There’s a point in Return Ticket where it really hits home that playwright Shahin Sayadi (played by Theo Pitsiavas) has put himself in danger by returning to his hometown in Iran. He has been interviewing people for a play he hopes to write about his uncle, a “sacred martyr” in government terms, but an intriguing, […]
Theatre
Posted inArts + Music
Extinction Song finds inner child
Some adults have an uncanny ability to tap into the child within. They’re able to access memories and emotions that have been muffled or extinguished in most people by time and grown-up responsibilities. Ron Jenkins and Ron Pederson are two such adults. Through Jenkins’ writing and Pederson’s acting, they bring to life James, a troubled […]
Posted inArts + Music
Dartmouth Players have the pipes
Dartmouth Players has assembled a stellar cast for its production of Anything Goes. This play is filled with some of Cole Porter’s most memorable tunes (like “You’re the Top” and “I Get a Kick Out of You”) and they require some fine voices to sing them. Shannon Kelly (who plays nightclub chanteuse Reno) definitely has […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Theatre Impressario
“Impressario” is a term that doesn’t really resonate with Shahin Sayadi. He just does what he does, pursuing his muse. “I appreciate the coverage and the recognition,” says Sayadi, modestly. His theatre company, OneLight, has earned its recognition. It’s been operating since 1999—Sayadi’s wife Maggie Stewart is OneLight’s managing director—and will soon launch its ninth […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Effort to Keep it Real
Here’s a story about how even when things don’t quite work out, a lot of good can come of powerful intent. Lee-Anne Poole used to be the event coordinator for Halifax Pride and she worked for filmmaker Thom Fitzgerald as a festival producer and in administrative postions. In theatre she’s studied and taught at Neptune […]
Posted inArts + Music
No Great Mischief has legs
If you’re lucky enough to possess an imagination, David S. Young’s stage adaptation of Alistair MacLeod’s beloved No Great Mischief will take you on trip from the Highlands of Scotland to the depths of Kirkland Lake. For the price of a theatre ticket and in only two hours, you’ll visit the storm-swept Canso Causeway, the […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Male Theatre Actor
After a lot of moving around, Webb has decided to stay put in Halifax. “I love it here. I love performing and creating. Why the hell would anyone want to be anywhere else?” The multi-talented creative hypheante won a 2008 Merritt Award for playing Iago at Shakespeare By The Sea. He also wrote and produced […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Female Theatre Actor
In the past twelve months LeBlanc-Crawford has seen her theatre company Zuppa put on the widely adored Poor Boy, a short play called Very Secret Ceremony and she co-directed (with Alex McLean and Ben Stone) The Fairy of The Lake at Dalhousie’s Theatre Department. In 2010, expect to see a new work from Zuppa tentatively […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Movie Theatre
Whatever complaints Halifax cinemagoers might have about the local monopoly enjoyed by Empire Theatres—including the peculiar choices to restrict certain movies to the suburban screens instead of bringing them downtown—that Empire’s kept the Oxford going deserves a lot of kudos. The last single-screen cinema in the area, the Oxford has retained the quality of a […]
Posted inArts + Music
MacIvor’s Confession an absolute must-go
It’s something of a Daniel MacIvor bonanza in Halifax this week, with both A Beautiful View and Confession (albeit for one night only) playing. How interesting it is to see the two plays back to back, and to pick out themes—truth, death, chairs (okay, that’s not a theme)—shared by both. Confession is the story of […]
Posted inArts + Music
Webb to make play Wake into short film
More short films going to camera in Halifax: From October 23 through 25, 2009 Merritt award-winning actor Jeremy Webb will be stepping behind the camera for the first time, directing the short Wake. It’s based on the Jessica Marsh play Maelstrom, a dark comedy about a young man returning to Halifax to attend his uncle’s […]
Posted inArts + Music
Daniel MacIvor explores a love unlimited
Daniel MacIvor found inspiration for his latest play, A Beautiful View, in the sex lives of people in their 20s. The writer-director found that 20-somethings were more polyamorous and less likely to define their sexuality than older generations. “That shows some sort of social evolution,” says MacIvor. “People are just more open to a living […]
