Salt-Water Moon January 30-February 18 Neptune Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street $29-$36 neptunetheatre.com Many would call Salt-Water Moon one of the best plays in the Canadian canon, and Martha Irving would agree. It was written in 1984 by Newfoundland ex-pat David French and has graced countless stages ever since. For Neptune’s production, previewing Tuesday and opening […]
Michael Lake
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Review: House Mix
For its fiftieth anniversary, Toronto Dance Theatre is touring eleven Canadian cities with House Mix, a selection of five short works from choreographer Christopher House, the company’s Artistic Director since 1994. It is an eclectic sampling of House’s work, spanning his decades-long career. The program begins with the frenetic Martingales, a piece in which a […]
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The year on stage
The Boat, Theatre New Brunswick Presented by TNB at Neptune’s Studio Theatre, Ryan Griffiths’ The Boat is an adaptation of Alistair MacLeod’s beloved short story of the same name. It is a deeply affecting memory play about the lives of Cape Breton fisherman, beautifully written and impeccably acted here. Bone Cage, Matchstick Theatre A great […]
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Review: Lullaby: Inside the Halifax Explosion
Eastern Front Theatre’s latest production is just one of many events commemorating the centenary of the Halifax Explosion. Unlike the usual stories of disaster and relief, Karen Bassett’s delicate play does something new with the familiar story. Lullaby begins with three characters in a room in the aftermath of the explosion: a black man from […]
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Review: It’s A Wonderful Life
Neptune Theatre’s It’s A Wonderful Life is a reimagining of the beloved 1946 Frank Capra film, adapted and directed by the theatre’s outgoing head honcho George Pothitos. The holiday staple tells the story of George Bailey (Chris Zonneville) a man generous to a fault until his trust in the world gets him into some hot […]
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Review: Backbone
Before Red Sky’s performance of Backbone, the company’s Artistic Director Sandra Laronde took to the stage to describe the vision of the show. She pointed out the difference between Western cartography and Indigenous mapping; where the Western approach is to segment and divide through borders, an Indigenous worldview promotes a more holistic and fluid approach. […]
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Princess Edward returns in Princess Rules
The Princess Rules To November 11, 8pm (plus 2pm Nov 11) The Waiting Room, 6040 Almon Street $15-$40 adv/$25 door tickethalifax.com “We’ve levelled up a bit,” says Aaron Collier, standing outside of The Waiting Room on Almon Street. “It’s like we went from Nintendo to Super Nintendo.” Collier and his husband Richie Wilcox are the […]
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Review: Kinetic’s Open Studio Series
Kinetic Studio has opened its doors to once again showcase works-in-progress of performers from Halifax, Toronto, and Montreal. Each of the artists is participating in the Kinetic Explorations program, which supports the creation of new choreography. Dustin Harvey of Halifax’s Secret Theatre opened the evening with an excerpt from Less + More, in which he […]
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Book review: The Case of the Missing Men
The Case of the Missing Men is an old-fashioned mystery in the vein of teen detective series like The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. The book is seeped in nostalgia for the campy teen thrillers, but its sophisticated story and illustrations belie the simple pleasure of its premise. The book was created by real-life pals […]
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Review: Snake in the Grass
The set of Snake in the Grass is an intricately designed backyard terrace with a dilapidated shed and overgrown tennis court. A woman enters from the brush looking rather like a goblin, and plucks a spooky tune at the piano. She scurries away when she hears someone coming to the house. We learn that this […]
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Review: Macbeth: The Shadow King
Macbeth is arguably the best play about ambition written in English. It’s been performed for centuries, and will hold relevance as long as humans behave the way they do—which is to say, as long as people seek power for power’s sake, audiences will see those people in these characters. It is a cathartic experience, to […]
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Review: Tyrant
Director and writer Dan Bray adapted Tyrant from the early-17th century Jacobean play by Thomas Middleton. It tells the story of Govianus (Sarah Deller), a deposed king seeking revenge on their usurper, the unnamed tyrant (Ira Henderson), and plans to do so by stealing the object of his love, the unnamed lady (Colleen MacIsaac). Scheming […]
