Richard II At The Stratford Festival For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground And tell sad stories of the death of kings. Before I get to Jillian Keiley’s and Brad Fraser’s Frankenstein monster of an adaptation – a “revolutionary” adaptation no less – of William Shakespeare’s Richard II,
Wizard of Oz: The Panto at Drayton Wizard of Oz: The Panto at Drayton Entertainment’s Huron Country Playhouse in Grand Bend, Ontario, is keeping a beloved tradition alive. When impresario Ross Petty announced his retirement in 2019 after Peter’s Final Flight, there was a danger that pantomime might fade from
Liars At A Funeral At The Blyth Festival The Blyth Festival in tiny Blyth (pop.1,000), Ontario, is kicking off its 49th season with Liars at a Funeral by Sophia Fabiilli, a smashing farce by a playwright who deserves to be better known and more widely produced. Liars at a Funeral
A Wrinkle In Time At Stratford A Wrinkle In Time, based on Madeleine L’Engel’s best-selling children’s novel of 1962, is 2023’s entry in the Stratford Festival’s ongoing series of Schulich Children’s Plays at the Avon Theatre. A Wrinkle In Time, the book, is a lumpy mixture of sci-fi, fantasy, and
Much Ado About Nothing At The Stratford Festival After the major disappointment of this season’s King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing at the Stratford Festival’s Festival Theatre comes as a relief. Under the expert guidance of director Chris Abraham, this Much Ado proves that the Festival is still capable of
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at Drayton I have often maintained that the fare served up at Drayton Entertainment’s archipelago of Southwestern Ontario theatres serves as a palate cleanser for the hoity-toity, highbrow stuff on offer at the Stratford Festival. Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is a perfect case in
Rylance is an actor of astonishing idiosyncrasy, as anyone who saw him in Boeing, Boeing, or La Bete, or as Richard II at the Globe will readily appreciate. Rylance’s hallmark is making choices no other actor would dream of and, improbably, making them work beautifully. Ironically his larger than life Rooster Byron is his most straightforward interpretation in years. Mark Rylance quite simply is Rooster Byron. His embodiment is so complete that it leaves no room for reinterpretation. It is hard to imagine the play being mounted without him.
What the play has going for it, of course, are its protagonists, George and Martha, who let us wallow in the voyeuristic schadenfreude of watching a relationship far more dysfunctional than any of ours could possibly be. Albee certainly knew how to create powerful moments. It is also an opportunity for first-rate actors (if you’re lucky enough to have them) to pull out all the stops and really chew the scenery.
Written in rhyming couplets in the manner of Moliere, set in Moliere’s France, and dealing with the sort of cultural hypocrisies that were Moliere’s bread and butter, Hirson’s play seems uncannily of the moment nearly twenty years on, with much to tell us about the current debased state of our entertainment culture. (Are you reading this Snooki?) Perhaps that is the definition of great dramatic art.
Cirque du Soleil’s “O” is one of the many well known shows on the Las Vegas Strip produced by the French Cirque Du Soleil production company. This show has been described as intense, otherworldly, and ethereal.
Like some other Cirque Du Soleil shows, O Las Vegas has lots of diving, synchronized swimming, and water based performances. Bellagio’s “O” continues to be one of the Strip’s best selling shows and one of the most unique experiences in the city of Las Vegas.
Ka is another fantastic production by the famous Cirque du Soleil acrobatic company. With an ongoing performance at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino on the south Strip, audiences are treated to a true spectacle of art at Ka.
This show expertly combines martial arts, puppetry and acrobatics into a thrilling performance for all. Ka’s elements are a masterpiece that tell the story of Imperial Twins who are separated by an attack on their palace.
“The Lion King” tells the tale of a murdered king, his feckless son, and a usurping uncle. Shades of Shakespeare! But this is a Disney production and the real source is a Disney animated film of the same name and anyone who says Disney stole the plot from a Japanese animated film is itchin’ for a fight. But that’s all beside the point. The wafer-thin and perfectly harmless story is just an excuse for a very enjoyable production.
Stratford Announces 2023 Season Somewhat later than used to be the case, the Stratford Festival has announced its 2023 season, with four plays by The Bard. Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino likes to build each season around a central theme. Reflecting on the toll taken by the recent pandemic and the
Shaw Announces 2023 Season The Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, has announced an ambitious 17-play 2023 season and it looks promising. The Shaw’s 2023 season will kick off with a two-part, six-hour updating of the Sanskrit epic The Mahabarata, featuring an all South Asian cast. It will run for just
(Image: Monica Silvestre) Long Wharf Theatre, Meet The Blyth Festival Jesse Green’s recent article in the New York Times about ending racism in theatre kicks off with a discussion of changes at New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre If you are not up to speed on Long Wharf’s current situation, Green’s
(Image: Drayton Entertainment) Mamma Mia! Returns To Drayton Good news for Mamma Mia! fans. Drayton Entertainment is bringing back its sold-out summer hit to the St Jacobs Playhouse for a limited run, November 1 to 20, 2022. Whether you have seen every iteration of this quintessential juke box musical or,
Why Drayton Is Important I had been coming to Canada for several years, sampling the theatrical riches of the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, before I discovered the Blyth Festival and added it to my theatre-going repertoire. It was several more years before I discovered the archipelago of theatres operated by
Shakespeare On Stage This evening (June 15), I will be attending the book launch for Shakespeare On Stage and Off, a collection of essays on the Bard, at the Stratford Festival’s Meighen Forum in the new Tom Patterson Theatre. So curiosity took me to the book’s Amazon page where the
