Acting at the Fringe
There's a lot of excellent acting at the Vancouver Fringe this year. Under Evan Frayne's direction, everybody in The Fighting Season is terrific. I'm talking about Kyle Jespersen, Tom Pickett, and Siona Gareau-Brennan. Jespersen's portrait of a traumatized medic is a...
Four Fringe picks
The Vancouver Fringe Festival is flat-out my favourite time of the theatrical year. Because I saw a bunch of shows at the Victoria Fringe, I've already seen a dozen pieces that are playing here. Here are my top four picks so far. They're all excellent. In alphabetical...
Confession of an effete local yokel
When I gave a generally negative review to the Bard on the Beach production of King Lear, an online commenter going by the name Edward Bernays took issue and called me an "effete local yokel". A few days later, I ran into Simon Webb on Fourth Avenue and complained: "I...
How to get Colin Thomas to like your show: theatrewire
"How to get Colin Thomas to like your show." That's the title of this post on theatrewire.com, a new initiative from the First Vancouver Theatrespace Society (the folks who produce the Fringe), the Playwrights Theatre Centre, and the See Seven Performing Arts Society....
Two things the Arts Club does that bug me
I love the Arts Club. For decades, Bill Millerd has kept multiple stages running, employing hundreds of artists and technicians, and entertaining thousands. The Arts Club is committed to developing new scripts, too, so more power to 'em. That said, I wish they'd admit...
If you’ve ever suspected I’m an idiot, here’s confirmation
Okay, this is at my own expense, but it's so hilarious that I have to share. In my original review of King Lear, which was posted on straight.com last Friday, I wrote the most epic fail of a lead ever. Here it is: "If you mount King Lear and you don’t go deep, the...
The thing Bard does that bugs me
I am a big, big fan of Bard on the Beach. Every year, I look forward to Bard's season and I'm very picky about who I take to those shows: the tickets are like gold as far as I'm concerned. Artistic director Christopher Gaze and the rest of the company have built a...
Value of Things lower than expected
The performers are beautiful. Aspects of the artistry are beautiful. But, for the most part, The Value of Things is thematically obvious. Created by Montréal's dance/theatre company Grand Poney, The Value of Things is about materialism and craving. It starts off with...
Cross-dressing fun in Glengarry Glen Ross
Hands down, the best show running this weekend (that I've seen), is Classic Chic's production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross. Rachel Peake directs a talented cast of women who play the characters, who are all male, in Mamet's examination of ruthless capitalism...
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.