An Intervention

Performance Works to March 17, 2024
How often do we hear the phrase – or say it ourselves – “I’m here for you”? That’s what friends say, right? But what if friends find themselves on opposites sides of an issue? Take Israel and Palestine, for example;  can friendship survive a difference of opinion when it comes to genocide?

Christiaan Westerveld as B and Kate Craven as A in An Intervention. Credit: Danielle Merchant

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Constellations

Studio 16 to February 25, 2024
Constellations is a puzzle and not always comfortable. But under the direction of Cristiana Ripeanu for Exact Resemblance Theatre Company, these are two terrific performances by Gillian Clare and Jacob Machin.

Jacob Machin and Gillian Clare as Roland and Marianne in Constellations. Photo credit: Hannah Bel Davis. Graphic design: Annika McFarlane

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CHILD-ish

At Pacific Theatre to March 9, 2024
Kids say the darndest things. Ask any fond grandmother.

The cast. Credit: Chelsey Stuyt

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Gertrude and Alice

Jericho Arts Centre to February 11, 2024
Gertrude Stein is Gertrude Stein is Gertrude Stein. And when actor Tanja Dixon-Warren (as Gertrude) breaks down the fourth wall and asks us why we came to see this show, I’m betting it’s curiosity not about what Stein wrote but about the person, the famous/infamous Gertrude Stein.

Tanja Dixon-Warren as Gertrude and Kelsi James as Alice in Gertrude and Alice. Credit: Nancy Caldwell.

 

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A Christmas in Wales

Jericho Arts Centre to December 24, 2023
Directed by Sarah Rodgers, A Christmas in Wales is long on nostalgia but you’d have to be grinchy not to be charmed. Sweet as sugar plums? Not quite. There’s always an undercurrent of melancholy, of time passing; just enough to give it an edge.

Ellen Kennedy, Kazz Leskard and Andrew Lynch in A Christmas in Wales. Credit: Nancy Caldwell

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Theatre Replacement’s East Van Panto: Beauty and the Beast

York Theatre to January 7, 2024
Theatre Replacement’s East Van Panto always features a reworked fairy tale that takes place in and around The Drive but this time, co-written by Christine Quintana and Jivesh Parasram, it’s really specific: all the action happens on the corner of Clark and Venables at Fujiya Japanese Foods, across from Mr. Mattress.

The cast of Theatre Replacement’s East Van Panto: Beauty and the Beast. Credit: Emily Cooper

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Hurricane Mona

The Cultch to December 3, 2023
A comedy about the climate crisis? You’ve got to be kidding. But playwright Pippa Mackie isn’t kidding and yet Hurricane Mona is very funny. It’s also  more than a little surreal; one of the characters is a human-sized frog.

Alex Gullason as Mona in Hurricane Mona. Credit: Pedro Augusto Meza

 

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Elf: The Musical

The Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage to December 31, 2023
Is this Arts Club production fun? Oh, yes! Is the set design  by Brian Ball fantastic? Absolutely. Lights by Itai Erdal? Bright and beautiful. Christine Reimer’s costumes? Amazing.  And there are tap-dancing Santas.  What more could anyone ask?

Andrew McNee as Buddy in Elf: The Musical. Credit: David Cooper

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Dr. Suess’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical

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The Centre in Vancouver (777 Homer Street) from November 14-18, 2023
On the highly unlikely chance your kids aren’t already vibrating with excitement as Christmas approaches, Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical might just do it.

The Ensemble of Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical. Credit: Jeremy Daniel

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Troika: 3 Short Comedies by Chekhov

Jericho Arts Centre to November 12, 2023
What’s especially interesting in these short one-acts is that they give us a glimpse of Chekhov’s thoughts on marriage and relationships in general: never peaceful, loving or supportive. Always fractious, complicated, burdened by miscommunication.

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