The Divine: A Play for Sarah Bernhardt was the last production I saw this year at the Shaw Festival (I’m reviewing out of order because this simply couldn’t wait). Before I saw this world premiere (four years in the making by Quebec playwright Michel Marc Bouchard and translator Linda Gaboriau), I was already considering the […]
Bedroom Farce Soulpepper isn’t trying to hide the fact that this is their “something nice and easy for the subscribers” show of the year. Artistic director Albert Schultz all but called it exactly that in an interview earlier last month. Is it depressing as hell to see something this trivial pack the house while Accidental […]
Tom at the Farm (Buddies in Bad Times) This gorgeous and disturbing piece of personal theatre from Canadian playwright Michel Marc Bouchard is one of the first truly great productions I’ve seen this year. Making its English language debut through Linda Gaboriau’s poetic and honest translation, Tom at the Farm is staged with searing insight […]
Montréal is one of my favourite cities to visit. Perhaps it’s the surreal experience of walking down a city street, not entirely unlike a Toronto street, and seeing familiar corporate logos with unfamiliar French names. The feeling of stepping into an alternate reality where things are just different enough that you’re forced to pay attention […]
The two one-act plays that make up Spiel Players’ double bill- currently playing as part of Fraser Studios’ 2015 indie season- are both new adaptations of strange, challenging work from radical French playwright Marguerite Duras. They both revel in meandering, poetic language and the pointed vagueness of their character portraits but that is where their similarities […]
The Soulpepper Academy is one of the most consistent breeding grounds for up and coming theatre artists in the country. Albert Schultz’s proven eye for talent and an excellent combination of training and mentorship throughout the 2-year program has resulted in a slew of promising players class after class. The program keeps expanding (there are […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2012 My Theatre Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Gord Rand was the translator and enigmatic performer behind one of the most affecting pieces of theatre in 2012- Candles Are For Burning‘s workshop of The 20th of November. Playing an unhinged man about to shoot up […]