Theatre in Nova Scotia has a serious problem and if something isn’t done about it, it will go the way of the cod fisheries. Theatre, like many arts disciplines in Nova Scotia, is dominated by white, straight, cis men. Desperate to attract audiences, theatre companies will go to any lengths except for honestly representing the […]
Theatre
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Top 5 local theatre productions
The Weekend Healer By Bryden MacDonald KAZAN CO-OP A devastating family drama from Nova Scotian playwright Bryden MacDonald boasted potent performances from Stephanie MacDonald and Kathryn MacLellan as mother and daughter with a dark past, and even darker future. Let’s Try This Standing By Gillian Clark Keep Good Theatre Company Personal, funny solo show chronicling […]
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Kick at the Dark Theatre’s dark Christmas
David Sedaris’ Uncomfortable Christmas Holiday Fun Time Hour! The Waiting Room, 6040 Almon Street To December 18 $15/$20 As a break from the typically sentimental Christmas fare, Kick at the Dark Theatre is offering some dark holiday humour with performances of stories written by funny-guy David Sedaris. In its third production, the company is taking […]
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Nation a meditative sonic experience
I am Chandelier. This is my machine. And so we are introduced to Aaron Collier’s musical persona and Nation’s puppet master of sorts. Nation is created by Collier along with Richie Wilcox, Nick Bottomley and Matt Miller. Collier conducts from his DJ table, backed by a 30-foot wide projection screen with immersive videos of landscapes […]
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Tompkinsville celebrates Cape Breton history
Tompkinsville November 23-December 4 Scotiabank Studio, 1593 Argyle Street neptunetheatre.com After its debut tour last year, Tompkinsville is coming home. The play, written by Lindsay Kyte with music by Ian Sherwood, has been developed since 2007. In 2015 the show premiered in Oakville, ON, before touring across Ontario and Nova Scotia. While performing in a […]
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Revenge is sweet in The Spanish Tragedy
The Spanish Tragedy Written by Thomas Kyd & Adapted by Dan Bray Directed by Dan Bray The Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street November 15th to 20th $15-$25 Thomas Kyd wrote The Spanish Tragedy in the late 16th century, a play that would become terribly famous and inspire such minor works as Hamlet. Halifax’s Villain’s […]
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Life is in the Small Things
Small Things November 10-11, 7:30pm November 12, 4pm & 8:30pm November 13, 2pm & 7:30pm Neptune Studio Theatre, 1593 Argyle Street $30-$52 Birdy (Heather Rankin) has been hired as Patricia’s housekeeper. Patricia (Jenny Munday) is a retired school teacher, measured and intellectual. Birdy is a ball of energy who will talk about anything just to […]
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Theatre review: The Colour of Courage
The Colour of Courage is a new play inspired by the journal of writer-director Anthony Sherwood’s great-uncle Captain William White II, a Nova Scotian and first black officer in the British Army during WWI. The action follows the No. 2 Construction Battalion, known as the Black Battalion, as they hide in a trench under enemy fire. […]
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Breaking: aliens attack
The War of the Worlds Friday, November 4, 8pm The World Trade and Convention Centre, Summit Suite, 8th floor $20 You will have already heard the news by the time you read this. What began as a strange object landing on a farm in the Annapolis Valley, has, within hours, turned into a world-awide alien […]
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Stones in His Pockets proves clunky
Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones premiered in Belfast in 1996, had a successful West End run, and won a slew of awards. Audiences of Neptune Theatre’s production of the Irish hit may be baffled by its previous success. What has potential to be a playful and biting satire about Hollywood culture encroaching with […]
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Honey & Jupiter is poignant and unsettling
Honey & Jupiter opens on 16-year-old Jupiter (Lesley Smith) listening to pop music and reading on her bed. This seems a usual enough scene, until we meet Honey (Ailsa Galbreath), the embodiment of Jupiter’s eating disorder. Honey is the devil on Jupiter’s shoulder; she is the deeply internalized voice that puts immense pressure on young […]
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Spring Awakening has moments that truly shine
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 […]
