At the York Theatre until January 5, 2020
Each playwright commissioned by Theatre Replacement to write the Panto gets a two-year kick at the can. The team of Marcus Youssef and Stephen Drover – in their second of two years – has been terrific. The proof? It takes at least half an hour to get your face back on from all that laughing, hooting and hollering. “Oh yes we did”. “Oh no you didn’t”. “Oh yes we did.”

Pippa Mackie as Pinocchio and Amanda Sum as Jiminy Pattison in the East Van Panto: Pinocchio. Credit: Emily Cooper

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At The Cultch until November 30, 2019
The Father is a profoundly moving play and this is a very fine production. Those who laughed in the first half, were silent in the second. Most of us – if not all – will have to deal with dementia or Alzheimer’s in a loved one – or worse, in ourselves. How in God’s name do you prepare yourself or your loved ones for such an eventuality?

Kevin McNulty in The Father. Credit: Tim Matheson

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At Studio 58 until December 1, 2019
Perhaps young adults – familiar with music videos and virtual reality – are  better equipped than I am to deal with Iizuka’s style that lurches from stark, poetic realism to exaggerated, caricatured characters.

Ashley Cook as Anon and Isaac George-Hotchkiss as Pascal in Anon(ymous). Credit: David Cooper

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At the Stanley until January 5, 2020
Directed by Arts Club Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran, this is a splendid production from Drew Facey’s handsome set and costumes to Itai Erdal’s lighting, Shelley Stewart Hunt’s choreography and Ken Cormier’s musical direction. Without being ‘Christmassy’, it’s the ideal family show for over the holiday season.

Synthia Yusuf as Maria and Jonathan Winsby as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music. Credit: Emily Cooper

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At Jericho Arts Centre until December 1, 2019
The Price, written by Arthur Miller in 1968, is enjoying something of a recent revival: March 2017 (New York), August 2018 (Bath), February 2019 (London) and now a United Players production at the Jericho Arts Centre.

Patrick Bahrich (Victor), Sjahari Hollands (Solomon) and Christine Iannetta (Esther) in The Price. Credit: Nancy Caldwell

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At The Cultch until November 17, 2019
The stars of this show are undeniably set designer Sophie Tang and lighting designer Gerald King. Kuroko, written by award-winning playwright Tetsuro Shigematsu, looks fantastic.

Kanon Hewitt as Maya/KobraKali and Lou Ticzon as Kenzo/Kilroy37 in Kuroko. Credit: Chris Randle

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At PAL Studio Theatre until November 17, 2019
If you think of British playwright Caryl Churchill, Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett you’ll come close to imagining Escaped Alone: gritty, funny, existential ponderings all wrapped up in fractured, free-range dialogue and a bonus – one hilarious dance routine.

Tanja Dixon-Warren as Mrs J in Escaped Alone. Credit: Javier Sotres

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At Pacific Theatre until November 2, 2019
Little could 18-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, travelling across Europe with her married lover Percy Bysshe Shelley and their friend Lord Byron, anticipate that the short story she conceived or began writing (Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus) during that trip, would endure across the centuries.

Poster by Emily Cooper

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Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre until November 3, 2019
Two parallel scenes are standouts: Jess bathing John in his shower and Eddie washing Ani in her bathtub. There’s physical intimacy in both scenes (naked bodies, washcloths, water) without emotional or sexual connection.

Ashley Wright as Eddie and Teal Sherer as Ani in Cost of Living. Credit: David Cooper

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Under the Big Top at Concord Pacific until December 29, 2019
Monumental and spectacular in every detail, Luzia takes you on a surreal journey into a land blessed with sun and moon, tropics and desserts, exotic birds, butterflies, strange animals, music, song and rain, lots of life-giving rain.

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