NS reviews

Reviews of theatre and art in Nova Scotia and beyond

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Chased by the Bear: Here’s hoping for a remount! (Plus: KOQM opens fireside Aug. 13)

Two Planks and a Passion Theatre creates a magical, unforgettable experience with its fireside shows as people sit encircling actors who themselves encircle a roaring fire. The flames are the only source of light and as you look into the orange flickering shadows your imagination is lit by a timeless story. The occasional flitting bat adds to the magic. Chased by The Bear, a spellbinding musical re-telling of Shakespeare’s The […]

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Summer Nights of Laughter with Alice

Alice in Wonderland is a wonderful way to spend a summer evening in Halifax with a few hundred other people at Point Pleasant Park.  Shakespeare by the Sea (SBTS) reprises its 2012, collectively-written hit in a clever, fast-paced and funny production with just eight actors creating the silly, mad, fantasy world of Lewis Carroll in very inventive and surprising ways.  SBTS maintains its tradition of creating powerful visual imagery out […]

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Laugh, Cry, Love, Learn: Dear Rita is a must-see

Dear Rita goes to the heart of Cape Breton’s First Lady of Song and pulls at the heartstrings in a powerful, musically rich show at Neptune Theatre to August 25. For anyone who loved Rita and her music, this 95-minute songbook and life story is a must-see. Beyond that its message of personal triumph over adversity is for everyone. The ending is haunting both as a farewell song – Weary […]

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Twelfth Night Knocks it out of the Park

Shakespeare by the Sea’s vaudeville twist on Twelfth Night is a fun and funny, passionate production steeped in Nova Scotia singer-songwriter Eliza Rhinelander’s original tunes as atmospheric as foggy coasts or smoke-filled, 1920s Paris bars. Director Drew Douris-O’Hara’s remarkably clear and tight-knit adaptation of Shakespeare’s play about love and tomfoolery was inspired by his visit to the Moulin Rouge in Paris during his honeymoon. (His wife Jade Douris-O’Hara plays Olivia, […]

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Shakespeare By The Sea back in action tonight after COVID

Shakespeare By The Sea’s 31st summer season re-opens tonight in Point Pleasant Park after COVID cases forced the company to cancel nearly a week of performances during excellent weather – “tis true, tis pity.” This season features Alice in Wonderland the Musical and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which opened triumphantly last Friday night with a huge audience. But the next day four out of the eight-member cast developed COVID symptoms and […]

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What a Stage The Mountain and the Valley has landed on!

Governor General’s award-winning playwright Catherine Banks’ fine adaptation of The Mountain and the Valley is set right on the land that inspired the novel. The two-hour and 20 minute play, co-produced by Halifax’s HomeFirst Theatre and Two Planks and a Passion Theatre, is a wonderful opportunity to experience Ernest Bucker’s 1952 classic with a stellar cast and within a gorgeous landscape. Buckler’s tale of a tormented, visionary, young writer and […]

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Mask-maker and Butoh dancer unite for Ladder 梯子, rooted in Japanese-Canadian history

The living and the dead come together in a mesmerizing Butoh dance exploring legacy, identity and Japanese Canadian history. Ladder 梯子 at the Bus Stop Theatre, Halifax, June 28, 7:30 p.m., and June 29, 2 and 7:30 p.m., is a collaboration between Halifax artist and mask maker Miya Turnbull and Butoh dancer and choreographer Emiko Agatsuma. (tickets at: https://bit.ly/laddertickets) The two first connected on Instagram during the pandemic and bring […]

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BODY and SOIL

Soil Body: Art Meets Science, co-curated by Doug Pope and Sue LeBlanc and a Robert Pope Foundation project, asks this question: “Is there a connection between human health and the environment?” The answer isn’t as simple as you might think in art by 11 Nova Scotian artists and one Japanese artist responding to this question in a wide range of expression, thought and media. Artists talk about the human body, […]

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Nipped in the Bud: a powerful journey from darkness to light by Gillian McCulloch

Nipped in the Bud is a beautiful, shattering, important and healing show about experiencing and surviving sexual assault. The exhibit, at the Chase Gallery, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax, to June 28, should be widely seen and displayed for its message and artistry. Nova Scotia artist Gillian McCulloch brings her enormous skills at realism and multimedia techniques to over 42 works in a journey from darkness to light, from fear to […]

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The Amazing World of Alan Syliboy at Dalhousie Art Gallery to Aug. 11

Open the door to a wonderful world of hot colour, celebratory spirit and amazing imagery in Alan Syliboy: the Journey So Far at Dalhousie Art Gallery to August 11. The gallery’s retrospective for the revered, widely collected and much loved Mi’kmaw artist is Syliboy’s largest show to date and already drawing high numbers, as well as repeat visitors, says the show’s curator and gallery director Pamela Edmonds. It opens officially […]

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