Welcome to Thebes

At Jericho Arts Centre until April 19, 2015
Welcome to Thebes is a challenging, frustrating play but United Players has never let that stop them.

MariaLuisa Alvarez and Jordon Navratil in Welcome to Thebes. Credit: Nancy Caldwell

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Obaaberima

At The Cultch. March 24-28, 31, April 1-4 at 8pm. March 28, 29, April 4 at 2pm.
Put a master storyteller on stage. Add dramatic lighting and a percussive soundscape. And let the magic begin. It’s a rapturous theatrical experience in the company of Tawiah Ben M’carthy.

Tawiah Ben M’carthy in Obaaberima. Credit: Jeremy Mimnagh

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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

At The Stanley until April 19, 2015
As you might guess from the title, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a mash-up of the major plays of Chekhov, scrambled together by American playwright Christopher Durang and set in the present.

Jay Brazeau as Vanya in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Credit: David Cooper

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Iceland

At Presentation House until March 29, 2015
Bad things often happen to bad people. But bad things also happen to good people.

Lindsey Angell as Kassandra in Iceland. Credit: Tim Matheson

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Mozart & Salieri

At Jericho Arts Centre. Must close Saturday, March 14, 2015
What makes Mozart & Salieri work is young Cate Richardson. In whiteface, with a little rosebud mouth and thin, arching eyebrows, she seems perpetually on the verge of bursting out laughing. Or sharing a secret like, “Isn’t this completely silly and fun?”

Cate Richardson as The Player in Mozart & Salieri. Credit: David Newham

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The Competition is Fierce

At The Shop (125 East 2nd) until March 22, 201

Chelsea Haberlin, co-artistic producer of ITSAZOO, says that the company has always believed that “theatre should be a party – a night out that is as cool as a concert” but most concerts don’t have guys running around bare-assed with their manly parts dangling, throwing poo or stabbing each other.

Chris Cochrane as John in The Competition is Fierce. Credit: Gaelan Beatty

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Cat Killer

At Presentation House until March 15, 2015
As you may have assumed, I’m not a video gamer. Plain old reality is hard enough to deal with; virtual reality scares the wits out of me. And the bewildering array of aggressively marketed ‘iThings’ seems to me a technological iCancer, invading our private lives and keeping the natural world at a distance.

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The Whipping Man

At Pacific Theatre until March 21, 2015
Comparisons to Scarlett O’Hara’s return home after the fall of the Confederate Army are unavoidable in this Pacific Theatre presentation of The Whipping Man: a former Southern mansion reduced to filthy rubble, smashed floors, exposed lath, an ornate chandelier fallen from the ceiling and resting askew on the floor. Faith, loyalty and betrayal: it’s all here.

Giovanni Mocibob, Carl Kennedy and Tom Pickett in The Whipping Man. Credit: Damon Calderwood

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Sister Judy

At the Arts Club Revue Stage until March 21, 2015
Writer/actor/director Shawn Macdonald humanizes Sister Judy (Jenny Wasko-Paterson) and Father Frank (Mike Wasko) in his new play, Sister Judy, subtitled A Love Story. It’s less about Catholicism – although there is some passionate debate about the existence or non-existence of Jesus Christ – and more about love in all its manifestations.

Lili Beaudoin, Jenny Wasko-Paterson and Mike Wasko in Sister Judy. Credit: David Cooper

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Cadre

At The Cultch until March 8, 2015
“This. Is. My. Land. This. Is. Not. Your. Land.”

Omphile Molusi and Lillian Tshabalala in Cadre. Credit: Ruphin Coudyzer

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