By Jael Wong
What is true beauty? What is ugliness? These are the questions Mob Hit Productions tackles in its production of The Ugly Man, playing at The Pumphouse Theatres though Sat., Apr. 10. Working from a script by Alberta playwright Brad Fraser and directed by Larissa Innes, Mob Hit’s take on the play is a saucy revenge-tragedy… Continue reading Ugly Man
Passing through this world of mundane emotion, we are seldom pushed to feel utterly disgusted, remarkably moved or delightfully enthralled. Yet, in the recesses of our minds, we quietly yearn for the passion, the inspiration, the revulsion that makes us feel alive. We yearn, and a select few answer our desperate pleas, taking risks that… Continue reading Transcending the “fucking middle”
By Chris Tait
Are you a night owl searching for something to spice up your Saturday nights? Are you looking for something new and different to satisfy and tantalize your taste for live entertainment? Can’t find an open supermarket at midnight on the weekend? Well, you don’t have to go to the French Maid or the fresh food… Continue reading Of improvisation and canned ham
By Chris Tait
Looking for cartoony monkey love? Does the primal ritual of water-spitting turn you on? Do you often retreat to yoga to relax after a long day of debauchery and unsuccessful pick-up lines aimed at co-workers? Then you should feel right at home at Lunchbox Theatre’s presentation of Nicole Zylstra’s Monkey Business, where a day in… Continue reading Sweet monkey lovin’
It is great to bear witness to times of pure genius, where experimental theatre fills the psyche, incorporating dance and music with an avant-garde, witty and eloquent script. Other times are not as fulfilling. Confusion clouds the experimental stage, leading you to believe that the one moment your attention swayed may have been the exact… Continue reading One Yellow Rabbit’s Heavenly production falls from grace
By Chris Tait
Vollen Sie ein bier? Ich bin Kanadier. Sie sein ein sexy Engeline. Wo ist die Badezimmer? This is the extent of my knowledge of the German language. Ah, girls: always motivating you to learn things for all the wrong reasons. To anyone who can actually speak German: you know how much trouble there’s going to… Continue reading Ich bin ein Berliner. Puppenspiel? Sehr güt!
By Jael Wong
Ah, the Paper Bag Princess. I don’t remember when I first came across the Robert Munsch book as a kid, but I’m sure my first reaction was, “Whoa, is this ever different!” A real keener as a child, I considered myself an expert on Hans Christian Anderson and, if memory serves, in most of his… Continue reading Munsch on this theatre-goers
CORRECTION: Somalia Yellow runs until April 27 at the Big Secret Theatre. Tickets at Ticketmaster.An artist comes back from Somalia after six days as Canada’s last official war artist. He had an hour and a half of video footage that would be condensed into 45 minutes. Discuss.In Somalia Yellow, the One Yellow Rabbit ensemble takes… Continue reading Somalia reinvisioned at OYR
By David Kenney
The expression “like mother, like daughter” takes the form of a ripped up family photo in Alberta Theatre Projects’ The Beauty Queen of Leenane.Martin McDonagh’s play examines the tie that binds, a bind that sometimes unwinds family members. Set in a stone hovel in Ireland, the story circles around the frazzled Maureen (Kate Hennig) and… Continue reading Unwinding family in Beauty Queen
The University of Calgary Drama Department struggles to explore the depth of human relationships in Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.After five years in Paris, Madame Ranevskaya returns to Russia to save her cherry orchard, a source of family pride. She has accumulated many debts, and neither her nor her brother, Gaev, can afford to pay… Continue reading Play can’t connect with Chekhov