Satellite(s): this new play spins on wonky orbits
What a wasted opportunity. Foreign home ownership in Vancouver is a huge and complicated issue. With its threads of racism, self-righteousness, entitlement, greed, and privilege, it’s ripe for theatrical treatment. But, in his new script, Satellite(s), playwright...
Coming Up For Air: skilled work from Bernard Cuffling
A huge part of the reward in Coming Up For Air is the depth that it finds in an ordinary life. Both George Orwell’s 1938 novel and Leslie Mildiner’s stage adaptation begin with the immortal line: “The idea really came to me the day I got my new false teeth.” That’s...
The Ridiculous Darkness: formally startling, movingly inclusive
Don’t go to The Ridiculous Darkness if you’re looking for a standard-issue night at the theatre, or even if you’re only interested in fully successful productions. Do go if you’re up for an aesthetic adventure. The provenance of this show is complicated. It started...
Christine Quintana’s speech at the Siminovitch banquet
I’d like to begin with some thank yous – First off, to my family and in particular my mom, who has made this life possible for me. To Jiv, the best person I’ve ever met at a theatre conference. To my theatre family – my dear friends and collaborators – The...
Marcus Youssef’s acceptance speech (Siminovitch Prize)
"Phew. Hello. Bonjour. That’s pretty much all the French I’m capable of speaking – West Coaster, sorry. First: there is no way for me, up here, to say what I’m about to say in a way that doesn’t sound pro forma or like a cliché, but: it easily could have been any one...
This show about race is one of the most stimulating productions of the season
Mitch and Murray Productions consistently produces some of the smartest shows in town. This one is called Smart People. Lydia R. Diamond has set her 2016 play in and around Harvard in 2007 and 2008 during the run-up to Barack Obama’s first election. It’s about race...
Girls Like That: How theatrical is this exploration of gender politics?
There are a couple of different ways of approaching Girls Like That, which is about slut shaming: you could look at it as a piece of theatre or you could assess it as a focal point for discussion. Despite committed performances from the teenaged cast, this production...
The Lonesome West: Will it leave you more lonesome?
The Lonesome West is about forgiveness—kind of, if you squint. But I do not forgive The Lonesome West. Martin McDonagh’s 1997 script is part of a trilogy that also includes The Beauty Queen of Leenane and A Skull in Connemera. All three are set in Leenane, a...
King Charles III: It’s stylish but is it relevant?
Who gives a toss? In Mike Bartlett’s 2014 script, Queen Elizabeth II has just died and Charles has become King, although his coronation is a few months off. In one of his first acts as monarch, he refuses to give his assent to a bill that would restrict the freedom of...
Subscribe Free!
Sign up for the FRESH SHEET newsletter and get curated local, national, and international arts coverage — all sorts of arts — every week.
Contact
Drop a line to colinthomas@telus.net.
Support
FRESH SHEET, the reviews and FRESH SHEET, the newsletter are available free. But writing them is a full-time job and arts criticism is in peril. Please support FRESH SHEET by sending an e-transfer to colinthomas@telus.net or by becoming a patron on Patreon.
Website by Mighty Sparrow Design.