Much Ado About Nothing: It’s about more than this
A director needs to create a coherent world for a production. That’s their primary job. But Rebecca Patterson’s take on Much Ado About Nothing is all over the place. Much Ado is an interesting choice for Classic Chic Productions, which mounts all-female shows. The...
True Crime: whydoit whodunnit
The animating argument of True Crime is that audience members are complicit in a moral transgression. I don’t buy it. So, philosophically, the show is boring to me. But True Crime does deliver beautifully worked surfaces. Torquil Campbell, who performs...
Lawsuit Decision: $0.00
On Thursday, January 31, Judge Winston Lee released his decision regarding the lawsuit I filed in small claims court against The Georgia Straight. Judge Lee ruled that, in his view, I was not a dependent contractor at The Straight—which means that I was not in an...
Cabaret: so many spectacular elements
Although it doesn’t have enough emotional depth, this Cabaret is dazzling in many ways. Cabaret is about Clifford Bradshaw, a young American novelist who arrives in Berlin on New Year’s Eve, 1931. Although he’s had sex with men and is conflicted about his orientation,...
The Matchmaker: when it all lines up, it’s fantastic
I went from thinking, “This is going to be a very long night,” to laughing uncontrollably. That is an excellent trajectory. Thornton Wilder wrote his farce The Matchmaker in 1954. It’s probably best known today as the play that Hello, Dolly! is based on. Set in the...
A Prayer For Owen Meany: divine exasperation
Guest review by David Johnston Chris Lam and Tariq Leslie work hard but drop the ball in A Prayer for Owen Meany. (Photo by Zemekiss Photography) It was a bad sign when, after sitting through A Prayer For Owen Meany's fourteen-hour runtime, my first reaction was "What...
salt.: how history fits on contemporary bodies
In Salt,. Selina Thompson explores how she experiences the legacy of slavery as a young black woman in the UK.
Prince Hamlet: the play’s the thing—sometimes
Dawn Jani Birley makes a compelling Horatio in Prince Hamlet. (Photo by Bronwen Sharp) This Hamlet is like a priceless fabric with a lot of holes in it. Director Ravi Jain has conceived and cast this production with refreshing inclusivity: the players are racially...
The Open House: six degrees of obscuration
Less than halfway through this evening, I wrote in my notebook, “I don’t want to spend any more time with them.” Mostly, I was talking about the characters. There are strengths—as well as significant weaknesses—in the production.
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