Gillian English takes on the bard and the patriarchy in 10 Things I Hate About Taming of the Shrew at the Halifax Fringe Festival. Gillian English’s 10 Things I Hate About Taming of the Shrew is a funny, angry, feminist rant against one of Shakespeare’s most problematic plays. English is an award-winning Australian powerhouse by way of Pictou County and a Halifax Fringe favourite. She is amazing in her […]
My kid just went through high school and experienced the death of a teen friend by suicide, which is sadly not uncommon. So I was keen to see actor Beth Lachance’s production of the Ottawa hit, Late Company, by Jordan Tannahill. In this hour-long drama well-to-do parents, artist Deborah and MP Michael invite the teen who bullied their son and his less-affluent, unsophisticated parents Tamara and Bill to dinner a […]
Taylor Olson gives a terrific performance in Daniel MacIvor’s chilling, complex Monster at the Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen St., as part of the Halifax Fringe Festival. This structurally-challenging, suspenseful, one-man drama begins in total darkness with Olson entering the theatre from the rear saying, ‘Shutup asshole,’as he explains a movie is about to start. Immediately Olson confronts his audience – often in direct address – with a violent, off-kilter […]
Wally MacKinnon (top), Matt Lacas, Henricus Gielis and Rachel Lloyd star in Ben Hur, by Patrick Barlow, at Festival Antigonish’s Bauer Theatre to August 24. Ben Hur is a madcap comedy about four actors trying to stage the epic tale of Ben=Hur with all its grandiose chariot, Coliseum and galley ship scenes. Now playing at Festival Antigonish, the two-and-a-half-hour show is joyful, light entertainment full of belly laughs with an […]
Starring in The Wizard of Oz at Point Pleasant Park are musicians Sophie Schade and Garry Williams, Kathryn McCormack as Auntie Em, Jade Douris as Dorothy and musicians Deivan Steele and Dylan Brenton. (Michelle Raine) The Wizard of Oz goes through a tornado itself in Shakespeare by the Sea’s comical, musical twist on the childhood classic. This year’s collectively-created, all-ages show is wacky and silly – sometimes overly so in […]
Brandt Eisner’s balloon dress is in Splitt — The Art of Drag, at the Craig Gallery. What does it mean? — “I don’t even know! Some people see these as tumours, some people have thought breasts. To me it’s so interesting what other people see.” Brandt Eisner’s amazing costumes for drag performances are a chance to see art fashion in Halifax without going to an international museum. The Halifax visual […]
James MacLean as Henry V. ( Michelle Raine) I think the French princess puts it best when the English king Henry V tries to woo her after killing thousands of her countrymen. “Is it possible dat I sould love de ennemie of France?” This cute scene is the capper on an intense play about war and a portrait of an often ruthless, heroic king, in a blazing performance by James […]
The Collapse, by Roxanne Smith, is in the show she shares with Kathleen Flanagan at ViewPoint Gallery, 1459 Brenton St., Halifax. The gallery is open daily, 12 to 5. Two artists explore memory, Nova Scotia’s old houses and poet Elizabeth Bishop’s troubled life in a photo exhibit at ViewPoint Gallery, in its new 1459 Brenton St. location, to July 28. Roxanne Smith and Kathleen Flanagan each spent time inside the […]
Frankenstein by Fire, by Allen Cole and Ken Schwartz, stars, from left, Jim Fowler, Chris O’Neill, Geneviève Steele, Mary Fay Coady, Devin MacKinnon, Jeff Schwager, Hilary Adams, Burgandy Code and Ryan Rogerson. The Two Planks and a Passion Theatre production is at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts to Aug. 17 at 9 p.m. with In This Light at 6 p.m. (Macky Schwartz) Cold fog swirled in and rain […]
Gordon Gammie and Kevin Curran play 28 characters in Ontario playwright Mark Crawford’s small-town comedy Bed and Breakfast. (Alexa Robin) Two Nova Scotia actors thrill the audience in Bed and Breakfast, the season-opening comedy at Ship’s Company Theatre, Parrsboro, to July 28. Kevin Curran and Gordon Gammie are amazing as Brett and Drew, two gay men who move from Toronto to open a bed and breakfast in rural Ontario in […]
