At The York Theatre until March 5, 2023
I love opening nights: the anticipation, the buzz, the noisy lobby before the show; the audience ready, willing and eager to be transported. And the opening of Starwalker was, as opening nights go, a blockbuster.
Dillan Chiblow as Eddie Starwalker and Jeffrey Follis as Levi in Starwalker. Credit: David Cooper
Arts Club Granville island Stage until February 26, 2023
Written by Michele Riml and Michael St. John Smith, The Cull could not have a finer production. Sensitive and super-smart direction by Mindy Parfitt and a dream team of designers.
Dawn Petten, Stephen Lobo, Craig Erickson, Meghan Gardiner, John Cassini and Jasmine Chen. Credit: David Cooper
Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre at SFU Woodward’s Goldcorp Centre to February 11, 2023
I really need to see An Undeveloped Sound again. It’s an unsettling work by writer/director Jonathon Young that feels like Beckett, Kafka and Sartre.
Amy Rutherford as Heidi in An Undeveloped Sound. Credit: David Cooper
At The Vancouver Playhouse until January 21, 2023
Is it circus? Is it dance? Is it acrobatics? Yes. Is it absolutely spell-binding? Utterly.
Credit: Pedro Greig
At Waterfront Theatre until January 22, 2023
The Sandwich Generation is not new but a couple of things have changed: people are living longer and more likely to suffer cognitive decline. As well, some couples are having children later in life than in the past. This means that those who find themselves ‘sandwiched’ might be dealing with parents with dementia while, at the same time, caring for their own newborn. It’s a recipe for frustration and heartache.
Patti Allan as Judith; Charlie Gallant as Edward; and Tom McBeath as Bob in Instantaneous Blue. Credit: Shimon Photo
At The Cultch until January 2, 2023
“Where would you find two shirtless guys and four dancing pricks except at The Cultch?”, quips puppeteer extraordinaire Ronnie Burkett. Where, indeed.
SFU Woodward’s Goldcorp Centre for the the Arts to December 11, 2022
Not often does a show warrant a three-word review: “Just see it”. Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story is one of those.
Ben Caplan as The Wanderer in Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story. Credit: STOO METZ PHOTOGRAPHY
Firehall Arts Centre until December 4, 2022
Courage Now is an earnest play and a reminder that anti-Semitism is still with us, intolerance of all stripes is still rife and it takes courage to take a stand.
Ryota Kaneko as Chiune Sugihara in Courage Now. Credit: Youn Park
York Theatre until January 1, 2023
Ah, the East Van Panto. I’ve said it before but, really, this is the best one ever.
The East Van Panto: The Little Mermaid Ensemble. Credit: Emily Cooper
At Jericho Arts Centre until December 4, 2022
Wittenberg is always entertaining, always clever, always irreverent and under Adam Henderson’s brilliant direction full of theatre magic.
Matthew Bissett as John Faustus and Misha Kobiliansky as Martin Luther in Wittenberg.
Credit: Nancy Caldwell