by Colin Thomas | Oct 4, 2016 | Review
I just got fired from the Georgia Straight. Thirty years*. No warning. No compensation. Last Tuesday, I emailed arts editor Janet Smith telling her what shows I thought I should review. Instead of the usual confirmation from Janet, I received an email from editor...
by Colin Thomas | Sep 30, 2016 | Review
Its seams are showing. Helen & Edgar, which is raconteur Edgar Oliver’s account of the gothic Southern childhood he spent with his sister and their mentally ill mother, starts off spectacularly well. For one thing, there’s Oliver’s voice, which is simultaneously...
by Colin Thomas | Sep 24, 2016 | Review
Leave a Comment Emerging playwright Cara Norrish has done a find job of crafting some of the basics in A Good Way Out, but there’s not enough there yet. It’s like she’s got the frame up, but there’s no cladding. In A Good Way Out, Joey is ensnared in gang life....
by Colin Thomas | Sep 19, 2016 | Review
Leave a Comment We did it. Last night, Kathleen Oliver and I gave out the Georgia Straight Critics’ Choice Award at the wrap-up celebration of the Vancouver Fringe Festival. We had a great list of nominees: The After After Party, The Ballad of Frank Allen, Charlatan!,...
by Colin Thomas | Sep 17, 2016 | Review
Leave a Comment The Orbweaver is so good that having seen it makes me feel better about being alive. Seriously. It’s fantastic. Written and directed by Paula Zelaya Cervantes, The Orbweaver tells the magical realist story of Elena and Quiron, starting when they’re...
by Colin Thomas | Sep 16, 2016 | Review
Leave a Comment The Nether at the Vancouver Fringe is darkly intriguing and absolutely worth seeing. There’s one performance left: Saturday, September 17, at 6:00 at the Firehall. Make it a sell-out, Vancouver. In Jennifer Haley’s complex script, which is set in the...
