Soul-full performers Sometimes plays by Bertolt Brecht are described as preachy and overly-didactic, but neither word applies to DalTheatre’s spirited take on The Good Soul of Szechuan. It is a gorgeous and utterly engaging production, filled with both humour and pathos. Marina Gwynne shines as Shen Tei, the soft-hearted prostitute whose goodness is rewarded by […]
Kate Watson
Posted inArts + Music
Xara’s Constellations
Paige Marvel as Andromeda Constellations is Xara Choral Theatre’s most ambitious program to date. It uses dance, spoken word and music that ranges from the classical “Magnificat” to the catchy “Royals” to explore celestial-based myths. The show, staged in the round at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, delivered on both esthetic and emotional levels. […]
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How to Disappear Completely
Itai Erdal is not an actor, although he is the star of How to Disappear Completely. He is a well-known lighting designer and an engaging storyteller who marries these two talents in a mixed media theatre show about (among other things) the death of his beloved mother, Mery. Documentary footage of Mery, as well as […]
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30 Neo-Futurist Plays from “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” created by Greg Allen, Written by the Neo-Futurists
You’ll forgive me if I don’t try to summarize the plot of any of the plays that make up the hour-long 30 Neo-Futurist Plays from “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” created by Greg Allen, Written by the Neo-Futurists. There are, after all, 30 of them. And besides, part of the fun of […]
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Up the Hill Theatre’s power play
If you like your theatre loud, fast and risky, 30 Neo-Futurist Plays from “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” created by Greg Allen, Written by the Neo-Futurists is a show you won’t want miss (to January 19, The Living Room, 2353 Agricola Street, 8pm. $6 and “a roll of a die”, so, between […]
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Greatness awaits
Daniel MacIvor, king of the one-man show and the pared-down aesthetic, set out to explore a different theatrical vision when he conceived of His Greatness. “I wanted to have a play with a set. A door that opens and closes. A chandelier…I wanted to create a well-made play that was an homage to Tennessee Williams, […]
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Tell it on the Mountain
Spreading the news In a world that rushes headlong from Christmas to Boxing Day to New Years, there’s something lovely about being able to pause a moment to revisit the Christmas story. Onelight Theatre’s Tell it on the Mountain offers that opportunity with a blend of original narration by poet/playwright Clyde A. Wray, rousing gospel […]
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On stage in 2013
In the course of a year, there are well over 100 plays to be seen in and around Halifax. They run the gamut from works taking their first baby steps into the world to big-budget extravaganzas. What I find interesting when I compile this annual list of favourites is that the plays I remember are […]
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13
MJ Photographics The talented teens of 13 In 13, Lachlan Topshee plays Evan, a big-city boy trying to fit into a painfully-small small town after his parents divorce. Evan is drawn to the outcasts Patrice (Nika Gantar) and Archie (Evan Matthews), but realizes his popularity is dependent on winning over the junior high school alpha-male […]
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Finger on the Pulse of Xara Youth Ensemble
Soulful singing from Xara Youth Ensemble Since 2007, Xara Choral Theatre has been blazing a glorious trail. This ensemble of women ages 18 to 30, lead by conductor Christina Murray and theatre practitioner Claire Leger, creates performances that are truly original combinations of choral singing, theatre and movement. Last year, Murray and Leger founded another […]
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Puss in Boots
“Fun for the whole family” may sound like a boring cliché, but the beauty of TAG’s seasonal pantomime is that it genuinely entertains on a lot of levels. This year’s play Puss in Boots delivers broad comedy for the kids (and fun-loving adults) with some clever up-to-the-minute references (plus a touch of innuendo) woven in. […]
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A Christmas Carol
I revisited my “reviews of Christmas past” and was surprised to see that the 2009 Neptune production of A Christmas Carol left me so cold. Surprised because this year I left the theatre quite buoyed up by the Christmas spirit and tickled and touched by the show itself. Although the pace of the script still […]
