> David Johnston * Meet Mel Malarkey, Depression-era vaudevillian. They're hosting one final show before the theatre is sold. Mel is delightful, but a little exhausting. Mel plays the musical saw! Mel feuds with donkeys! Mel recites love odes to an elephant woman!...

> David Johnston * A man and woman trek eastwards across America. The apocalypse has happened. Or the rapture. Or a plague. Doesn't matter. Point is, they're alone, and they're in search of a surviving colony somewhere near San Francisco’s famous bridge—assuming...

> Sarvin Esmaeili * Watching Gossamer Obsessions, I spent half my time laughing and half my time trying to figure out why I was laughing. This sketch comedy opens with two British-accented narrators (Amy Shostak and Paul Bilnov) who introduce us to the world of the...

This is a guest review by David Johnston. We've all been there. You have a lovely, taut Fringe show, and then overnight—bam!—theatrical bloat strikes like a Mack truck. Say you're an actress named Colleen Brow. By your own admission, your storytelling comedy about...

Three things to know about One Step At A Time: 1) If your show includes the exasperated voiceover "Oh boy. A whole hour of this," then it's vital to ensure what follows isn't pedantic. 2) No aspect of this production is ready for the stage. Ostensibly a storytelling...

Taking in Ruby Rocket Returns! is a pleasantly giddy experience—like binge-watching goofy reruns on a rainy afternoon. Portland theatre artist Stacey Hallal plays Ruby Rocket, the private dick at the centre of this improvised film noir parody. For every show, Hallal...

When he was 22, Brian Cochrane went to Barcelona. Unfortunately, he doesn't give us much of a reason to care that he went to Barcelona when he was 22. In this solo show, Cochrane tells us about meeting a magician who encouraged him to go to a vampire bar. He went. But...

Performed in Railspur Alley, FIX takes us on a site-specific and interactive journey through addiction—to drugs, smoking, food, even power. It’s also a personal journey: members of the Elegant Ladies Collective share their own stories. The cast includes a variety of...

There is something deliciously seductive about witnessing Beth McLaughlin describe things. Her whispery voice, her expressive eyes, her precise cadence: you can practically bathe in her verbal portraits of a childhood Christmas morning or a dog's funeral. Heavenly....