I first saw Margo MacDonald’s hit one-woman show, The Elephant Girls, at its sold out run at Ottawa Fringe in 2015. The script hasn’t changed in very substantial ways since then – the story is still fascinating, and the voice(s) that tell it are unique in my experience – so many of the … Continue reading The Elephant Girls Return at undercurrents
undercurrents Sets Sail with Eight New Shows
Strap on your snowshoes (though maybe skates rainboots would be more appropriate at this point)- it's time to make the winter pilgrimage down to Arts Court for the 7th annual undercurrents Theatre Festival which opens tonight (!!!) and runs until February 18th. Hosting a wide variety of live performance that brings together both local and touring artists, undercurrents … Continue reading undercurrents Sets Sail with Eight New Shows
Undercurrents Theatre Festival Sees its Best Year Yet
Those of us living in Ottawa understand just how cruel these winter months can be. Despite having a relatively mild and easy December and January this year, these past few weeks in February have given us good reminder that we’re not through it yet. However, no amount of inclement weather could keep Ottawa audiences away … Continue reading Undercurrents Theatre Festival Sees its Best Year Yet
Knock Knock: Man Walks into a Bar
Review by Wes Babcock Man Walks Into a Bar pulls apart the conventions of comedy and theatre to deliver a powerful examination of the roles we inhabit in our real lives. Created by Rachel Blair, and performed by Blair and Blue Bigwood-Mallin, this show aims straight at the centre of the ongoing discussion about … Continue reading Knock Knock: Man Walks into a Bar
Monstrous, or What’s the Advantage?
Monstrous, or, The Miscegenation Advantage starts with a simple question of identity but quickly becomes distracted by unnecessary historical background and underused dramaturgical elements; this show raises issues instead of questions and because of this it becomes impossible to provide answers. Part autobiography, part research, part indictment of racism, part dance, it’s hard to … Continue reading Monstrous, or What’s the Advantage?
What is Particle?
Review by Ian Huffam Every now and then, I see a show that completely baffles me. I don’t mean this in the sense that it’s mind-blowingly good or bad, just that the creators of the show seem to be on a different wavelength. 100 Watt Productions’ Particle is exactly that kind of show, although … Continue reading What is Particle?
Particle: (Particle)arly Odd
Kristina Watt stars in this energetic one-woman show that defies easy classification. This is a very difficult play to get inside and understand. Two aspects that are clear, if not easily understandable in themselves or in relation to one another is the self consciously bad tech, and the core of Virginia Woolf’s novel to which … Continue reading Particle: (Particle)arly Odd
Monsterless Monstrous
Review by Wes Babcock Monstrous, created and performed by Sarah Waisvisz, tells the story of a woman’s struggle to find and inhabit a clear identity at the intersection of uncertainty about just about every aspect of her family’s diverse origins. The problem Waisvisz’s character faces is this: when you come from everywhere and … Continue reading Monsterless Monstrous
Mouthpiece Speaks for Itself
Review by Wes Babcock Mouthpiece speaks so strongly for itself that I don’t have to. Moreover, I don’t want to. Let me explain: there is a scene in the show in which we are explicitly made aware of the internal perception that every word and action the character expresses is part of a constant … Continue reading Mouthpiece Speaks for Itself
Listen to Me Listen to You
Listen to Me Listen to You Review by Ian Huffam Interactive theatre is still fairly unexplored territory in Ottawa. There’s been SubDevision and May Can’s HappinessTM in TACTICS last year as two standout examples, but performances of this variety are far fewer in number than traditional dramatic productions in this city. Wait, you say, a … Continue reading Listen to Me Listen to You
The New Ottawa Critics 