Walter Benjamin once said that storytelling is a form of ¨artizan communication¨, a narrative positioned between an act of historiography and an act of philosophy (1970). Pascal Rambert’s production Architecture is an example of such theatrical storytelling. Not your typical history play, with historical figures easy to recognize and identify, Architecture proposes a troubled …
When an on-line critic mentioned Noises off and Unnecessary Farce in the same sentence I really blew my top !! Especially after seeing this heavy-handed pile of badly acted nonsense at the OLT. that has nothing to do with Michael Frayn’s wonderful British farce that pits two performances on two sides of a set …
Caryl Churchill’s brilliant two act play about sex “Cloud Nine” transpires in two eras and two places, the Victorian in British colonial Africa and the 1970s me decade in London. Various characters are played by actors whose genders and in some cases their ethnicity differ from the role they are playing. For example, …
At the 1000 Island Playhouse, this production of Anne of Green Gables: The Musical is based on the novel that holds an unparalleled place in Canadian literature. It has sold more than 50 million copies and has been translated into numerous languages since its publication in 1908. This musical adaptation, running annually in …
I, personally, don’t talk about my own neuroses and anxieties much. Not often – not in a way compelling enough for the subsequent conversation to be worth having, not loud enough for the “right people” to join in and commiserate and world-build, not often enough to ever be relevant at the right time, when #MeToo …
Magnificence of Fringe is Entangled with Pinter, Magic Mike & 52 Pickup Theatre DK Reinemer stars in Becoming Magic Mike Photo: Brian Harris These performances were reviewed June 16. The Ottawa Fringe Festival continues until June 23 at various downtown venues. Tickets & information: ottawafringe.com, 613-232-6162.
Carlyn Rhamey is a force of nature. Her facial expressions are anything but small, and her voice is able to fill uOttawa’s Studio 1201 with ease. Rhamey is a natural storyteller with an endearing, sometimes childlike spirit (in the best way!). Scaredy Cat is an autobiographical solo show – sometimes stand-up, sometimes re-enactment, …
Night Feed, presented by Canvas Sky Theatre, is a puppet play with a golden emotional core. Armed with a cast of working mothers, a conglomerate of objects and designated puppets (more on this later), and rock-solid direction, Night Feed seeks to demonstrate the struggles of motherhood. The performance I attended elicited tears, …
Get Well Soon, presented by Hamda Elmi, has an admirable presence at Ottawa Fringe, with a prescient message and strong cast of black women. It is a short and honest piece of theatre, and utilizes a sometimes-successful mediation of technology and live performance. Get Well Soon absolutely has a life and future beyond the …
Suitcase of Wonders Magician Ryan Pilling has created a highly entertaining magic show based around fate and the extent to which we control our own lives or are instead controlled by forces beyond us. It’s also a funny show with a lot of audience participation, and Pilling is able to easily carry us from …