Sometimes Fast Forward scribe Andrew Torry has a play about healing fractured relationships and it's showing right now in Calgary. 

Badger, produced by Theatre BSMT, is about Hester, who had a loving relationship with her family until a secret was revealed, leaving her estranged. When her sister calls on her in a time of need, Hester has to decide whether to cut ties with her family, or sacrifice herself for her sister.

Badger has two shows left, on May 17 and 18 at 8 pm at Motel in the Epcor Centre. Tickets can be reserved in advance, or cash only at the door.

Theatre BSMT's goal is to produce thought-provoking works by emerging artists, who are aided by mentors from the professional theatre community. 

Shakespeare in the Park will go ahead at Prince's Island Park this summer despite a proposal to cut arts programs at Mount Royal College.

Theatre Calgary, which partners with MRU's theatre diploma programs to run the popular outdoor summer event, issued a media release stating Romeo and Juliet will be staged as planned from June 26 to August 10. Theatre Calgary also stated that if the university goes ahead with the cuts, it will "explore every possible avenue to ensure that this Calgary tradition will continue." 

Members of the jazz community are fighting the proposed cuts. An online campaign is underway and an email is circulating asking supporters to send letters protesting the decision to the MRU board of governors … Read More

Lunchbox Theatre’s current offering — a new musical by Joe Slabe called If I Weren’t With You — explores what is likely familiar territory for many married couples: the temptation to break up.

Pam (Katherine Fadum) and Allan (JP Thibodeau) have been married for several years. Their gay friend Steve (Joe Slabe) thinks they have a perfect relationship. In fact, he looks to their marriage as a source of hope and inspiration.

However, not all is as rosy as it seems in the couple’s home. Pam wants some space and Allan feels Pam cramps his style. They temporarily split, much to Steve’s dismay and disappointment —  his ideal of coupledom is, essentially, shattered.

While this sounds dramatic, the show has a very light, comic touch. In fact, the audience … Read More

Theatre Calgary is currently staging God of Carnage, and if you've seen the movie, you still haven't seen the play. The stage production of playwright Yasmin Reza's story about two couples who get together to discuss an altercation between their sons is refreshingly different from the 2011 film version, Carnage, starring Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz.

The meeting of the couples begins politely enough, but they soon find themselves struggling with the same mess of emotions that children sometimes express by hitting each other with sticks, and the situation spirals into arguments about everything from cellhones to racism. As the tension escalates — fuelled by the switch from coffee to … Read More

-Photo courtesy Trudie Lee Photography

As a lifelong Peanuts fan, my one hope for Alberta Theatre Project's opening night of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown was that they'd somehow have finally developed a portal into a real cartoon world. I was hoping for Charlie's shaky voice, dusty jazz records and imperfect animation.

Naturally, that didn't quite happen, as You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown still exists in human reality. Still, working within the realm of possibility, the theatre group did the next best thing by offering an engaging and at times magical performance that did justice to Charles M. Schulz's masterwork.

Each member of the cast was dynamic and highly skilled. MadTV alum Ron Pederson was neither round-headed or sad … Read More

THE REAL MCCOY – WORKSHOP PERFORMANCE
SEPTEMBER 24 AT 7:00 p.m.
FREE OF CHARGE
Taylor Family Digital Library, University of Calgary


Slang phrases are taken for granted in the everyday lexicon. What people fail to remember, however, is that many of these phrases have a place in history

The “the real McCoy” is one example.

Now, Calgary’s Ellipsis Tree Collective (ETC) is shedding light on that phrase — and the man that inspired it — with its upcoming play reading, The Real McCoy.

The Collective’s mandate is to provide opportunities for artists from visible minorities, particularly from the black community. The last main production the Collective staged was Lynn Nottage’s Ruined, an absolutely fabulous piece of theatre.

Since that show in … Read More

There was a musical number saluting the event’s 15th anniversary (sung to the tune of “I Am Seventeen” by host Russell Bowers), a rapped acceptance speech, appearances by political dignitaries (Alberta Minister of Culture Heather Klimchuk and Mayor Naheed Nenshi), and, of course, even more breathless, funny, and/or touching words from the winners.

Yes, the annual Betty Mitchell Awards, celebrating the best of Calgary Theatre, were doled out last night at Stage West.

In the breathless category, departing Vertigo Theatre artistic director Mark Bellamy seemed genuinely surprised and touched when he stepped on stage for the first — but not last — time in the evening to accept one of the more (ahem) prestigious prizes, The Fast Forward … Read More

THE HIDEOUT
Artpoint Gallery

The Hideout, by Calgary playwright Andrew Torry, turned out to be an unexpected highlight of my Fringe experience this year. I say "unexpected," because the word "zombies" appeared in the play's description, and if there is one thing I am not into, it is the whole zombie thing. As it turns out, however, I loved this show, because the zombies are more metaphorical devices than anything else, representing the torture a teenage Lee (Brett Dahl) has to undergo courtesy of his abusive mother and callous friend.

Dahl gives a very committed and believable performance that kept me engaged for the entire 60 minutes of the show. I cared about Lee — thanks to the acting and the well-written script — and I felt his pain. The … Read More

DOES THIS TURN YOU ON?
Lolita’s Lounge

Though this show about “sexual fetish in the modern imagination” sounds racy, it is anything but. Rather, it’s a vaudevillian-style look at weird fetishes.

Actually, the show is rather informative — that is, if you manage to remember the names attached to some of these fetishes. I wrote some of them down, just in case I’m ever called upon to produce the words on Jeopardy. (Hey, you never know.:) For example, I learned that “forniphilia” means a furniture fetish. Sitophilia is a food fetish. Nasophilia refers to a nose fetish. Etc... Etc...

For each one, introduced by a placard, the two actors — Val Duncan and Celene Harder — do a little skit illustrating it in action. Both Duncan and Harder emit such wholesome vibes that … Read More

LOON
Lantern Church Sanctuary

Wonderheads’ Loon is a simple and quirky story about a lonely, middle-aged man who falls in love with the moon. And what works so well is that it doesn’t take long for the audience to fall in love with the protagonist.

Actually, perhaps “fall in love” isn’t quite the turn of phrase. The man himself is played by Kate Braidwood, appearing in an oversized mask adorned with red hair surrounding a generous bald spot and featuring an expression of permanent bewilderment. His middle-aged, loveless life unfolds without any words spoken, relying instead on the backdrop of a finely constructed soundscape.

We were already sympathizing with him as we watch him unsuccessfully try to find love through a … Read More