NS reviews

Reviews of theatre and art in Nova Scotia and beyond

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The December Man: Soul-wrenching Theatre at its Best, at the Bus Stop to Dec. 5

Never doubt the power of theatre to tap into the human soul and wrench it. The December Man, a HomeFirst production at the Bus Stop Theatre to Dec. 5, is exceptionally powerful and painful theatre delivered by a top-notch, Nova Scotia team. Colleen Murphy’s superbly crafted, Governor General’s Award-winning drama explores the trauma of the Montreal Massacre in a fictional story about a guilt-ridden male student at École Polytechnique and […]

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The Imagery of DEBRIS

Four Annapolis Royal artists who love to take photographs come together under the theme of “debris.” They are exhibiting in Debris, to Nov. 20 at Lucky Rabbit & Co. Art Gallery, 15 Church St., Annapolis Royal. The works in this contemplative show, with themes of mortality, environmental degradation and the passage of time, are arranged in clusters by the artists: ceramic artist Ray Mackie, photographer Susan Tileston, painter and multi-disciplinary […]

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THE WOMAN IN BLACK: a transporting experience of guaranteed chills at Neptune to Nov. 14

If you have never seen The Woman in Black prepare to be really spooked at Neptune Theatre. When the sun rises the next day, you’ll be grateful for the light. The two-hour play including intermission is an excellent, old-fashioned, ghost story with a bone-chilling ending. Though I’ve seen it twice before – at Antigonish and in the 2012 film starring Daniel Radcliffe – I still jumped during this production. Two […]

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Fireside Fairytale at Shubie: Darkly Comic Halloween Treat

Dan Bray is back in town with his unique, twisted vision in a crazy, captivating, convention-crushing Hansel and Gretel told around a campfire at Shubie Campground. The 45-minute PWYC play, whose full title is Hänsel and Gretel in der Garten von Edible Horrors: a Terrible Parable, is staged by The Villains Theatre and North Barn Theatre Collective with Bray directing through Sunday, 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Bray’s version of […]

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YAGA: Witches Get Real in Suspenseful Halloween Mystery

Prepare to be spooked and entertained by Yaga at the Highland Arts Theatre in Sydney through Sunday. This two-hour drama is both a supernatural Halloween story rooted in the Slavic legend of the witch Baba Yaga and a mystery story with a fast-paced, engaging plot. The well-written, Canadian play by Kat Sandler (Sucker, Punch Up, Mustard) – first staged at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre in 2019 – is steeped in atmosphere […]

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A SASSY, SWEET-16, SHAKESPEAREAN ROMP (with a message)

Stevey Hunter’s Fat Juliet is a rollicking, playful twist on Romeo and Juliet full of rapidly-changing visual images and pop songs and dance. Already sold out, a few more seats have been added for this co-production by Eastern Front Theatre and Shakespeare by the Sea at Alderney Landing Theatre, Dartmouth, until Oct. 31. (Box office is 902-461-8401). This 75-minute show would be perfect for teens in its celebration of self-love […]

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CALLING ALL POT(tery) HEADS: Unified Earth at Tatamagouche is a Must

THOSE of us who love pottery – and there are many of us! – should drive to Tatamagouche if at all possible to see Unified Earth, a feast of Nova Scotia ceramics past and present filling the multiple spaces of the cozy Ice House Gallery. Curated by artist/curator Brandt Eisner (who ran Swoon Gallery in Hammonds Plains), this exhibit leaps from elegant, spiritual raku by Sally Ravindra to Teresa Bergen’s […]

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A Battle Against Torture: Shining a Light on Women’s Truths

NOTE: This story was assigned by the late Robert Devet of the Nova Scotia Advocate because he believed strongly in Jeanne’s and Linda’s work. This is the wrong place for it but the story must be placed somewhere .out in the world. Please be warned it is disturbing and, in parts, graphic. This is for you Robert with faith in your belief in championing unheard voices. It all began with […]

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Sky Dancers, epic film, dance and theatre show, in Halifax Thursday at the Spatz Theatre

For the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Live Art Dance and the Prismatic Arts Festival co-present Sky Dancers by A’nó:wara Dance Theatre at the Spatz Theatre, Halifax, Thursday, Sept. 30, 8 p.m. Indigenous choreographer Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo’s multi-media show of dance, theatre and film is inspired by the death of her great-grandfather in a 1907 Quebec construction disaster that killed 75 men. On Aug. 39, 1907, the world’s […]

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TWIN FLAMES tours the Maritimes

Award-winning Canadian Indigenous duo, Twin Flames, is the Maritimes for the first time with 12 shows from Sept. 30 to Oct. 16. The Nova Scotia shows are: Sept. 30, Truro, Marigold Cultural Centre; Oct. 1, Windsor, Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia; Oct. 2, Chester, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 44; Oct. 3, Halifax, The Carleton, as part of the Prismatic Arts Festival, and Oct. 9, Annapolis Royal, King’s Theatre. For tickets […]

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