Spring Awakening is an exciting piece of contemporary theatre. Adapted into a musical from a controversial, often-censored 19th-century German play of the same name, it is arguably one of the great new musicals of the 21st century. Becca Guilderson is excellent as Wendla, a young girl learning about sex in all the wrong ways. As […]
theatre review
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Constellations feels fresh
Marianne and Roland meet cute at a party. She is a physicist, he is a beekeeper. They talk about love, death, string theory, and bees, almost exclusively. The romantic story is a simple one, often told, but the structure of Constellations feels fresh. Scenes are repeated to hilarious or heartbreaking effect as different choices are […]
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Theatre review: As You Like It
Romance is in the air in Point Pleasant Park, as Shakespeare by the Sea brings to life the Bard’s playful, pastoral comedy As You Like It. It’s a story of love of many kinds, from “unrequited” to “at first sight.” Rosalind (Catherine Rainville) is deprived of her father’s love when the cruel Duke Frederick (Henri […]
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The Weekend Healer is diagnosed as excellent theatre
Lindalou (Stephanie MacDonald) is a loving but unconventional mother. Her sensitive, 16-year-old son Curtis (Allie MacDonald) is more like a brother to her since they’re only 15 years a part in age. Lindalou’s estranged mother Betina (Kathryn MacLellan) is focused only on appearances and is willfully blind to the suffering of those around her. When […]
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Mending Fences down to earth
Mending Fences is the story of 28-year-old Drew (Iain Stewart) who returns to a farmhouse in rural Saskatchewan to re-connect with his emotionally-distant and difficult father after 13 years apart. While this set-up may not sound laugh-out-loud funny, in the hands of playwright Norm Foster, there are plenty of comic moments and zingy one-liners to […]
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Review: Heart to Heart
Not surprisingly, love is the subject of Chester Playhouse’s summer theatre confection Heart to Heart. The hook is that it’s not one story, but five short vignettes exploring various permutations of “mature” love. It stars Canadian theatre greats Lally Cadeau and Nigel Bennett, who are clearly enjoying both the play and each other as they […]
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Review: Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria
The adjectives that jump to mind when describing Cirque du Soeil’s Alegría (words like magical, breathtaking, spectacular) really don’t capture the essence of what makes this show so spell-binding. It has all the expected hallmarks —dazzling costumes, an innovative set and acrobatics that will make your heart race. But it says something about a show […]