At The Cultch until April 20, 2019
Very early in the play Jess and Faith poke fun at those who tell them how “brave” they are, how “inspiring”. Act of Faith is not a perfect play but there’s no other way of saying it: it’s a “brave” play, bravely performed.
Credit: John Endo Greenaway
Arts Club Granville Island Stage until May 4, 2019
This is a charming enough Bed & Breakfast: tender and well-realized. However, if you like your theatre a little more challenging or a little rough around the edges, you might want to check into another place.
Mark Crawford as Brett and Paul Dunn as Drew in Bed & Breakfast. Credit: Moonrider Productions
At Pacific Theatre until April 28, 2019
Cherry Docs is a pressure cooker of a play: a two-hander in the intimate setting of Pacific Theatre. A minimal set. No special effects. Just scorching interaction between two characters.
Kenton Klassen as Mike in Cherry Docs. Credit: Dylan Hamm
At Jericho Arts Centre until April 21, 2019
The Guardian called Chimerica “an electrifying thriller”. It won prizes. It should have blown me away.
Alex Motherwell as Joe Schofield and Brian Hinson as Frank Hadley in Chimerica. Credit: Nancy Caldwell
Stanley Theatre until April 21, 2019
The problem with a truly great play is that someone is always trying to adapt it or use it as a source for something even remotely similar. It seldom works: why tamper with perfection?
Munish Sharma as Gurjit, Laara Sadiq as Loveleen, and Andrew Cownden as Michael in The Orchard (After Chekhov). Credit: David Cooper
At Massey Theatre until March 22, 2019
Forget meditating today; consider going to New Westminster’s Massey Theatre for some inner calm. Pure Zen.
Desert. Created by Jean Claude Olivier for Gypsy.
At Studio B (Gateway Theatre) until March 23, 2019
In a word: harrowing. Playwright Meghan Gardiner tackles sexual assault within the prison system in this uninterrupted hundred-minute scorcher.
At the Firehall Arts Centre until March 23, 2019
Jordan Watkins and Ryan McDonald’s video design for Marine Life is so beautiful you just want to put up your umbrella or dive in and swim with the fishes. But Rosa Labordé’s script simply missed my boat.
Christine Quintana as Sylvia in Marine Life. Credit: Nancy Caldwell
At the Firehall Arts Centre until March 9, 2019
Under the direction of Donna Spencer, Marisa Emma Smith brings the story home. Produced by the Firehall Arts Centre and Alley Theatre, The Good Bride might make your blood boil. Mine did.
Marisa Emma Smith as Maranatha in The Good Bride. Credit: Wendy D Photography
At Pacific Theatre until March 23, 2019
We can thank Pacific Theatre, a faith-based company, for daring to commission Peter Boychuk to write a play about the stigma attached to Christians. Jesus freak: it’s a derogatory term we still hear.
Katharine Venour (Susan) and Kaitlin Williams (Clara) in Jesus Freak. Credit: Jalen Laine Photography