There are some performances that give so much more than you could ever expect. The Electric Company's All the Way Home blew my small-minded idea of a night at the theatre so far away that I am fairly certain it will never return. All the Way Home renewed my faith in the power of theatre to alter an audience forever. I don't think I could say this with as much conviction if I … [Read more...]
Vancouver Theatre: The Wizard of Oz at Waterfront Theatre
Carousel Theatre knows how to throw a party for kids. I knew this when I walked into the Waterfront Theatre for The Wizard of Oz and found the joint hoppin' with excited little Dorothies and Glindas, dressed to the nines right down to their ruby slippers. Carousel makes theatre for young people, and I for one am thrilled that we have such a theatre company in Vancouver. … [Read more...]
Vancouver Theatre: A Christmas Carol at Pacific Theatre
A Christmas Carol at Pacific Theatre made me want to dust off my old Dickens' and revisit the wily old storyteller of my youth. Pacific Theatre's production of the story was framed as a celebration of storytelling itself: the play unfolds as father and daughter close up The Old Curiosity Shop, after which they settle down by the fire and Father opens a book to read aloud to the … [Read more...]
Vancouver Theatre: My Three Angels at the Metro
When I was kindly invited to see Samuel and Bella Spewack's My Three Angels at the Metro Theatre, I had visions of haloes and cherubins, pine trees and roaring fires -- perhaps a play that would end in "It's a Christmas miracle!" (and then some figgy pudding). What I found instead was a big surprise: set in a colonial household in the toasty French Giuana of 1910, there were no … [Read more...]
Vancouver Theatre: Snowman on the Arts Club Revue Stage
After hearing so much about the process and ideas that went into Rumble Productions' Snowman, I finally saw Greg McArthur's play at the Arts Club Revue Stage on Saturday night. Watching Snowman really gave me a sense of what Craig Hall meant when he spoke about theatre that dissolved the fourth wall -- that imaginary transparent wall that separates the audience from the … [Read more...]
