by Colin Thomas | Dec 7, 2017 | Review
Puppeteer Ronnie Burkett is a genius. He just is. Another blunt truth: Little Dickens isn’t his best show—at least it isn’t yet. As the full title makes clear, Little Dickens: The Daisy Theatre Presents A Christmas Carol is yet another riff on Charles Dickens’s...
by Colin Thomas | Dec 7, 2017 | Review
How Star Wars Saved My Life is an important personal witness. Structurally, it could be stronger, but that almost doesn’t matter. Nicholas Harrison is a well-known Vancouver fight choreographer. He’s got a PhD in directing from UBC. He lectures at Capilano University....
by Colin Thomas | Dec 5, 2017 | Review
(This is a repost of an essay that I wrote a while back.) A few years ago, I was talking with a local director in a theatre lobby. I had recently given a show of his a mixed review and, as we spoke, he became so enraged that I braced myself for a blow to the head. He...
by Colin Thomas | Dec 2, 2017 | Review
Every year, when I go to the East Van Panto, simply walking into the York Theatre is one of my favourite parts. Because of all of the kids in the audience, life suddenly becomes like bubble tea: sweet and devil-may-care. This year’s panto, Snow White & the Seven...
by Colin Thomas | Dec 1, 2017 | Review
Almost, Maine is like the world’s best greeting card: it’s very, very clever, charming, and thin. In the nine scenes of John Cariani’s script, we meet as many sets of lovers, would-be lovers, and former lovers. Aside from the couple who appear in the framing device,...
by Colin Thomas | Nov 27, 2017 | Review
It’s a mirror. And a prism. Also a workout. These are all good things. In The Shipment, Young Jean Lee, who is Korean American, takes on the cultural representation of African American identity. Structurally, she has assembled a surrealist collage. She combines a...
