Alice in Wonderland: Join her
Covid, climate change, and November are conspiring to deplete my capacity for joy. I know I’m not alone in my exhaustion and dread. So the East Van Panto comes as a sorely-needed gift this year, a celebration of life — of community and fun. Now in its ninth...
The Pillowman: not a sleep aid
I wasn’t bored by this two-and-a-half-hour production, which is saying something. But I wasn’t horrified either — and I should have been. In Martin McDonagh’s 2003 script, a writer named Katurian is being interrogated by “good cop” Tupolski and “bad cop” Ariel....
Paddle Song: E. Pauline Johnson deserves better
I acknowledge that I’m saying this as a settler: in my opinion, Paddle Song, the play about Canadian Mohawk/English poet E. Pauline Johnson, isn’t very good. In my view, this nineteenth century woman who toured across Canada, the US, and the UK reciting her poems...
Emilia: the embodiment of solidarity
There’s a force blowing off the stage in director Lois Anderson’s production of Emilia. It feels like a stiff, invigorating wind. In fact, it’s a combination of confidence and fury. Emilia, which was commissioned by London’s Globe Theatre, is a fantastical history...
The Ballad of Georges Boivin: subtle and rewarding
The premise is a cliché, but the execution is poetic and the insight genuine. I used to sit on screenwriting juries and I was surprised by how many of the stories dealt with feisty codgers escaping from long-term care facilities. There wasn’t much of a pay-off in...
Paddle Song
Out of respect for the death of Lee Maracle, the opening night of Paddle Song has been postponed from November 11 to November 12. I will now see it on Saturday night (November 13) and post my review on Sunday afternoon. Best, Colin
Imagine Picasso: Nah, see the original works
The short review is that it doesn’t work. But at least it doesn’t work for interesting reasons. Encore Productions, the same folks who brought us Imagine Van Gogh, which has now closed in Vancouver, are offering Imagine Picasso. Like Imagine Van Gogh, Imagine Picasso...
Spinning You Home: Okay. Why?
There’s skill on display here, but I don’t know what it’s in service of. In Spinning You Home, playwright Sally Stubbs freely embellishes the true story of John “Cariboo” Cameron, a nineteenth-century prospector who struck it rich in the Cariboo Gold Rush, but is more...
Wakey, Wakey: There’s a call for you
I’ve never been more alert to shimmering life than in the weeks preceding my friend Len’s assisted death. Presence was the gift of their passing. That’s also the substance of Will Eno’s Wakey, Wakey, which is seamlessly well realized in Pacific Theatre’s production....
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