Almost, Maine is almost enough
Almost, Maine is like the world’s best greeting card: it’s very, very clever, charming, and thin. In the nine scenes of John Cariani’s script, we meet as many sets of lovers, would-be lovers, and former lovers. Aside from the couple who appear in the framing device,...
The Shipment: brains, innovation, and a stylish production
It’s a mirror. And a prism. Also a workout. These are all good things. In The Shipment, Young Jean Lee, who is Korean American, takes on the cultural representation of African American identity. Structurally, she has assembled a surrealist collage. She combines a...
The Society for the Destitute Presents Titus Bouffonious: Just how dark do you want it?
At the beginning of The Society for the Destitute Presents Titus Bouffonius, I was so stimulated—so shocked, laughing so hard—that I was afraid I was going to start shouting things. Unplanned, random shit. You’ve got to love a show that makes you feel like you might...
The New Conformity: juggling as an exploration of bullying—and, compellingly—physics
There is so much physical beauty in The New Conformity that, watching the show, I found myself moaning. To be clear, I’m not talking about the three jugglers who perform The New Conformity—although Chris Murdoch, Ryan Mellors, and Yuki Ueda are all handsome, which...
Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth: How much fresh light does this revered play shine?
This is a guest review from Deneh’Cho Thompson. The Firehall Arts Centre first brought Drew Hayden Taylor’s Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth to Vancouver in 1997, and now it’s back. Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth follows a pair of sisters as they...
Wilderness is a thicket of good intentions and overstatement
This production makes a weak script worse. The subject matters. Wilderness is about young adults who are struggling with mental health issues, including addictions. Against the young people’s will, in many cases, their parents have sent them to a therapeutic camp in...
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...
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