue filled with absurd content that contrast with his average-everyday-guy persona in a riotous, but pensive way. Mexican Blindness is a great trip.

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Fringe 2013: Bad Guys Finish First review

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a show where the actor openly admits that they’re the most important person in the room. It’s a fun vibe to sit through, and the condescending-to-funny ratio sits pretty comfortably in Bad Guys Finish First.

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Fringe 2013: 2 Across review

The Leduc Drama Society’s production of 2 Across is a humble and believable romantic comedy that feels like an experience thousands of people have every day.

Two people that wouldn’t typically enter conversation with each other are on their way back from an airport in San Francisco riding in an empty train car, and the only thread tying them together is their New York Times crossword. It’s a simple scenario that feels grounded in reality, but strong writing and an admiral performance by actors Marlene Schoonmaker and Peter Dickhout breath life into a world that could easily have turned out mundane.

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