This year’s Torchlight Shakespeare production from A Company of Fools continues their proud tradition of fun and fast-paced classical theatre, with only a hint of growing pains as they bring new performers into their fold. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays, and in many ways is an ideal play for … Continue reading ‘Midsummer Night’ Keeps the ‘Dream’ Alive
DEB Talks: Preaches to the Choir
This piece is an outgrowth from a project that premiered at Fresh Meat in 2016, featuring a host of new segments to bring it’s running time up from 20 to just over 50 minutes. Creator/performer Deborah Ring plays a bevy of characters, each of whom possesses a uniquely bent worldview that they present in a … Continue reading DEB Talks: Preaches to the Choir
For Your “Love and Information”
TWA brings Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information to the Ottawa Fringe this year. It’s a little headier than your average Fringe show, but I encourage you to check out this production of a modern classic, performed by a promising group of young performers. Love and Information is not a play; it’s more like fifty plays … Continue reading For Your “Love and Information”
“Maestro”: Production Can’t Get a ‘Handel’ on Weak Text
Maestro, presented by Plosive Productions at the Gladstone, is an idealistic step forward in a lot of ways: it is an English-language premiere of a Canadian script set in Ottawa, in a production with performances in both French and English. Unfortunately Maestro (written by Claude Montminy) is not a good play, and the bilingual aspect to the … Continue reading “Maestro”: Production Can’t Get a ‘Handel’ on Weak Text
“girls!girls!girls!” Makes the Most of a Weak Script
Cart Before the Horse Theatre Company’s girls!girls!girls! has strong acting and design components going for it, but the production is bogged down by a script that tries too hard to make a statement about juvenile delinquency. In a nameless small Ontario town on a typical Friday night, local teens take over in a no-holds-barred sloshfest, … Continue reading “girls!girls!girls!” Makes the Most of a Weak Script
“The Hottentot Venus- UNTOLD”: Reflections on the Past Gives way to Reconciliations in the Future
As we continue through the 21st century and try to put right the wrongs of past centuries, it’s very easy to point fingers and stay angry. A more productive method, however, is to focus on the healing that needs to happen before we can really move on. The Hottentot Venus – UNTOLD is a show that … Continue reading “The Hottentot Venus- UNTOLD”: Reflections on the Past Gives way to Reconciliations in the Future
Little Shop of Horrors a Delightful Black Comedy
Black comedy often presents a challenge for directors and performers: if you go too subtle with it no one will laugh, but if you’re too heavy handed with it the audience will feel you’re shoving it down their throats. Fortunately with Theatre Kraken’s Little Shop of Horrors, director Don Fex and the performers get the … Continue reading Little Shop of Horrors a Delightful Black Comedy
A Local Guide to Celebrating World Theatre Day 2017
“Within these twenty-four hours we may be taken from France to Russia, from Racine and Moliere to Chekhov; we can even cross the Atlantic as a bolt of inspiration to serve on a Campus in California, enticing a young student there to reinvent and make their name in theatre. Indeed, theatre has such a thriving … Continue reading A Local Guide to Celebrating World Theatre Day 2017
“A Man of No Importance” Sees Mixed Results
A Man of No Importance, presented by indie women productions, is a bit of a capricious musical that explores a time, not too long ago, when religion-based intolerance still pervaded most aspects of Irish society. Based on the 1994 film of the same name, AMONI tells the story of Alfie Byrne, a bus conductor … Continue reading “A Man of No Importance” Sees Mixed Results
“Finishing the Suit touches on big themes
With Finishing the Suit, Bear & Co. make a valuable addition to the history of queer theatre in Ottawa. Thematically rich and dealing with important aspects of gay identity and modern British history, Suit suffers from an existential premise that perhaps draws too much attention to itself, though its strengths, as well its strong directing … Continue reading “Finishing the Suit touches on big themes
