A Mid-Life Marriage
In 1962, the celebrated American playwright Edward Albee unleashed on Broadway, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, his now classic excoriating dissection of a dysfunctional marriage. At first glance, playwright and director Charles Crosby’s Fringe play, A Mid-Life Marriage, seems to have taken the Albee play as a template for his go at examining a marriage…
The Slasher Play
Produced by Right Pro Productions, creators of the well-received 2005 Fringe fave The Play of the Living Dead, The Slasher Play may not be the best executed play at this year’s festival, but it’s one of the most fun, especially for fans of the horror and teen genre. Written by Isaac Thompson and Terry Drisdelle,…
Deranged Love: The David Hasselhoff Story
It seems at every festival at least one play serves as notice of what not to do when staging a production. For whatever reason, Deranged Love took the unwanted prize on this day. The idea looked great on paper: David Hasselhoff – a caricature of cheese actors born to be skewered – goes to hell…
The Consumer Experiment
Sometimes a choreographer has the savvy to bring into existence dramas through informative movement. Skills that are unique to one theatrical form, under the tag team direction of imagination and wit, can effortlessly transfer to another. In The Consumer Experiment, you can see this at work and it working well. Jennifer Spicer, who choreographed this…
3 Dogs Barking
This charged drama is set in a dingy Newfoundland cop shop interview room undergoing renovations and thereby missing an evidence recording video camera. The issue at hand is the true nature of a murder confession offered up by a minor league repeat offender of public mischief capers. The twist? The arresting police officer and an…
Lear’s Daughters
One of several fine productions to recommend at this year’s Fringe Festival is the exciting drama, Lear’s Daughters. In this entertainingly clever play, Brit playwright Elaine Feinstein imagines just what in the heck transformed three plucky little sisters, so full of personal promise and joir de vivre, into a trio of scorned and sour women…
Living Shadows: A Story Of Mary Pickford
Toronto’s own little Gladys Smith grew up to become arguably, between 1914-19, one of screendom’s (of any era) most beloved film stars – Mary Pickford. This petite dynamo made scores of movies, effortlessly switching from whimsy and comedy to high drama essentially as a tomboy who resolutely maintains her femininity. In Living Shadows, a wonderful…
Caged
A short piece to sink your teeth into, Caged succeeds in using metaphors, music and dance to portray a tale of life, nature, and non-conformity. Based on a screenplay from her original short story, kudos goes to writer/co-director Caitlin Pilsworth for sharp dialogue that does just enough to pull the crowd in. A similarly sparse…
The Friend and The Jerk
The opening show of any play presents the possibility of problems and unfortunately for The Friend and the Jerk, sketch comedy became improv as technical mishaps threatened to overshadow two strong acting performances. Sean Jordan (also known in hip-hop circles as the Wordburglar) and Mike Holmes kicked things off with a hilarious opening dialogue mixed…
Best job ever
Earlier this year, Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo held a training exercise to practice capturing animals that might try to escape. One lucky zoo worker dressed up as a gorilla and attacked his coworkers. Who hasn’t had that fantasy? (no offense, Coasters).
Poor Dinosaur….
Quick, <a href="http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2006/08/dinosaur_jrs_ge.html" target="_blank" somebody get Dinosaur Jr. some instruments before they play The Marquee!
Healthy you?
“Healthy You”, the health and wellness show is on next weekend at Exhibition Park. Now have you ever tried to get there without a car? (I tried calling there for another event, and they laughed.) You can’t and the show marketers know you can’t too: In their ad, it says, “Drive, run, walk, bike, skate…
From the Fringes
The Atlantic Fringe Festival unleashes its particular, delicious brand of insanity on downtown Halifax this week. So many days (10), so many venues (seven), so many shows (46)—how are you supposed to navigate this craziness? We decided to let some of the participants sell themselves to you, in one sentence or less. Charles Crosby, writer-director…
Sharp like knife
Between KC Spidle (Dog Day, The Hold, Attack Mode) and Crystal Thili (Dog Day, The Hold), Halifax indie rock’s only husband-and-wife team constitutes a large chunk of the vision for our city’s progressive underground. For his solo CD release on September 3 at the One World Cafe, Spidle goes it alone as Husband and Knife.…
Bites around the globe
Mosaic, a modern tapas-style restaurant, will open in late October at 1584 Argyle. The new restaurant “is going to be based strictly on small plates,” featuring dishes from all over the world, with no entree-sized items. “The entire menu’s going to be based on people coming in and ordering three or four dishes each and…
Tarred with the same brush
Last weekend, residents in the north end were treated to a fresh wave of unfriendly graffiti, all following an anti-gentrification theme. “You can visit anytime but you’re not invited to live here,” read one message, spray-painted on the side of a house on Bauer Street. “Can’t afford this,” read another, left on the side of…
Percentage point
To the editor, Isn’t it interesting that some columnists lie to the people like politicians do? Recently, Chronicle-Herald columnist Peter Duffy admitted in his column (August 22) that while on holidays, he was at a store and a clerk asked him if he was a senior citizen. When Mr. Duffy heard he could get a…
Hot crossed buns
I would like to respond to the hurtful review done by your food critic Liz Feltham. I really enjoyed reading her column and always thought the reviews were truthful and sometimes insightful about the people who run the establishments. When the staff and I read our review our jaws dropped. That was not a food…
Hot crossed buns
It is good to see Dartmouth establishments reviewed in The Coast. I would like to add to the mildly positive review that was published about Starr’s Bakery & Cafe: since the demise of The Donut Machine, Starr’s is the only decent coffee and baked goods outlet in Dartmouth. They really know how to make their…
Hot crossed buns
Dear Liz Feltham, I am writing in response to your review of Starr’s Bakery & Cafe (August 24). I enjoy Starr’s on a daily basis and take offense to your comments about their lovely staff. I believe your job is to review the fine fares of a restaurant, not to insult wonderful girls who I…
Rock envy
Having just returned from an amazing trip to St. John’s, I feel compelled to give this cool Newfoundland city props for being everything that Halifax isn’t (but could be) and here’s why:1.No city-sanctioned bagpipers or tartan hanging on downtown street corners. Sure you can hear “Brown Eyed Girl” oozing out of George Street pubs, but…
The end is nigh
I’m no vegetarian, but this is just gross. Martha, what happened to you in jail anyway? What did they feed you?
Life aid
Not everyone is good at holding sick hands or running a charity marathon, no matter how worthy the cause may be. Still, there’s no denying that volunteering experience helps pad a weak resume and is helpful for networking (a terrible but important word in the working world), making friends and getting acquainted with new city,…
Lethal injections
The International AIDS Conference is done. Now the majority of the world can feel OK about ignoring an epidemic for another two years. Sounds pessimistic, I know. But I feel pessimistic. And not only because prime minister Stephen Harper didn’t bother to show up at the conference, held this year in Toronto, but because it…
Rather ripped
Student life: Two words seemingly con-tradictory, but every student must try to strike a balance between the two. It’s a vital skill to manage, if you are to, as Van Wilder put it, “get out alive.” Fact is, when you’re subject to the mental strain of absorbing five classes worth of material—often in fewer than…
Majestic mystery tour
Brian O’Reilly is showing off what he calls his “apartment.” Standing in the kitchen of Just Friends collective co-founders Dave Ewenson and Brent Randall, Their Majesties’ frontman points out a sleeping bag rolled up at one end of the kitchen pantry. “That’s my bedroom,” he says. “That’s the computer room, that’s the living room”—an unplugged…
Faking it
It’s a busy Saturday night at a downtown club. The evening is cool and there’s a whiff of fall in the air. A gaggle of young women in night-club-requisite tight jeans and high heels approaches the club. One of the women is decked out in a tiara and veil. Working the door, Geoff Thompson is…
Sticky tack
Sticks Eatery opened in the Hydrostone a few months ago based on a simple concept. That is, as the menu says, “an effort to marry quick and convenient service with great tasting healthy food.” It’s been my experience that frequently the union of “quick” and “healthy” results in bland and boring. Here’s hoping Sticks can…
Good night and good luck
Ah, fall. The beginning of another year at university in Halifax. Freshly sharpened pencils and lofty goals of daily study sessions abound. If you can get down to business during the day or early evening, you have your pick of campus buildings, libraries and local coffee shops. But with part-time jobs, busy class schedules and…
Idlewild
It should have been great. OutKast’s library lends itself to the upbeat rhythm of movie musicals, with the film’s Prohibition-era setting taking the stylization of contemporary music videos and director Bryan Barber’s deep shade photography. “MTV style” has become a favourite putdown among conservative movie critics, but I would love to be able to watch…
Calls waiting
Acadian bus Lines: 454-9321Alcohol and Gaming Authority: 424-6160Atlantic lottery winning numbers: 468-1072Animal control: 468-9219bicycle nova scotia: 425-5450 ext. 316Canadian Security Intelligence Service: 420-5900The Coast: 422-6278Copyrights/patents: 1-800-668-1010Crime Stoppers: 422-8477Dial-a-Law: 420-1888Dial-a-Message: 425-8787Dial-a-Tire: 456-7098Environment Canada Weather: 426-9090Equifax credit checks: 1-800-465-7166Food Bank Metro: 457-1900Halifax Regional Library reference desk at Spring Garden: 490-5710Halifax Regional Water Commission’s emergency number: 490-4810HRM Emergency…
Rose is Rose
Rose Cousins feels like throwing up. Although she has years of experience under her belt, she’s feeling a bit queasy with all that’s going on in her life surrounding the upcoming release of her first full-length album, If You Were for Me. “It’s exciting but it’s also overwhelming,” the 29-year-old singer-songwriter says. “One, with the…
Cooking with fire
Moving out on your own sounds great…usually right up until it’s time for your first supper in your new home. Turns out that living on your own means cooking for yourself too, and it doesn’t take long for a grumbly tummy or a hungry housemate to pose that immortal question: “Hey good lookin’, what’cha got…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Keep a close eye on your toast, Scorpio, says Rob Brezsny.
Thrift score
The ability to have your own style and create a look that turns heads is often costly and unattainable for students on a tight budget. Fortunately for the cash-strapped clothes horse, fashion is on your side. Because fashion history usually repeats itself, there is little need to buy a brand-new closet every season. Flipping through…
SAVAGE LOVE
Dan Savage takes on mind- and gender-bending marriage laws.
Hot for teacher
Here’s your first quiz for the new school year: It’s going to be cold this winter, and the price of home heating oil has doubled over the past five years . You can either: A) Get an apartment in which heat is provided by the landlord (AHP) and the price of oil is included in…
Meal ticket
MONDAY Ko-doraku (Spring Garden Place, 423-8787, no delivery) Inexpensive, well-prepared take-out sushi pushes the expected quality of standard food court fare. The baby sister to Doraku (1579 Dresden Row), Ko-Doraku is open for lunch and serves a wide variety of daily specials that should also please veg-heads and non-fish eaters. Plus, the Omega-3s found in…
Memory of the flood
Katrina’s winds shredded through the Gulf South like a giant scythe, but it was the flood in New Orleans that jolted the American psyche, leaving the deepest memory. The flood turned the Big Easy into a disaster zone, planting the image of a Third World backwater. When has the persona of a city been so…
Big picture
You’re into movies. You’re a student, just arrived in Halifax, a city known nationally for its wealth of post-secondary institutions. If you come from Ottawa, Montreal, Charlottetown, St. John’s, even Wolfville, you’ve enjoyed having a repertory cinema nearby, a place that screens independent, foreign or even the odd Canadian film as a respite from the…
World class
Smriti MehraPassport: India Smriti Mehra says her films are not hers. Not because they’re Dogme films, that cinematic genre where the director must not be credited. Is it humility then? “Not really,” says the petite Indian of her creative role in making Neerinakallu (Water Stone), a beautiful “non-fiction film” which traces the movement of clothes…
Festival express
Out of a record 1,778 submissions, the Atlantic Film Festival has put together an almost-record (tied with 2004) program of 223 films for its 26th edition, which opens September 14 and runs for 10 days. With shows on sale but no programs yet on the streets, here’s your inside look at 10 can’t-miss movies you…
Planting ideas
Universities are society’s bastions of good sense, chock full of learned (and learning) minds, busying themselves thinking up the best and brightest of ideas to make the world a better place. It only seems natural, then, that some of those ideas would find their way out of the lecture halls and into the daily life…
TIFF reports
Tara Thorne has stars in her eyes, reporting daily from the Toronto International Film Festival
Rule the school
Kathryn LaurinMount Saint Vincent University Leading a university draws on the same skills as conducting a classical orchestra, according to the recently installed president of Mount Saint Vincent University. “Conductors are great communicators, verbally and non-verbally,” explains Kathryn Laurin, when asked to identify the top quality a conductor at the podium and a president in…
Writing off the map
Godspeed, sojourning storytellers. Some learners go it alone and against the current of students coming back to Halifax for school. These eager young minds seek out new surroundings and challenges in all manners of study. They’re to be commended for hitting the books in cities where they often don’t know a soul. The aspiring young…
The Math Building
Without any graduate creative writing programs in town, aspiring young writers must She wears glasses that are not too small. I wish I was a girl like that. I’m a different kind of girl. I wear contact lenses because glasses make me look like I am wearing glasses. I am not saying this properly. When…
Head of stats
Rank of “mittens” on Google’s list of the most popular searches done from Halifax: 1 Number of adoptable kittens’ photos posted online by the NS SPCA Metro Shelter in Dartmouth: 36 Number of raised bathtubs at Metro Dog Wash on Cunard: 5 Approximate number of catalogued entries in the Natural History Museum’s zoology collection: 300,000…
Private policy
As you thumb through our “Back to School” guide, here’s food for thought from Marshall McLuhan: “School is the advertising agency,” McLuhan wrote, “which makes you believe you need the society as it is.” Yes, prison-like high schools equipped with surveillance cams and ruled by fascist vice-principals make perfect sense as ad agencies for our…
Where art thou?
For a city unsupported by a provincial or municipal arts council, Halifax boasts an astounding number of art galleries. Hey, we have a world-recognized art school smack in the middle of the downtown, a network of reputable university galleries and a dedicated arts community with an Energizer-rabbit attachment to hard work, all working hard to…
Ghouls out
The groans and wails started echoing through the Camp Hill cemetery trees at around 2pm on August 26. Innocent pedestrians dismissed the sounds as an auditory illusion—a combined effort of tall maples and crisp August wind—but the air was deadly still, and the majestic trees stood silent guard over the aged gravestones. Compared to the…
