“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
 
Yes, it’s Tolstoy’s opening line in Anna Karenina, oft-discussed and widely-debated. But what New Zealand playwright Toa Fraser and performer Madeleine Sami might be arguing is this: All families are all alike.

Bringing together seven members of a multi-generational extended family, it’s both Fraser’s writing and Sami’s portrayal of all of them that makes the characters feasible members of your own family. We know these people. The punky, immature brother with the swagger that always manages to come out alright in the end, despite a few scraps. The all-too-pretty granddaughter that gets all the attention, for better or worse. And of course, the … Read More

Wow! What a fabulous show!

Ubuntu — the result of a theatrical collaboration between Canadian and South African actors — is poetic, haunting, lyrical, yet has a really solid story at its core.

The play follows a young South African man on a quest to Canada to find the father who immigrated here him some 20 years previously.

Right away, he encounters obstacles in his search. People he thought might be able to help track down his kin suspiciously claim they don’t recognize his father. And, so, the mystery of his father’s time in Canada begins...
The play flows seamlessly into the past, and the audience meets the father, a young biology student in Canada who sends money home every month to his young son. We meet the shy, white woman with whom he … Read More

The Highest Step in the World

Ghost River Theatre

Until October 29 in the Victor Mitchell Theatre

That Ghost River Theatre’s The Highest Step in the World is an ambitious project is without question.  Creating a one-man stage show with flying at its core is no easy task, particularly within the confines of a theatre.

The production first premiered in 2010 at Alberta Theatre Projects’ playRites Festival.  Given all the hype surrounding it at the time, I went in with very high expectations for this show.  As it turns out, perhaps they were a bit too high.  While The Highest Step in the World is, generally, enjoyable and interesting, I think it falls a bit short of the build-up.

The show interweaves three stories that all deal with the … Read More

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,” proclaims Atticus Finch in what is probably To Kill a Mockingbird’s most famous quote.

Indeed, I didn’t fully understand the standing ovation Theatre Calgary’s production got from the vast majority of a near-sellout crowd opening night. And gleaning any insight into this reaction would require walking around in a lot of people’s skins.

The superficial appeal is obvious enough. Scout, Jem, and Dill are all charming; R.H. Thomson is a fine Atticus, and the play’s earnest, if rather platitudinous, wisdom endures.

But the bar for achieving all this is pretty low (it’s not particularly hard for child … Read More

Soulocentric Festival

Vertigo Studio Theatre

Runs Until October 8

If the term "culture vulture" applies to you, then tonight's the night to check out what's happening at this year's Soulocentric Festival.

In fact, that's the descriptor Artistic Director Jenny Repond Peters uses to describe tonight's two mainstage offerings, one at 8:00 PM and the other at 9:30 PM.

The earlier show will feature three dance theatre productions.  The first, Meatballs, explores "needing something but not wanting it," told through a series of movements.

Laurel Cleall's Inside Out explores her experiences with colitis, and the physical and emotional toll the disese took upon her body.

Diffused Light wraps the earlier mainstage show.  Three emerging … Read More

PERIL IN PARIS

LUNCHBOX THEATRE

Until October 15

Okay, let me begin by saying, this show was totally not what I expected....But I loved it!  It's unlike anything I've seen at Lunchbox before because of its whimsical, highly-stylized, theatrical presentation.  (And it has wonderful atmosphere.)

The musical starts out in a dingy nightclub in Paris called Le Club Cocteau.  A perfectly cast Daniel Mallett (as Chuck) sets the stage for the story that is about to unfold in flashback.  While no specific time period is given, the costuming and props suggest the 1940s.

The story then moves to Innisfail, Alberta where the audience meets two caricatures of Prairie wholesomeness - Trish (Jamie Konchak) and Tony (Scott Shpeley) or, as they call each other … Read More

VICE VERSA

Punktuate! Productions

EPCOR CENTRE’S Motel

Until Sunday September 25, 2011

If you are familiar with the work of that Canadian clown duo Mump & Smoot, then you’ll have a pretty good idea what to expect at Punktuate! Productions’ Vice Versa, showing in the Epcor Centre’s Motel Theatre until Sunday, September 25.

In fact, I spent the first few minutes of the show making a mental list of all the similarities Vice Versa shares with a Mump & Smoot production, from the style of dress, to the gibberish used, to the existence of one high-status and one low-status character.

For those who aren’t familiar with Mump & Smoot, I should explain that the characters rarely speak in intelligible English.  For the most part, they communicate using … Read More

Grim & Fischer has won the Best of Fest at this year's Fringe Festival!

The show, done entirely in mask, is a highly professional production with an amazing sound design.  The masks are these huge, bulbous heads that, actually, are strangely appealing.

Briefly, Grim & Fischer involves the Grim Reaper as he comes calling on Mrs. Fischer to take her to her appointment with Death.  Mrs, Fischer, however, has other plans.  She isn't ready to die and outwits "Grim" using such things as a whoopee cushion and a bathroom scale.

It's a funny, delightful, creative, artistic show with some moments of real pathos.

Because of its win, Grim & Fischer will have an extra showing on Saturday, August 6 at 1:00 at the Alexandra Centre.

MUSIC ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

Jacqueline Suzanne’s Bistro

August 2, 2011

I don’t play guitar, and I’m not a guitar aficionado, so this review comes with that provision in mind.  However, as far as I can tell, Victoria-based Colin Godbout is a superb musician.  His fingers travel the entire length of the guitar’s neck with ease and fluidity.

He calls his show Music on the Orient Express because it features music from composers who lived along the fabled train’s route from Paris to Istanbul, composers including Beethoven, Liszt and Chopin.

The theme is instantly seductive, because just mentioning the name “Orient Express” brings with it a certain allure and mystique.  If the truth be told, the theme is probably more exciting than the actual … Read More

HOUDINI’S LAST ESCAPE

Alexandra Centre

August 3, 2011

Wow!  Houdini’s Last Escape is a super-polished, professional production.  And word has obviously gotten out because, last night, Fringe staff had to put out extra chairs to accommodate the crowds.

The show offers a biographical sketch of Harry Houdini, arguably the most famous illusionist / performer the world has ever seen.

Houdini’s Last Escape is framed like a vaudeville show.  Instead of carrying on with his usual routine, however, Houdini (Christopher Bange) decides to do something different and tell the “truth” about his life, much to the consternation of his wife, Bess (Tara Travis).

There’s an obvious sense of urgency in his desire to switch gears and tell his own story … Read More