If Martin Scorsese, Kafka and The Brothers Grimm were to collaborate, the result would be something along the lines of Martin McDonagh’s macabre and funny The Pillowman. “This isn’t the kind of play you see often in Halifax,” says Theo Pitsiavas, who stars with Jackie Torrens, Mary-Colin Chisholm and Matthew Lumley. “It’s filled with gritty, […]
Kate Watson
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Write For Your Life, that’s an order
There will be blood. Well, maybe not blood, but as far as fundraisers go, Write For Your Life! offers some pretty heated competition. The event raises money for The Doppler Effect Production Society, a not-for-profit theatre company that has produced nine original works—including the Coast readers’ favourite play of 2014, Tribe of One—since it was […]
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Chillin with Villain’s Theatre
If “Vile Passéist Theatre” never rolled easily off your tongue, you’ll be happy to hear that Halifax’s Renaissance-loving theatre company has changed its name to the infinitely more pronounceable The Villain’s Theatre. “After five years as a company, we’re experiencing a kind of rebirth,” explains artistic director Dan Bray “We decided that a new name […]
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Ballet BC’s rising star
Zoe Michalik is coming full circle. The 19-year-old began her dance career at Dartmouth’s Coastal Dance at the age of four, was accepted into the National Ballet School at age 11, graduated and became an apprentice with Emily Molnar’s Ballet BC last year and is returning to dance in Halifax with the BC company, this […]
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The more you Know
Love. Marriage. Baby carriage. Until the advent of the birth control movement, both practical considerations and societal expectations placed women firmly on the path of this schoolyard rhyme. In What a Young Wife Ought to Know, playwright Hannah Moscovitch explores the emotional and physical costs of living in a time where fertility could only be […]
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39 problems but a play ain’t one
The 39 Steps To February 15 Neptune Theatre, 1592 Argyle Street neptunetheatre.com “Kinetic” and “joy” are words Rhys Bevan-John uses a lot when he talks about the Neptune Theatre production of The 39 Steps, and that makes sense: the long-limbed, rubber-faced actor is known for his exuberant physicality on stage, and this play makes the most […]
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Death becomes her
A Good Death To January 18 at 7:30pm (Thu-Sat), 2pm (Sat-Sun) Neptune Studio Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street $25/$20 Kim Parkhill isn’t sleeping so well lately. As both playwright and producer for A Good Death, currently playing at the Neptune Studio Theatre, she’s got a lot on her mind. “I’ve discovered sleeplessness accompanies most of my […]
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TOP PLAYS OF 2014
Chess and the Doomsday Machine (Onelight) This play about a young soldier in Abadan during the Iraq-Iran war is told in a manner that engages on many levels. Music, projections and three “languages” (English, Farsi and unverbalized communication) are all integral to telling the story. The result is startlingly unique and emotionally captivating. Gallathea (Vile […]
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Shakespeare by the Sea’s Jerks reaction
STUPID CHRISTMAS (For Jerks) Saturday, December 6 to Sunday, December 14 The Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street Tickets at shakespearebythesea.ca Just in case you can’t tell by its name, the folks at Shakespeare by the Sea want you to know that Tom Smith’s STUPID CHRISTMAS (For Jerks) is not meant as all-ages entertainment. “The […]
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Billy Bishop Goes to War
Before seeing Billy Bishop Goes to War, I knew very little about either Billy Bishop himself or the 1978 iconic Canadian musical. On the history front, I learned that Bishop was a Canadian hero, a World War I flying ace from Owen Sound who’s credited with destroying 72 German planes. I also discovered that the […]
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Mass appeal
Tanya Davis is an inquisitive soul. In her work as poet, playwright, filmmaker and musician, she’s constantly delving into life’s big questions around loving, belonging and believing. Now Davis is reimagining the Catholic mass in a way that will bring the audience into an exploration of faith and doubt, exclusion and community. The piece is […]
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Heaven can’t wait
Vision and elbow grease. It’s taken a lot of both to transform the former Acadian Lines bus terminal on Almon Street into The Waiting Room, Halifax’s newest black box theatre. The vision belongs to Kazan Co-op, a theatre company founded in 2011 with a mission to produce compelling contemporary Canadian works. “We started thinking about […]
