Walking out of Players’ Theatre on Tuesday, Nov. 26 after the inaugural showing of Hand to God, it would be hard to miss the floored yet delighted reactions of audience members. The phrase “fucking badonkers” echoes off the high ceilings of the University Centre—and quite frankly, it’s a fairly apt[Read More…]
Theatre
‘Yerma’ A plea for motherhood or relevancy?
The stage lights open on a young couple celebrating their new house. Yerma and John decide they want a child. They bicker as much as they laugh; the cracks in their relationship have already taken shape. Two years go by, and the cracks have become oceans drowning any possibility of[Read More…]
Staging Freedom: ‘Two Birds One Stone’ teaches empathetic understanding
Two Birds One Stone, directed by Murdoch Schon, is a lesson in listening and a reminder that friendship must not be scoffed at when seeking a viable framework for peace. It’s the first show in Teesri Duniya Theatre’s 2024-2025 season: Staging Freedom. Playwrights Rimah Jabr, a Muslim Palestinian, and Natasha[Read More…]
Players’ McGill Drama Festival showcases the best of student theatre
From exploring dusty old houses in A Farce About Time Travel to a complicated reunion with old friends (or more than friends) in Coping Mechanisms, the McGill Drama Festival (MDF) had something for everybody. With prizes handed out for Best Script and Best Directing, the festival’s only real loser was[Read More…]
Black Theatre Workshop’s ‘Diggers’ is a tribute to essential workers
In a town, on a hill, within a graveyard, there are two gravediggers. Solomon (Christian Paul) and Abdul (Chance Jones) live, breathe, and work the graves, day in and day out, weathering torrential rains, pandemic, and death. They are overworked. They are tired. They continue to dig. Solomon and Abdul[Read More…]
Catching up with Shakespeare
In 1592, the bubonic plague hits London. It isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. Theatres—including the Globe—close for almost half a year. William Shakespeare writes King Lear. In 2020 (cautioned groan), Jessica B. Hill is slated to play two Shakespearean heroines at the Canadian Stratford Festival:[Read More…]
‘Legally Blonde’ features stellar vocal performances, a great sense of humour, and a whole lot of pink
This year’s Arts Undergraduate Theatre Society of McGill (AUTS) production of Legally Blonde came with a huge warning label. A week before opening night, the cast learned that asbestos had been found in Moyse Hall. The director, assistant director, and stage managers were left scrambling for a new location, and[Read More…]
TNC Theatre brings ‘Importance of Being Earnest’ out of the closet
As I took my seat among a sea of Doc Martens and flamboyantly vintage clothing, I began to feel underdressed for this performance where everything from the audience to the antique couch was stylish, carefully chosen, and, above all, queer. Tuesday Night Café (TNC) Theatre’s contemporary, lesbian rendition of Oscar[Read More…]
“The Road to Hell” is paved with quirky duos
Before I saw “The Road to Hell,” nobody would tell me anything about it. The play is modern and relatively unknown, so a cursory Google Search reveals very little. I learned that it consists of two one-act plays, with two actors in each act. A new, mysterious play with a[Read More…]
‘English’ asks provocative questions about the meaning of language
“HELLO. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR?” The militant aggression of Elham’s (Ghazal Azarbad) tone sends laughter rippling through the audience. She wants to go to Australia for medical research with a renowned professor studying gastrointestinal diseases. She has a fantastic MCAT score. She wants to help people. She’s failed the[Read More…]
