Author: Capital Critics Circle

This section is reserved for Arts News that comes our way via press releases from theatres in the area, or newspaper articles about arts events that are not theatre reviews.
1000 Islands Playhouse: Jake’s Gift a Love Letter to Veterans.

1000 Islands Playhouse: Jake’s Gift a Love Letter to Veterans.

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Mackey

Julia Mackey as Jake  Photo: Tim Matheson

Jake’s Gift,” a one-woman show written and performed by Julia Mackey, is a powerful tribute to Canadian veterans, specifically those who participated in the World War II D-Day landing on Juno Beach. Inspired by her trip to Normandy in 2004 for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, Miss Mackey and Director Dirk Van Stralen created Juno Productions to present and tour this piece across Canada. As Americans we hear mostly about Omaha Beach. It’s good to be reminded that our neighbors to the North also had a major part in the landings. The two main characters are Jake, a veteran in his 70s who has returned for his first visit to Juno Beach since the war and Isabelle, a lively and inquisitive 10 year-old French girl. As they gradually become friends, Jake is finally able to come to terms with his past.

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1000 Islands Playhouse. “She Loves Me” sparkles

1000 Islands Playhouse. “She Loves Me” sparkles

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 Rose .

Alison MacDonald.  Photo: Jay Kopinski

The 1000 Islands Playhouse is running a wonderful production of the musical romantic comedy “She Loves Me.” With music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, who also wrote, among other, “Fiddler on the Roof,” and book by Joe Masteroff, it’s always been a favorite of mine. Being a geezer, I saw the original Broadway production in the 60s and, since it’s not often done, was really looking forward to this production. I was not disappointed. “She Loves Me” is just as much fun and as tuneful as I remembered.

The plot revolves around two co-workers in a parfumerie in 1930s Hungary who constantly squabble, unaware of the fact that they are each others’ anonymous pen pals. Your imagination can take it from there.

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Ottawa Fringe 2014. Shows Reviewed and seen

Ottawa Fringe 2014. Shows Reviewed and seen

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by Kat Fournier, Laurie Fyffe, Barbara Gray,  Patrick Langston, Maja Stefanowska, Alvina Ruprecht, Iris Winston and Jamie Portman

Scroll down on the web site for the reviews..

As of June 26, 2 014   36 plays reviewed, many more SEEN, several reviewed twice

total reviews 45  and  more coming.

Portable #3  3 reviews J. Portman, I.Winston , A. Ruprecht

Chase and Stacey present Joy Ride  2 reviews J. Portman, I.Winston

Immolation 1 review by A.Ruprecht..

Can’t Argue With Pussy  1 review by Maja Stefanowska

Wunderjammer  1 review A.Ruprecht

Immolation  1 review A. Ruprecht

Kitt and Jane   2 reviews Kat Fournier, A.Ruprecht

Great Battles of History   1 review Alvina Ruprecht

High Tide   1 review Alvina Ruprecht

Never own anything you have to paint or feed  1 review Alvina Ruprecht

Iredea    1 review Alvina Ruprecht

Mr and Mrs Jones   1 review  P. Langston

Othello 1 review Kat Fournier

A Mind Full of Dopamine   2 reviews. Patrick Langston, Laurie Fyffe

The City that Eats You  1 review P.Langston

First Words 1 review Maja Stefanowska

Moonlight after Midnight  1 review Kat Fournier

Burnt at the Steak 3 reviews   P. Langston,  A. Ruprecht, I. Winston

Cupidity 1 review M. Stefanowska

The Surprise  2 reviews  P. Langston  A.Ruprecht

Eclipse  1 review K. Fournier

Wasteland Radio 1 review M.Stefanowska

A Universal Guide to Loving Your Shadow  1 review L. Fyffe

Poe Show 1 review  A. Ruprecht

Getting Through ‘1 review M. Stefanowska

Dont Tell My Dad 1 review M. Stefanowska

First Words 1 review M. Stefanowska

Oceans Apart  2 reviews A Ruprecht, L. Fyffe

Kavaliers Curiosity 1 review K. Fournier

Women Who Shout At Stars 2 reviews L. Fyffe,  P. Langston

Against Gravity 1 Review P. Langston

Stories of Davey Punk P. Langston

Einstein 2 reviews A. Ruprecht, P. Langston

Paco V Put to  Sleep. 4  reviews A. Ruprecht, P. Langston, I.  Winston, J. Portman

Who Killed Gertrude Crump 2  reviews A. Ruprecht,  P.Langston

Ottawa Fringe 2014. Moonlight After Midnight

Ottawa Fringe 2014. Moonlight After Midnight

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  Reviewed by Kat Fournier

The play opens with a man seated on a wooden chair, eyes closed, in an otherwise simple setting. A hotel room, we soon learn. A woman enters, and the audience believes they are witnessing a long awaited reunion. Suddenly, the dialogue shifts and from thereon-in it is impossible to know what is real and what is not. This play uses the fictionality of the stage world to keep the audience guessing, and it is a totally mind-blowing experience. The script toys with the audience, constantly shifting the story so that the line between reality and fiction blurs. But there is a constant: These two characters are meeting on a night where a rare comet can be seen just after midnight. The comet will pass by again in precisely ten years, and so they make a pact. Until the final moment, the play delivers no answers and only more questions. This play is everything I’ve ever wanted out of theatre. To say that Martin Dockery and Vanessa Quesnelle’s chemistry is riveting would be an understatement. Don’t miss this play.

Plays at Venu C. Courtroom.

Moonlight After Midnight

Written by Martin Dockery

Ottawa Fringe 2014. Eclipse

Ottawa Fringe 2014. Eclipse

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Reviewed by Kat Fournier

A group of kids meet on a beach in time for the eclipse. They are a wayward bunch of characters who are bent on enacting a surreal ritual; an invocation, of sorts, to the eclipse. But when a stranger arrives on the beach, their plan begins to go very wrong. The script, written by British poet Simon Armitage, is strange, repetitive, and hypnotic. It is nonsense verse, rife with bold imagery, rhyming couplets and riddles. A very tall order for this group of young actors, who unfortunately lose their footing in the demands of this challenging text. There are some really powerful moments where text, acting, and staging converge well. However, the staging is also hampered by clutter on the stage floor that interrupts the actors’ movements.

Eclipse

Written by Simon Armitage

Directed by James Richardson

Ottawa Fringe 2014: Kavalier’s Kuriosities – Dead Unicorn Ink

Ottawa Fringe 2014: Kavalier’s Kuriosities – Dead Unicorn Ink

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Reviewed by Kat Fournier.

Set in a historical “freak show”, Kavalier’s Kuriosities brings audiences behind the scenes of their nightly show, where an unexpected visitor disrupts the tenuous balance of relationships. A home to social outcasts of a world where deformities are considered abominations and religious writ reigns supreme, Kavalier’s Kuriosity seems an interesting setting for a dramatic interlude. The setting is the most interesting part of this production, unfortunately, which is stunted by robotic acting and soft choices in direction. The script suggests a world that is actually a lot more twisted and painful than the one presented. Some use of puppetry–shadow and marionette–contribute to the visual impact, but does little to redeem the production as a whole.

Kavalier’s Kuriosities

Dead Unicorn Ink

Written by Aaron Lajeunesse and Jeremy Piamonte

Directed by Patrice-Ann Forbes

More Montreal Fringe: Jusque dans les os; My Big Fat German Puppet Show; Lotus

More Montreal Fringe: Jusque dans les os; My Big Fat German Puppet Show; Lotus

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OScollectif_diffraction

Reviewed by Kat Fournier.

Jusque dans les os   Collectif (dif)FRACTION

Written by Stéphanie Pelletier, Directed by Stéphanie Pelletier and Kathleen Aubert

Inspired by a real moment in the playwright’s life, Jusque dans les os recounts a night wherein a man tried to force his way into her home. The trajectory of this play is deliberately narrow: It is a reflection on fear, imagination and the earth-shattering moment wherein the playwright’s fear turned to terror. The staging is very still, and yet, the production is effective. The strength lies in the strength of the acting, bolstered through the the use of some simple props. This straight-forward play lures the audience back into a moment; the subtlety is quite evocative.

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Montreal Fringe. Devil’s Circus, Story Whore and Le Monstre.

Montreal Fringe. Devil’s Circus, Story Whore and Le Monstre.

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devil

Reviewed by Kat Fournier

The Devil’s Circus

The Wishes Mystical Puppet Company    Directed by Daniel Wishes

A “reimagined” comedic version of Orpheus and Eurydice’s tragic love story. Here, Orpheus is a vain circus performer and Eurydice is his sidekick. After falling to her death from the high wire, Eurydice winds up in hell where Satan holds his own circus. This variety show is tied together by a loose narrative of Eurydice’s and Satan’s own love story and features a number of puppetry traditions from Shadow to Bunraku to tricked-out 19th century marionettes. The craftsmanship is quite remarkable though malfunctions with a number of the puppets hamper the overall quality of this production, as did the unsubtle manipulation of the Bunraku puppets. Look forward to the introduction of the multi-headed dog Cerberus; who knew a hell-hound could be so lovable.

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