Starwalker: Less than starry
Corey Payette’s new musical Starwalker is going to be meaningful to a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons. And there’s significant talent on the stage. I don’t mean to deny any of that when I say that, from a craft perspective, especially the craft...
Clementine: A (True) Story – tenderness that could be better shaped
Watching a tender kids’ show is a very pleasant way to spend 45 minutes on a Sunday morning. Writer Anaïs Pellin started her process with Clementine: A (True) Story during a workshop in Belgium, where she’s from. (Pellin is now based in Vancouver.) The workshop was...
The Cull: revelatory design and direction
Not to take anything away from the actors or anybody else, the real stars of this premiere stage production of The Cull are director Mindy Parfitt and set designer Amir Ofek. Their treatment of Michelle Riml and Michael St. John Smith’s script elevates it...
An Undeveloped Sound: an overwritten script
Exquisitely directed and designed, and responsively acted, An Undeveloped Sound is, nonetheless, thematically repetitive and therefor dull. Jonathon Young has set his new script in a call centre located in a crumbling, repurposed commercial outlet near an ocean. In my...
The Three-Act Structure: one way to build better stories
THREE-ACT TEMPLATE ACT 1 Ordinary World We see hero’s (the protagonist’s) world as it exists before their adventure begins. The Ordinary World may contain an event called the Inciting Incident, which kicks the story into action. Call to Adventure In the Call to...
Forgiveness: Why isn’t it more moving?
Considering the emotional nature of the material — the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II and the abuse of prisoners of war in Japanese prison camps — Forgiveness falls surprisingly flat. Playwright Hiro Kanagawa’s stage adaptation is drawn from Mark...
Little Willy is a big hit
I had almost forgotten what helpless laughter feels like. It’s good for the soul. In Little Willy, marionette master Ronnie Burkett is working a new premise, using many of the familiar faces from his “repertory company” of puppets and even doing one of his most …...
Flowers of the Rarest: More thematic development would make it rarer
On one level, I was seduced by the understatement of this production and the fine acting it contains. But, about halfway through watching Flowers of the Rarest, I wrote in my notebook, “I’m ready for some plot development” and, a bit later: “Besides plot, what is...
Instantaneous Blue: The full effect isn’t instantaneous, but it gets there.
Aaron Craven’s new script Instantaneous Blue rings with the authority of personal experience. And director David Mackay is working with extraordinary actors. The play is moving. The production works. And, not to be a nerd or anything, but there are things to be...
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