Recent Posts

I love the concept behind Soulpepper’s bold Lear Family Double Bill that pairs a very solid production of Shakespeare’s King Lear with a new play by Erin Shields that imagines what might have happened seven years earlier to inform the behaviour of the characters in King Lear. Shields’ play Queen Goneril focuses not just on […]

Illumination’s blockbuster Minions franchise continues with some goofy prequel action as Minions: The Rise of Gru gets its home entertainment release. The special feature-packed Blu-ray/DVD/Digital combo set features two mini movies plus lots of fun, interactive features for the kids.   To celebrate the film’s home entertainment release, Universal Pictures has given us a copy […]

Spoilers ahead, friends.   If you’ll recall from my earlier reviews, Game of Thrones suffered greatly from what I like to call the “mid-season slump.” Most seasons presented us with something new and exciting at the beginning, but then slackened as the season went on. TV is formulaic – the season finale is where you […]

 

The final piece of Outdoors at the Shaw programming I saw this year (I sadly missed A Short History of Niagara), Fairground is a kid-inclusive interactive fair that morphs into a roving concert showcasing members of the musical company (plus Kristopher Bowman). The break dancing from season standout Kevin McLachlan and pet puppets are the […]

Another hit from the Outdoors at the Shaw programming, this original narrative concert written, curated and directed by Jay Turvey is an unblinking and critical but ultimately joyful examination of where we were 100 years ago and how far we have (and haven’t) come.   The major events and artistic achievements of 1922 are chronicled […]

 

The Outdoors at the Shaw programming is what happiness is made of. Created by the cast who performs it, this superb Shavian variety hour tours audiences around the beautiful Festival Theatre grounds, treating us to pleasures ranging from a cooking demonstration to a magic show to snippets of script and song. The show earnestly embraces […]

When I was a child, I loved Quantum Leap. I watched it for the first time when I was at a neighbor’s house, catsitting for the largest orange feline I’d ever seen. He and I would stare at a little brown television, sprawled over the carpet, devouring episode after episode of time-jumping fun.   House […]

On August 28, 2022, singer/songwriter Gaby Grice took the stage at Mandy’s Bistro to perform original tunes mixed with off-the-beaten-track 60s gems. Accompanied by Alex Purcell on guitar and Duncan Stan on bass, Grice crooned and belted her way through a legendary decade of music.   Apart from Grice’s fantastic stage presence and charming self-deprecating […]