It’s show time on a Saturday night at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, and the sun is peeking out from behind wispy clouds as people make their way toward the “stage”—a meadow surrounded by forest. The crowd walks through grass, still wet from an afternoon shower, along a path marked by unlit tiki […]
Theatre
Play review: Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)
Constance Ledbelly is a doormat—albeit a brilliant, passionate doormat. The problem is, she doesn’t recognize her own brilliance and passion. In Ann-Marie MacDonald’s award-winning comedy Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), that changes when Constance is sucked down the rabbit hole (or in this case, through a waste basket) into the middle of two Shakespearean tragedies. […]
Shakespeare by the Sea’s Pinocchio is winning by a nose
Shakespeare by the Sea has spruced up the children’s classic Pinocchio with some quirky new characters (a muscle-shirted clam and a bearded baby for starters), lovely, hummable tunes rooted in Italian folk music and clever humour that will leave you laughing. Melissa MacGougan gives an anything-but-wooden performance as the titular would-be boy, who is led […]
You’re invited to Sit on my Face
Queer Acts July 13-18 The Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street $15/$12 queeracts.com Queer Acts, Halifax’s Pride theatre festival, is back for round eight this year, showcasing a variety of inclusive and queer friendly theatre productions from July 13-17. One of those shows is Sit on my Face, again, the res-Erection, produced by Rolling Bold […]
Sistine Chapel is a theatrical miracle
2b Theatre’s Unconscious at the Sistine Chapel is a theatrical delight at the Stages Theatre Festival, playing through the fest’s final weekend. It brings together technical magic, outstanding performances and a finely layered script filled with sharp, funny dialogue. Playwright Michael Mackenzie imagines a chance meeting in the Sistine Chapel between two couples: Minna Bernays […]
Summer 2016’s must-see plays
June 15-26 Stages Theatre Festival and NextSTAGES Theatre Festival for Families You don’t need to be an elephant to remember the name of a festival that offers shows in different stages of development aimed at different stages of life on different stages around town. This year’s festival offers workshops, play readings, theatre for children (The […]
Stages theatre festival is playing around for two weeks
Eastern Front Theatre’s new artistic director Jeremy Webb wants the Stages Festival to appeal to a wide audience, and that’s reflected in this year’s jam-packed lineup. The two-week-long festival is offering a smorgasbord of entertainment including comedy, dance and plays in various stages of development. There’s theatre for kids and theatre for young people. And […]
Walter Borden plays 10 characters in his Tightrope update
Juanita Peters was smitten more than 30 years ago when she first read the script for Tightrope Time: Ain’t Nuthin’ More Than Some Itty Bitty Madness Between Twilight and Dawn. The play, written by Walter Borden, told the story of a young man growing up black and gay in rural Nova Scotia, and was being […]
YAS King!
When Henry Purcell wrote his semi-opera King Arthur in the 17th century, there’s no way he could’ve imagined a production like Opera Nova Scotia’s. “Modern technology is sharing the stage with this operatic entertainment,” explains Walter Kemp, Opera NS’s artistic director. “We chose to do this great piece filled with lovely music, but we wanted […]
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 […]
Your top 10 awesome weekend events
Snow showers may have put a damper on this week, but the weekend’s looking hot as hell. 10. Live Music › Russian Roulette IV. Friday, April 29, 9pm. In-Flight Safety’s John Mullane hosts this randomly-ordered rock roster. Set times are determined by spinning the big wheel, leaving bands scrambling for the stage. This iteration features […]
It’s not about the serial killer
The scene is England, around 1910. A woman in her late 20s is relaxing in a bath. Suddenly, what should have been a calming evening turns gruesome: Her newlywed husband drowns her, framing it as an accident and inheriting the insurance money. It sounds like fiction, but it’s the true story behind Neptune Theatre’s latest […]

