Posh: Is it worth spending an evening with these toffee-nosed gits?
I love class analysis. Posh is packed with class analysis. So why does this script, which premiered in London in 2010, not work for me in this Vancouver production in 2017? In Laura Wade’s play, a group that calls itself The Riot Club meets in the private dining room...
The Christians: for an atheist, whether or not hell exists is not a burning question
The Christians: if you’re not Christian, what’s in this play for you? Not a lot in terms of moral complexity. But a fair bit in terms of theatricality. In Lucas Hnath’s script, Pastor Paul is the leader of a gigantic evangelical congregation: his church has thousands...
Perestroika, which means “restructuring”, is faultily structured—and sometimes transcendent
Like a fever dream, this production of Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika comes and goes. Sometimes, I was completely in its thrall. At other times, I popped out of the experience and thought, “Oh. I’m in a theatre. And not much is happening.” This mix of...
September 14 Fringe reviews from Colin: Executing Justice, and Let Me Freeze Your Head
Here you go: my final reviews, Executing Justice and Let Me Freeze Your Head—critiques 28 and 29—from this year's Vancouver Fringe. Neither review is enthusiastic, but…there are a lot of excellent shows at the festival. Of the performances I’ve been to, the three...
VANCOUVER GREENROOM 7: In fall, birds fly east
Vancouver Greenroom: theatre is community FALL, AND THE BIRDS ARE FLYING…EAST? East is the direction that Vancouver artists fly when they’re getting national recognition, so it’s a very good thing that actor Alexandra Lainfiesta, writer Crystal Verge, and...
September 13 Fringe reviews from Colin: The Immaculate Big Bang, Teaching Shakespeare
Here you go: Fringe reviews numbers 26 and 27 from me. Including Deneh's reviews, that means that there are 36 reviews on this site so far. More to come. THE IMMACULATE BIG BANG Bill Santiago’s comic monologue is so much better than the rest of the stand-up I’ve seen...
September 12 Fringe review from Colin: Bushel and Peck
BUSHEL AND PECK There’s not enough to it. In their two-person performance, which incorporates clowning and dance, Alastair Knowles and Stephanie Morin-Robert explore the process of creation—mostly making a show, but also, potentially, building a relationship and...
September 11: six fresh reviews from Deneh’Cho Thompson
Despite the byline above, which I can't figure out how to remove, these reviews are by Deneh'Cho Thompson. - CT KATHARINE FERNS IS IN STITCHES It feels like Ferns and I have been best friends for years—and we have never met. Katharine Ferns is in Stiches, an...
September 11 Fringe reviews from Colin: Ain’t True and Uncle False, A Night at the Rose Coloured Discotheque, and The Messenger
AIN’T TRUE AND UNCLE FALSE God, we’re fragile. God, we’re beautiful. In Ain’t True and Uncle False—which is, I guarantee, one of the finest and most original shows you’ll ever see—solo artist Paul Strickland introduces us to his friends and relatives from the Big Fib...
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