“I love living in Halifax. I’ve lived here since 1988. It’s my home. And I’m so happy to be able to say I did something nice for Halifax, for Nova Scotia” says Elizabeth Murphy, one of the three founders of Shakespeare By The Sea, speaking with The Coast by phone. Earlier today (Wednesday, April 6), […]
Shakespeare by the Sea
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Seeing Forest Town for the trees
Forest Town Feb 27-Feb 29, 7:30pm; Mar 1, 1:30pm; 7:30pm The Park Place Theatre, 5480 Point Pleasant Drive $15/$20 If every man had to hold a branch each time he mistreated a woman, would men change, or would the world look like a forest? This is the counter-factual reality explored in Forest Town, an anthology […]
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Park Wizards
The Wizard of Oz June 30-August 31 Cambridge Battery, Point Pleasant Park by donation ($25 sweet seat) shakespearebythesea.ca We’ve had a lot of conversations about, ‘What is iconic? What are people going to be expecting?’” muses Jesse MacLean, director of Shakespeare By The Sea’s season opener, an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. “We don’t […]
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Fall Arts: Chasing Champions by Ship’s Company Theatre
Chasing Champions October 25-27, 8pm (Oct 27 2pm mat) Alderney Landing, 2 Ochterloney Street $30 ($10 students) ticketpro.ca The bar at the Lord Nelson is abuzz on a Friday afternoon caught between summer’s fading grasp and the Atlantic International Film Festival’s opening weekend frenzy. Jacob Sampson sits in a booth up top, away from the […]
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Twelfth Night moves
Twelfth Night To August 31 Cambridge Battery, Point Pleasant Park $20 suggested donation tickethalifax.com Twenty-five years ago, nearly on a whim, Shakespeare By The Sea put up Twelfth NIght for a week in Point Pleasant Park. Last weekend the company opened the production for its fourth time, in honour of that anniversary. But there are […]
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The Waiting Room is over
Places Please! Monday, July 30, 7:30pm The Waiting Room, 6040 Almon Street $40 tickethalifax.com A different kind of Waiting Room is facing closure this autumn: The four-year-old north-end performance space, rehearsal hall and home of KAZAN CO-OP will fall to the condo wrecking ball in the coming months. “We rented to 18 independent theatre companies […]
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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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Coast 25: EST. 1993
SHAKESPEARE BY THE SEA “My first visit to Point Pleasant Park, I saw the Cambridge Battery and then the Fort Ogilvie and thought, ‘Wow, these are great places. I wonder if anything is going on here.’ And nothing was. But then I found out that it was more difficult than I thought. In fact, prior […]
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Shakespeare By The Sea announces 25th season lineup
It was much ado about everything for Halifax theatre company Shakespeare By The Sea, whose season launch last night also marked its 25th anniversary. The event was one steeped in celebration and fond reminiscing from alumni who shared their favourite memories of the theatre company. Emceed by co-artistic directors Jesse MacLean and Elizabeth Murphy, the […]
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“Should we go on? Yeah, let’s go on”: Shakespeare By The Sea and Zuppa Theatre in conversation
Zuppa Theatre’s 20th anniversary bash featuring Pop-Up Love Party Friday, April 20, 7pm Murphy’s Restaurant, 1751 Lower Water Street $25-$40 25 Years by The Sea Wednesday, April 25, 6:30pm Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road $25 This week, two Halifax theatre companies are celebrating milestones: Shakespeare By The Sea—founded in 1994 by Elizabeth Murphy […]
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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 […]