In King’s end-of-season double bill, we have young playwright/director Griffin McInnes’ ode to absurdism Dead in Wawa and Samuel Beckett’s nihilistic masterpiece Endgame. Together, they make for a thought-provoking—and long—evening of theatre. McInnes has created memorable characters who tackle life’s big questions while drinking and drugging atop a grave. The charm of the rough and […]
Theatre
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DalTheatre: The Comedy of Errors
Errors is a play you don’t want to miss. This is Shakespeare that will tickle your funny bone. It’s full-out, madcap fun somehow reminiscent of Saturday morning cartoons—and I mean that as high praise. The central characters are two sets of twins separated at birth, and the actors who play them are remarkable in their […]
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The Pudding Room
Wednesday. Hump day. Ho hum day. Not generally the most sparkling day of the week. However, if you’re weary of reruns and term papers, I suggest that you get your butt down to the Joker’s Club next Wednesday and take in The Pudding Room improv. Despite the crappy name, these eight quick-witted clowns put on […]
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Theatre Arts Guild: Thirteen Hands
The TAG production Carol Shield’s Thirteen Hands brought back a lot of memories. My mother belonged to a bridge club, as do the women in this play, and I remember being kept up by the sound of hysterical laughter, the acrid smell of cigarette smoke wafting up the stairs and that sickly sweet (but delicious) […]
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Home and Away
Estonia exists because it’s persisted in the face of occupation by foreign forces. “I found that extraordinary,” says Colleen Wagner, the Toronto-based and Governor-General Award-winning playwright. Her new play, Home, premieres at the Bus Stop Theatre on February 21. It follows an elderly Estonian man on a journey he’s fantasized about for a long time: […]
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Decade in review: Theatre outta space
“There’s not enough to share around,” says Ben Stone. He’s talking about space, permanent performance venues. His company—founded in 1999 as Zuppa Circus, now known as Zuppa Theatre Company—has utilized venues large (the Halifax waterfront) and small (North Street Church). Other than Neptune’s two stages, Fountain Hall (occupied by the company) and the studio(beautiful, but […]
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Year in Review: 2009 Theatre picks
A Beautiful View Audiences loved Daniel MacIvor’s funny and poignant take (pictured above) on love without limits. Adult Entertainment A gritty script and some fearless actors made this Taboo production a true standout. East of Berlin 2B Theatre brought together a winning combination of thought-provoking writing and first-rate acting. Extinction Song Ron Pederson lit up […]
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Santaland Diaries: All work and a play
Every adult knows the roles. Whether as a kid climbing onto Santa’s lap to snatch a spot on the “nice” list, as a parent forcing a child onto that same lap decades later or as a passerby watching the drama, the cliche of the mall Santa is part of the Christmas ritual. This year, Halifax […]
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Luna/Sea’s all-woman Twelfth Night is wonderful
Sure, you’re probably as busy as one of Santa’s elves right now, but I highly recommend taking an evening off to see Luna/Sea’s wonderful all-woman production of Twelfth Night. It’s a classic Shakespearean comedy with all the mistaken identities, wise fools and foolish courtiers that you’d expect, but with an added seasonal bonus of several […]
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Review: Madonna: Songs of Mary by Xara
I don’t know a lot about music, but I know what I like, and I like the otherworldly sound of Xara. The Christmas offering, Madonna: Songs of Mary was performed in front of a packed house (500 people!) in the gorgeously ornate St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. The audience let the last stunning note hang momentarily […]
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East of Berlin’s guilt complex
We witness events. We live much longer in their aftermath. This idea underpins East of Berlin, the Governor-General Award-nominated play being presented by Halifax’s 2b theatre company, directed by Christian Barry (see review page 52). “I was interested in talking about the fallout of the Holocaust,” says 31-year-old playwright Hannah Moscovitch on the phone from […]
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Clowning around with the Red Bastard
Modesty and embarrassment are as foreign to Red Bastard as a fitness trainer. The bulbous, belligerent red monster is the creation of New York-based actor-writer-director Eric Davis. Already lauded as one of the premier clowns of our time, Davis has received new acclaim as Red Bastard. It’s led him to some unexpected places, too. At […]
