by Colin Thomas | Oct 31, 2016 | Review
Bakersfield Mist is raucously funny sometimes and even moving in moments, but the script isn’t as smart as it pretends to be. LA playwright Stephen Sachs drew inspiration for Bakersfield Mist from real-life characters and events. The stakes are high. In the early...
by Colin Thomas | Oct 31, 2016 | Review
Sometimes, when you see a show, you know that an artist is offering you a personal gift. That’s what it’s like with Maki Yi’s Suitcase Stories. The script isn’t perfect, but both the play and production are important, skilled in many ways—and heartfelt. In her solo...
by Colin Thomas | Oct 31, 2016 | Review
I’m telling all the people I love most to see this show. Tetsuro Shigematsu’s Empire of the Son is exquisite. It’s also painstakingly honest. In his script, which Shigematsu performs solo, he explores his relationship with his father, Akira. In a talkback after the...
by Colin Thomas | Oct 26, 2016 | Review
It’s charming. It’s innovative—even daring. And then it peters out. In Straight Jacket Winter, co-writers Esther Duquette and Gilles Poulin-Denis tell an autobiographical story about the alienation they felt when they moved from Montreal to Vancouver in 2011. Duquette...
by Colin Thomas | Oct 24, 2016 | Review
After I stopped panicking, things got really, really good. Three Stories Up unfolds entirely in the dark. Ushers lead blindfolded audience members into the performance space in small groups. When the lights go out, everybody takes their blindfolds off, but it’s pitchy...
