Vancouver theatre Archives

Sex, shame, and land claims

March 27, 2014 by Colin Thomas Leave a Comment

Robert Salvador, Alexa Devine, Allan Morgan, and Manami Hara in This Stays in the Room

Robert Salvador, Alexa Devine, Allan Morgan, and Manami Hara get clear about shame in This Stays in the Room

This weekend, I highly recommend two shows.

This Stays in the Room (Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Theatre at the Gallery Gachet, 88 East Cordova) is based on true stories about shame and forgiveness. Mindy Parfitt’s direction is fantastically resourceful. And the show’s got a stellar cast (Alexa Devine, Manami Hara, Allan Morgan, and Robert Salvador). This Stays in the Room closes March 30, so book now. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Theatre Picks Tagged With: Mies Julie, This Stays in the Room, Vancouver theatre

Stan Douglas says that Vancouver’s contempt for artists gives him more room to move

March 10, 2014 by Colin Thomas Leave a Comment

Stan Douglas, Helen Lawrence, Arts Club Theatre, Vancouver

Stan Douglas conceived Helen Lawrence and is directing the project

Stan Douglas and Chris Haddock, the big brains behind Helen Lawrence, which opens next Wednesday, March 19, have some surprising things to say about why they choose to make art in Vancouver. These comments didn’t fit into my preview interview with the pair, which will appear in this Wednesday’s Straight, so here they are. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Theatre Picks Tagged With: Arts Club Theatre, Chris Haddock, Helen Lawrence, Stan Douglas, Vancouver theatre

How to make a press release media-friendly

February 25, 2014 by Colin Thomas Leave a Comment

This is another post for publicists. Again, I want to thank the theatre publicists of Vancouver for helping me so much. With this post, I’m hoping to provide some information that will help us all to do our jobs even more efficiently.

When I get a press release, I’m primarily looking for information, not prose, so please don’t bury the relevant material—the run dates, the venue, the principal artists—in the body of your copy. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Theatre Picks Tagged With: #press release, #publicity, Vancouver theatre

Greasy mess

February 12, 2014 by Colin Thomas 1 Comment

Vancouver theatre, Studio 58, Grease, Peter Jorgensen, Lauren Jackson, Chirag Naik

Lauren Jackson’s Sandy cozies up to Markian Tarasiuk’s Danny in Studio 58’s Grease.

Peter Jorgensen’s direction of Grease at Studio 58 is bit of a mess, but some student performances shine through. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Theatre Picks Tagged With: #Chirag Naik, #Grease, #Lauren Jackson, #Peter Jorgensen, #Studio 58, Vancouver theatre

The story on West Side Story

February 5, 2014 by Colin Thomas 2 Comments

Troika Productions, West Side Story, Jerome Robbins, Vancouver theatre, Vancouver editor

The dancers in Troika Productions’ West Side Story get high on Jerome Robbins’s choreography

One of the arguments against non-Equity touring productions, such as Troika Entertainment’s West Side Story, which is at the QE until this weekend, is that patrons get sucked into paying inflated high prices to see performers who have never appeared on the Great White Way. This West Side Story ain’t cheap—85 bucks will get you a seat in the last row—and many of the actors are still in training. But they’re also very good. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Theatre Picks Tagged With: Jerome Robbins, Troika Productions, Vancouver editor, Vancouver theatre, West Side Story

Online comment: revenge of the idiots?

January 31, 2014 by Colin Thomas 1 Comment

online comments, Georgia Straight, Vancouver theatre, Ronnie Burkett, Virtual Stage, the Arts Club, The Daisy Theatre

Toronto mayor Rob Ford is an idiot, but many of the people who comment on straight.com aren’t.

I was all prepared to write a rant about the sorry state of online commenting. I was going to tie it into Rob Ford and the general decline in public discourse. But—you know what?—in the theatre section of straight.com, the state on online commentary ain’t so bad. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Theatre Picks Tagged With: #online comments, #Rob Ford, #Ronnie Burkett, #The Arts Club, #The Georgia Straight, The Daisy Theatre, Vancouver editor, Vancouver theatre

Get a measure of Mom medicine this weekend

January 17, 2014 by Colin Thomas Leave a Comment

Vancouver theatre, PuSh Festival, A Brimful of Asha, Ravi Jain, Arts Club Theatre

The delight that mother and son Ravi and Asha Jain take in each other makes A Brimful of Asha an infectious good time

I highly recommend two shows in the world of Vancouver theatre this weekend: Asha and Ravi Jain’s A Brimful of Asha and TJ Dawe’s Medicine. I’ve also got high hopes for director Kevin Bennett’s take on Measure for Measure, which opens at Pacific Theatre tonight. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Theatre Picks Tagged With: A Brimful of Asha, Arts Club Theatre, Gabor Maté, Julie McIssac, Kevin Bennett, Measure for Measure, Medicine, PuSh Festival, Ravi Jain, Simon Webb, TJ Dawe, Vancouver theatre, Vancouver there

2013: Top shows and emerging artists

December 29, 2013 by Colin Thomas Leave a Comment

Ronnie Burkett, The Daisy Theatre, Vancouver theatre, top 10 2013

Despite being named after a douche, Esme Massengil is glamour incarnate in Ronnie Burkett’s The Daisy Theatre

In this post, I’ll list my top ten from 2013, then I’ll pick out six emerging artists who are particularly promising.

BTW, no wonder I love the Fringe Festival: it consistently presents some of the most innovative work we see all season. It does so in the context of a celebratory festival. And tickets are affordable. Of the ten top shows I’m about to name, three were at the Fringe.

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