Tag: Theatre

“Never Tell Maritimers The Odds”: Fire Exit Theatre’s Halo Sparks Discussion About Faith and Family

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Fire Exit Theatre opens its 2014-15 season with Halo, a comedy by Josh MacDonald. Directed by Mark Lewandowski, Halo asks questions about faith, family, and miracles. While the script is weak in some areas, Fire Exit Theatre’s production of Halo proves to be an emotional piece that just misses the mark slightly.

Set in the fictional small town of Nately, Nova Scotia, Halo tells the story of Casey (Jamie Matchullis), a sarcastic, newcomer from the “big city” of Halifax. Casey works at the local Tim Hortons where she is visited regularly by her boyfriend Jansen (Jacob Lesiuk) who helps ease the pains of dealing with the town’s interesting residents. One day, the image of Jesus appears on the side of the building. The town comes to see the divine picture as a miracle. Meanwhile, Donald (Randall Wiebe) prays for his own miracle at the bedside of his youngest daughter who has been in a coma for the past three years. When his eldest daughter Lizzy (Kendra Hitchinson) comes to visit from Toronto, Donald’s faith and hope for his daughter’s recovery are put to the test. Continue reading →

“It’s A Scary Old World”: Lunchbox Theatre’s The Life History of The African Elephant Delights

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First performed in 1989, then again in 2001, Clem Martini’s The Life History of The African Elephant returns to Lunchbox Theatre to open the company’s 2014-15 season. Directed by Bartley Bard, the production sees the original cast returning for this third outing of Martini’s comedy.

The Life History of The African Elephant stages the unlikely friendship that develops between accident-prone, ceramic artist Florence Bond (Barbara Gates-Wilson) and Glen Beddoes (David LeReaney), a reserved elephant trainer. After crashing her car through Glen’s backyard and into his shed, Florence goes to the zoo enclosure where he works to apologize. Inside the enclosure, Florence discovers that Glen is trying to help an elephant overcome its depression. Florence tells Glen that she will return again, but next time with her older brother Phillip (Brian Jensen) who will be visiting on his day pass from prison. Over a late-night picnic at the zoo, Florence, Glen, and Philip try and sort out their childhoods and anxieties about the future.

Martini’s play has a great deal of heart. Continue reading →

“It’s basically S&M, right?”: Alberta Theatre Projects Takes the Stage with Venus In Fur

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Directed by Tracey Flye, Alberta Theatre Projects’ production of David Ives’ Venus in Fur at the Martha Cohen Theatre is a vulgar, oddly compelling experience.

The play opens with playwright/director Thomas Novachek (Tim Campbell) in a worn-down studio after a round of failed auditions for his latest project, an adaptation of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s Venus in Fur. Frustrated at the lack of female talent in the city, Thomas sets out to go home to his fiancee. Abruptly, actress Vanda Jordan (Amanda Lisman) bursts into the room and pleads for an audition. At first, the very crude and immature Vanda turns Thomas off. It is when the actress delivers an impressive cold read for the role of Wanda von Dunayev that the director takes great interest in her. Continue reading →

“There are no black cowboys”: Ellipsis Tree Collective Impresses With World Premiere of John Ware Reimagined

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For playwright Cheryl Foggo, history is not just about dates and facts. Presented at Lunchbox Theatre, Ellipsis Tree Collective’s John Ware Reimagined is an intelligent drama that offers audiences more than a lesson in Canadian history.

Written by Foggo and directed by Kevin McKendrick, John Ware Reimagined tells the story of Joni (Kirsten Alter), a young African-Canadian girl growing up in 1960s Calgary. Continue reading →

Scared Stiff: Bare Bones Production’s Wilma-May and Her Tight White Socks Fails to Impress

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Presented at the Alexandra Centre Society as part of Calgary’s Fringe Festival, Bare Bones Production’s Wilma-May and Her Tight White Socks suffers from an uninspired script that lacks direction, resulting in an exhausting, disjointed performance.

Written and performed by Jennifer Roberts, Wilma-May and Her Tight White Socks is a one-woman show that tells the story of Wilma-May, a woman who is afraid of everything. At the request of her therapist, Wilma-May joins an online support group to help overcome her recent emotional trauma which has made her a shut-in. The situation is dire, however, for Wilma-May as her supply of light bulbs has run out (and as you guessed it, she is terrified of the dark). In the next 12 weeks, Wilma-May must either overcome her fears or live the rest of her life in total darkness. Continue reading →

Moon Dinosaur Theatre’s Paleoncology Delivers At Calgary Fringe Festival

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How do you cope losing what was never really there to begin with? This is one of the questions Kira Hall explores in her poignant one-woman show, Paleoncology. Presented by Moon Dinosaur Theatre at Artpoint Gallery, Paleoncology, directed by Andrew Young, is a play that, at first, draws audiences in with its humour and charismatic lead, but then proves to be something more earnest under the surface.
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All The World’s A Stage: Eavesdropping on Swallow-A-Bicycle Theatre at the Calgary Fringe Festival

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Three friends reconnecting over coffee, a struggling writer, and a man searching for himself in an unsuspecting coffee patron: it’s just another day at the coffee shop. Or is it? Performed inside Gravity Espresso & Wine Bar, Swallow-A-Bicycle Theatre’s site-specific Eavesdrop: The Coffee Shop Show invites audiences to listen into the private conversations and innermost thoughts and desires of six characters trying to navigate through life, one sip of coffee at a time.
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The Calgary Fringe Festival!

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Today is the first day of the Calgary Fringe Festival (Aug 1-9)! Artists and crews from across Canada are in Calgary to deliver phenomenal theatre, the likes of which the public has never seen before. With over 25+ festival entries that range from musicals to solo acts, there is sure to be something for everyone! Be sure to watch here for my reviews and commentary on what the Calgary Fringe Festival has to offer this year.

For more information about the Calgary Fringe Festival, visit: http://www.calgaryfringe.ca/

Shakespeare by The Bow Gets Silly with The Comedy of Errors

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comedyoferrors

Adriana mistakes Antipholus of Syracuse for his twin brother, her husband, Antipholus of Ephesus. Pictured from left to right: Andrea Rankin (Luciana), Joel Taylor (Antipholus of Syracuse), Merran Carr-Wiggin (Adriana), and Jacob Lesiuk (Dromio of Syracuse)

In partnership with Mount Royal University, Theatre Calgary’s Shakespeare by the Bow (formerly known as Shakespeare in the Park) returns this summer with William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. Calgary’s scenic Prince’s Island Park hosts the production’s comical hijinks which are presented in the play’s original text, with the addition of several contemporary elements. Creativity is abound in Shakespeare by the Bow’s energetic production of The Comedy of Errors. Continue reading →