Henry VIII at The Stratford Festival – A Review
Henry VIII at The Stratford Festival Henry VIII is one of William Shakespeare’s last plays and one of the oddest. It would seem that the play was designed to compete with the growing popularity among the Globe’s monied clientele of court masques, elaborately staged pageants that featured rich costumes and ingenious special effects. Ironically, the […]
Billy Elliot The Musical at The Stratford Festival – A Review
Billy Elliot The Musical at The Stratford Festival In Billy Elliot The Musical the Stratford Festival has another smash hit musical on its hands. The whoops of joy from young girls, the thunderous applause after every number, and the outpouring of love that accompanies the curtain calls are proof enough of that. And yet . […]
The Neverending Story at The Stratford Festival – A Review
The Neverending Story at The Stratford Festival Hats off to the Schulich family, whose obviously generous donations fund the production of children’s theatre at the Stratford Festival! In the 2019 season their largesse is bringing us The Neverending Story, adapted by David S. Craig from German writer Michael Ende’s popular book, at the downtown Avon […]
Nathan The Wise at The Stratford Festival – A Review
Nathan The Wise at The Stratford Festival Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s 1779 play Nathan The Wise (translated and adapted by Edward Kemp), now playing in the Festival’s Studio Theatre, is one of the literary gems of the early Enlightenment. Lessing applied humanist logic, as opposed to blind superstition, to the problem (still with us today) of […]
Mother’s Daughter at The Stratford Festival – A Review
Unless you hold a cum laude degree in English History you will be well advised to arrive at the Stratford Festival’s Studio Theatre early so you can pore over the program notes for Kate Hennig’s Mother’s Daughter.
Little Shop of Horrors at the Stratford Festival – A Review
Let’s cut to the chase — Donna Feore is a genius.
The Shaw Festival 2019, Part I
The Shaw Festival 2019, Part I The first four plays of The Shaw Festival’s 2019 season have opened and they’re a mixed bag. Here they are in descending order of my personal preference. Rope At the risk of the proverbial apples to oranges comparisons, perhaps the best of the bunch is Rope, a 1929 British […]
Glory at Drayton Entertainment — A Review
Glory at Drayton Entertainment As an American visitor to Canada and an inveterate theatergoer, I take great pleasure in seeing plays and visiting theaters that few visitors manage to discover. In the process, I often see plays that don’t seem to have any real equivalents south of the border. (No, not that border!) A case […]
The Penelopiad at the Grand Theatre – A Review
The Penelopiad at the Grand Theatre Blame The Handmaid’s Tale. With the popularity of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian tale of a toxic patriarchy there is a temptation to view all her work as feminist screed. Never mind that Atwood herself rejects that label, the zeitgeist will not be denied. It is to director Megan Follows’ credit […]
The Drowsy Chaperone at St Jacobs: A Review
The Drowsy Chaperone at St Jacobs St Jacobs, Ontario, is known for its Farmers Market and its antiques, but it also boasts a small gem of a theater. The current show at the St Jacobs Country Playhouse (through April 15, 2018) is The Drowsy Chaperone and it’s a winner. With a book by Bob Martin […]