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.
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
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
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
At the Arts Club Granville Island Stage until March 14, 2015
Portraying Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. must be like portraying Mahatma Gandhi or Jesus Christ: it comes with a lot of responsibility. And we all know how the story ends.
Dion Johnstone as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in The Mountaintop. Credit: David Cooper
At Studio 58 until March 1, 2015
If anyone can breathe life into Oklahoma! it’s Studio 58. But these young theatre students don’t just breathe life into it, they give it a facelift, knee and hip replacements and a spanking new heart.
Alexandra Wever as Laurey in Oklahoma! Credit: David Cooper
At Gateway Theatre until February 21, 2015
The rich, earthy smell and feel of the land tilled by character Abraam “Buks” Jonkers is tangible in this Gateway Theatre production directed by the company’s artistic director Jovanni Sy.
David Adams as Buks in Valley Song. Credit: David Cooper
At Russian Hall until February 8, 2015
Bold. Ambitious. Audacious. These are words we sometimes use when we admire the attempt but don’t actually ‘get’ it. Steppenwolf, the debut work of Fight with a Stick theatre company co-founded by Alex Lazaridis Ferguson and Steven Hill (former artistic director of Leaky Heaven) is bold, ambitious and audacious.
At Kay Meek Centre Studio Theatre until February 15, 2015
Sometimes it takes a cataclysmic event to jar us out of our comfort zone. And, if you’re over, say, sixty and married to the same partner for forty years, give or take a few, that comfort zone can be downright predictable.
Nicola Cavendish as Lilly in The Goodnight Bird. Credit: David Cooper
At Studio 16 until February 1, 2015
The simplicity, honesty and intimacy of Après Moi is breathtaking. Written by Quebecois playwright Christian Bégin, translated by Leanna Brodie and directed by Ruby Slippers Theatre’s artistic director Diane Brown, the script is rivetting, intelligent, profoundly moving and a superb example of all that live theatre can and should be: a communion, a coming together.
Jennifer Lines in Après Moi. Credit: Tim Matheson