Detroit: comedy of despair
In Detroit, Lisa D’Amour has created a kind of comedy of despair. It’s fueled by fierce, often futile, resistance. Ben, who has lost his job in banking, spends his days trying to build a website to sell his services to people who are scrabbling to get out of debt....
Now or Later: shiny but nonsensical
On its surface, Now or Later is a shiny political object. But, at least in this interpretation, the play doesn’t make sense. This mounting from Fighting Chance Productions is beyond timely. The story takes place on the eve of an American presidential election. We’re...
Kick yourself some Butt Kapinski
Leave a Comment This ain’t a review, see? It’s a tip. And, if you know what’s good for ya, you’ll act on it. Fast. In 2013, solo artist Deanna Fleysher brought Butt Kapinskito the Vancouver Fringe. It contained some of the best clowning I’ve seen. Butt, the title...
Bakersfield Mist: mediocre script, strong production
Bakersfield Mist is raucously funny sometimes and even moving in moments, but the script isn’t as smart as it pretends to be. LA playwright Stephen Sachs drew inspiration for Bakersfield Mist from real-life characters and events. The stakes are high. In the early...
Suitcase Stories (un)packs a punch
Sometimes, when you see a show, you know that an artist is offering you a personal gift. That’s what it’s like with Maki Yi’s Suitcase Stories. The script isn’t perfect, but both the play and production are important, skilled in many ways—and heartfelt. In her solo...
Empire of the Son also rises
I’m telling all the people I love most to see this show. Tetsuro Shigematsu’s Empire of the Son is exquisite. It’s also painstakingly honest. In his script, which Shigematsu performs solo, he explores his relationship with his father, Akira. In a talkback after the...
Straight Jacket Winter: major charm, minor disappointment
It’s charming. It’s innovative—even daring. And then it peters out. In Straight Jacket Winter, co-writers Esther Duquette and Gilles Poulin-Denis tell an autobiographical story about the alienation they felt when they moved from Montreal to Vancouver in 2011. Duquette...
Exciting descent into Three Stories Up
After I stopped panicking, things got really, really good. Three Stories Up unfolds entirely in the dark. Ushers lead blindfolded audience members into the performance space in small groups. When the lights go out, everybody takes their blindfolds off, but it’s pitchy...
In Mamahood, Nicolle Nattrass doesn’t go deep enough to become Everymama
I’m finding it impossible not to damn Mamahood with faint praise. There’s nothing really wrong with this show, but there’s nothing arrestingly right about it either. In her solo work, Mamahood: turn and face the strange, writer and performer Nicolle Nattrass tells us...
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