When the clock struck three in Julius Caesar, you probably scratched your head, knowing that striking clocks didn’t exist two millennia ago in the play’s setting. In Caesar’s time, people checked sundials or water clocks (clepsydra), neither of which — inconveniently for the Bard — chimed. It would be almost
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PostArctica: Bolsheviki by David Fennario
Read this play last night – brilliant, classic Fennario. Having grown up in the Verdun/Point area his characters tend to send shivers down my spine in their uncanny familiarity and purely old school working class worldviews. It includes a lot of stuff about World War 1 that your standard history
Continue readingPostArctica: Fantastic Night In Verdun
Friday evening was a celebration of a wonderful project started over a year ago by the Comité d’action des citoyennes et citoyens de Verdun (CACV). The basic idea is to […]
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Laureen: Queen of the Tundra
As an American expat unfamiliar with the pop-cultural aspect of Canadian politics, a lot of the jokes in Laureen: Queen of the Tundra went over my head. However, it is to the performers’ credit that this did not distract from their commentary about the fluidity of gender and culture, against
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Non-conformist jugglers, Mrs. Pirandello, and intense performance art
The New Conformity, from Vancouver circus troupe Cause & Effect, is on its most immediate level a direct commentary on contemporary corporate culture. The performers, clad in identical grey suits, use juggling and physical comedy to tell the story of one man’s rebellion against imposed monotony, which begins with the
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Dystopia, misogyny, and carrés rouges
2056: A Dystopian Black Comedy takes place in a near-future Canada, controlled by an authoritarian regime known as the Helpers who have, in the wake of an atheist Reckoning, abolished all religion and languages other than English. Like other dystopias, it is based on controlled fear. Written by Keir Cutler
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: The No Bull$#!% History of Canada and Bar Kapra the Squirrel Hunter: No-bullshit reviews
No bullshit, just coffee: Kyle Allatt performs The No Bull$#!% History of Canada to June 21st A tight, well-paced show, The No Bull$#!% History of Canada rips through 600+ years of history in what feels like ten minutes. Given the vast timespan explored in what is actually just under an
Continue readingArt Threat: What does the word Polytechnique mean to you? – a review of The Anorak
The Anorak, written and performed by Adam Kelly Morton, goes beyond the pat answers and media sensationalism around the Polytechnique massacre and examines what made Marc Lépine a killer. Exceptionally well-researched, Morton’s text looks critically at the myriad factors that anti-feminists have attempted to derail the public discourse with, from
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Hue Man & The Dysmorphia Diet
Hue Man: He Volution An exploration of socially constructed male gender roles through puppetry and video art, Hue Man: He Volution is an interesting concept that doesn’t quite work. The pre-show here includes a PowerPoint presentation about sexist terms that need to be retired, all of which pertain to concepts
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: God as Drag Queen, Big Gay Weddings, and Peeing on Stage for Poverty
God Is A Scottish Drag Queen II Where this God is concerned, nothing is sacred. Essentially an hour of stand-up performed by Mike Delamont in character as a Scottish incarnation of God in a floral power suit with a list of religion-related talking points, God Is A Scottish Drag Queen
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Chlamydia dell’Arte: A Sex-Ed Burlesque
“Butt sex should never be a surprise.” So begins the very catchy tune that opens Chlamydia dell’Arte: A Sex-Ed Burlesque. Alternating skits and burlesque numbers with vox pop video segements, this show aims to “educate through laughter”, and to some degree it succeeds. The safe sex aspects of the show
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Ginger Slurs & Slut Shaming
Project Gingervitis Project Gingervitis is a smart, funny take on discrimination, eugenics, geopolitics, and media manipulation. A one-man show written and brilliantly performed by Jordan Lloyd Watkins and set in a dystopian future, the show tells the story of a lone redhead born years after redheads were thought to have
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Kitt & Jane guide us through the ecological apocalypse
Kitt & Jane: an interactive survival guide to the Near-Post-Apocalyptic Future is environmental activist theatre disguised as charming comedy and shadow play. Created by the team behind the award-winning Little Orange Man, Kitt & Jane sees Kitt, still quietly mourning her grandfather’s death, teamed up with Jane (real name: Lucas)
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Our Creation, Existence, & Destruction in 55 Minutes
Our Creation, Existence, & Destruction in 55 Minutes is a one-man show from recent John Abbott Theatre grad Ian Geldart. Supported by stage manager Natasha Gabriella Trepanier in minor speaking roles and the work of animator Dylan Alberts, Geldart sets out to explore the big picture laid out in the
Continue readingArt Threat: My Playwright Sister: a play about a play about a transgender sibling
My Playwright Sister, written and performed by James Diamond and Johanna Nutter, is a sequel of sorts to Nutter’s earlier work, My Pregnant Brother. My Pregnant Brother sets Nutter’s struggle to assert herself against her instinct to help her pregnant, transgendered brother. While this autobiographical piece is exquisitely well-performed, it
Continue readingRob Maguire: What it means to bring home the bacon and schtupp the schoolteacher
Copywriting can lead you down some strange rabbit holes. While hacking together some draft web copy this morning, I typed out “bring home the bacon” as a reference to earning income. I then paused to wonder about the phrase’s origin. Pomodoro be damned; a quick Google search brought me to
Continue readingArt Threat: Allegheny, BC: transformative theatre that shirks corporate culture
With six internationally acclaimed albums and a well-received book of poetry to his name, Rodney DeCroo is turning his talents to the theatre. I met with Mr. DeCroo in Vancouver at a Commercial Drive café in late August and talked with him about his current project. Allegheny, BC, directed by
Continue readingknitnut.net: Fringe Review: Chesterfield
I won 2 tickets from Apt. 613 to see Chesterfield at Fringe Fest, along with a gift certificate for a ZaZaZa pizza! We haven’t eaten the pizza yet, but we did go see Chesterfield and we got front row centre seats in a pleasantly air-conditioned sold-out theatre. GC and I
Continue readingRob Maguire: Life with Pi: wading into Vancouver’s independent theatre scene
Last night, I was warmly welcomed onto the board of directors for Pi Theatre’s. Pi produces bold, uncompromising plays that explore modern life. They also have a fantastic staff and a dedicated, enthusiastic board. I’m thrilled to be collaborating with such a talented group of people. Beyond a shared interest
Continue readingArt Threat: Carrot loophole saves theatre from tax hike
Austerity measures in Spain have increased taxes on nearly everything. Tax on theatre tickets was bumped from 8 to 21 percent, and in an already challenging economy, theatre companies were naturally worried about whether higher costs would keep the public away. In the town of Bescanó, two hours north of
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