Note: This review is based on a preview performance. Some Blow Flutes is the latest creation of HomeFirst Theatre’s artistic director, Mary Vingoe. It follows the struggle of teenage Leah Frangoulis (Ailsa Galbreath) caring for Elena (Mary-Colin Chisholm), her elderly grandmother whose dementia is progressing to an unmanageable state. Meanwhile, her denial-ridden grandfather Costas (Hugh […]
Lara Lewis
Posted inArts + Music
Theatre review: The Little Years at the Bus Stop
The newest production from CanCon devotee Matchstick Theatre is John Mighton’s The Little Years, directed by Matchstick’s artistic director Jake Planinc and starring Colleen MacIsaac and Christine Daniels. It follows the family of Kate (Kayla Gunn and MacIsaac), a girl who dreams of a career in theoretical mathematics, from 1957 to 2002, mainly through her […]
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Theatre review:Othello at SBTS
For the uninitiated, Othello is the story of an entitled white boy who thinks he deserves a promotion and decides to frame his boss’ wife as having an affair with the man that he did promote, only to have him fly into a homicidal rage and kill her. The individual performances are outstanding: Kathryn McCormack […]
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Review: Alice in Wonderland at The Cambridge Battery
Shakespeare By The Sea opens its first show of the season with Alice in Wonderland. A remount of a previous production, the family show will run in repertoire this summer with Othello and Twelfth Night. This barbershop musical has Alice (Melissa McGoogan) fall through the rabbit hole to learn an important lesson about self-confidence. The show […]
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Summer on stage: a Nova Scotia theatre round-up
To June 23 Dartmouth Players: 9-5 There’s still a chance to catch Dartmouth Players’ production of 9-5, the comedic ’70s jukebox musical following three women revolting against their abusive male co-workers. It is the last show in Dartmouth Player’s 2017/18 season. 9-5 is directed by Laura Thornton with musical direction by Sarah Richardson and choreography […]
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Theatre review: Mamma Mia! at Neptune
Mamma Mia is a 1999 ABBA jukebox musical. The plot follows Sophie (Cynthia Smithers), on the eve of her wedding to Sky (Jahlen Barnes), as she brings together the three men who could be her biological father, unbeknownst to her mother, Donna (Julie Martell). Smithers brings a beautiful voice to her portrayal of Sophie, although […]
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Review: Half-Cracked: The Legend of Sugar Mary at Neptune
Half-Cracked: The Legend of Sugar Mary is the story of Sugar Mary (Geneviève Steele) a “half-cracked” woman living in rural Nova Scotia with her sister, Yewina (Sharleen Kalayil). Sugar Mary’s sexual awakening coincides with the arrival of Scott (Christian Murray), an American grad student looking for local folklore for his thesis. Steele and Kalayil command […]
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Welcome to Mi’kma’ki
The Indigenous people of this land call ourselves Mi’kmaq (from ni’kmaq, “my kin;” originally L’nu, “the people”). While some celebrate Canada 150, the Algonquian-speaking Mi’kmaq people have been on this land for over 13,000 years. Although pre-colonial Mi’kmaq had no written language, evidence of their history is found in petroglyphs. These petroglyphs, called Komqwejwi’kasikl (“sucker-fish […]
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Slut provides a jumping off point for larger discussions
Slut August 24-26 Sir James Dunn Theatre, 6101 University Ave free What is a “slut?” That’s a question that’s been on the minds of over a dozen Halifax women who are bringing Katie Capiello’s play, Slut to the stage, presented by LunaSea Theatre Company. It follows 16-year-old Joey del Marco’s deposition in her sexual assault […]
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We’ve got spirit, yes we do; we’ve got spirit, up to two!
Queer Perspectives: Redefining Two-Spirit Identity Thursday, July 27, 12-1pm Halifax City Hall 1841 Argyle Street Free This year’s Halifax Pride Festival is looking to centre Indigenous experiences with its panel lecture, Redefining Two-Spirit Identity. The lecture will be led by Margaret Robinson, an assistant professor at Dalhousie University’s department of sociology and social anthropology. Beyond […]
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Happy ours: A history of local gay bars
Halifax is a city with a vibrant history, and that extends into its queer culture. Since the first gay bar opened in 1971, Halifax’s queer community has found a home in nightlife. The first “officially gay” gay bar in Halifax was Thee Klub. It opened in 1971 in the Green Lantern Building on Barrington Street. […]
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Common Roots’ Market Stand sells good shit
If you walk past Common Roots Urban Farm, your eyes might catch colourful stakes popping from the earth. The mosaic of green, orange and purple are essential in organizing the community growing space, located on the corner of Robie Street and Bell Road. The orange stakes that take up about half the farm indicate plots […]