Although January in Montreal is synonymous with grey skies and plummeting temperatures, the city’s vibrant theatre community is still blazing—and nowhere is this more evident than in Talisman Theatre’s bold production of Wildfire by David Paquet. A triptych of intergenerational trauma, the play depicts the lives of a set of[Read More…]
Tag: Play review
Play review: ‘Angélique’ demands that Canada confront a painful past
There’s a smug detachment that accompanies the way a lot of Canadians talk about their past. Despite our country's tradition of violence and systematic oppression, many Canadians perceive our history to be bemusedly boring—something to be admired from afar but never thoroughly confronted or engaged with. We too often have[Read More…]
TNC’s ‘Stop Kiss’ is a familiar yet enchanting love story
Stop Kiss—written by Diana Son and directed by Alex Levesque—takes place, like so many other plays, in the West Village of Manhattan. It is there, amid the ubiquitous brownstones and manicured greenery, that Callie (Maha Nagaria), lives by herself, working as a traffic news reporter. Meanwhile, just a couple subway[Read More…]
“Intractable Woman” tells story of gendered journalism and censorship
In the 9/11 gallery theatre of the Newseum in Washington D.C., a quote by Rod Dreher is marked on the wall like a silent, certain truth: “There are three kinds of people who run toward disaster, not away: Cops, firemen and reporters.” Imago Theatre is an independent theatre company located[Read More…]
AUTS’ “Heathers: The Musical” brings teen angst, musical numbers, and murder to Moyse Hall
[metaslider id=49996] Since its release in 1988, Heathers has become a cult classic. Taking a jarringly dark approach to teenage angst, the original film follows Veronica (Winona Ryder) and her homicidal boyfriend J.D. (Christian Slater) as they seek unorthodox revenge on their classmates. A black comedy, Heathers finds hilarity in[Read More…]
TNC’s Ghost World brings the graphic novel to life
[URIS id=47252] Fans of indie classics, rejoice; Ghost World has been adapted for the stage, right on McGill soil. Following the fragile relationship between best friends Enid (Beky Seltzer) and Becky (Sarah Foulkes), Ghost World is a portrait of a bond that unravels under the strain of growing up. Told[Read More…]
Play Review: Never Swim Alone is much more than absurd
Daniel MacIvor’s Never Swim Alone is an ironic parody of gender as well as a mildly unsettling piece of theatre. Directed by Katey Wattam, Never Swim Alone is not the kind of play an outsider would come to expect from McGill’s Player’s Theatre. Everything about it is minimal in terms[Read More…]
Peer Review: Franc-Jeu theatre company displays innovative spirit in Alter-Ego
McGill’s francophone theatre company, Franc-Jeu, has come into its own since its creation two-and-a-half years ago. Its latest production, Alter-Ego, was a testament to the progress that it has achieved over time. Dramatic, emotional, and humorous all at once, Alter-Ego reflected on themes relevant to students. The play explored subjects[Read More…]
The life not lived: “The Secret Annex” uses alternate history to examine the Anne Frank mythos
What if Anne Frank had survived? What would her life and struggles consist of after enduring the most well known genocide of the past century, possibly of all history? This is the alternate universe that writer Alix Sobler portrays in The Secret Annex, directed by Marcia Kash. With a cast[Read More…]
Anonymous Monsters: Players’ Theatre examines the legacy of evil in East of Berlin
Part of growing up is coming to the realization that your parents aren’t exactly who you thought they were when you were a child. They lived for a relatively long time before your birth, had their own careers, loves, and transgressions. Though that specific version of them is lost forever[Read More…]
