At Jericho Arts Centre until June 29, 2014
“Flamboyant, flowery, fancy frippery” reads the press release for this production by United Players, directed by Adam Henderson. This Figaro – the play, not the opera – is all that and more.
Mayumi Yoshida as Suzanna and Patrick Spencer as Figaro. Credit: Adam Henderson
At The Stanley until June 29, 2014
IF The Stanley had a retractable roof and IF the retractable roof had been open the night I saw Spamalot, this show would simply have lifted off the stage and floated away: it’s that light.
Josh Epstein in Monty Python’s Spamalot. Credit: David Cooper
At York Theatre until May 31, 2014
I don’t like opera: it’s a personal failing. And I have no credibility as an opera critic. So what was I doing at the world premiere of Pauline, presented by City Opera Vancouver?
Rose-Ellen Nichols as Pauline. Credit: Michelle Doherty Photography
At Pacific Theatre until June 14, 2014
If, after seeing Lucia Frangione’s Espresso, you don’t feel like rushing home, whipping up some Calamari Piccanti Calabresi, washing it down with a sassy Italian white wine and afterwards, indulging in some amore right there on the kitchen table amidst the litter of plates and glasses, you probably need a spring tonic.
Lucia Frangione in Espresso. Credit: Ron Reed
At The Cultch, May 18, 21, 22 and 24, 2014
A brighter-eyed, more bushy-tailed bunch of performers you’re unlikely to find anywhere outside of Studio 58. And that’s where How Should You Be? was born; as a project for fourth term students, it was part of the 2013 Risky Nights series.
Cast: How Should You Be? Credit: Rae Takei
Under the Big Top at Concord Pacific Place until July 6, 2014
Ah, there’s something about pushing aside the tent flap and entering the big blue-and-yellow Cirque du Soleil tent: the smell of popcorn, the anticipation of fearless high-flying aerialists, the clowns working the crowd before the show, the music, the lights. It’s the whole circus package sans elephants, lions and tigers.
At Scotiabank Dance Centre until May 18, 2014
An evening with Conrad Alexandrowicz is cerebral. And mind-expanding. Creator, choreographer and director of Mother Tongue, he uses the poetry of Lorna Crozier in The Poet’s Dream, the first half of the evening, and of Erin Moure in our verges <borders>, in the second half.
Vanessa Goodman in Mother Tongue. Credit: Tim Matheson
At the Arts Club Granville Island Stage until May 24, 2014
From the Toronto reviews and the press releases, I expected Kim’s Convenience to be light, funny and entertaining. It isn’t. It’s light, funny, entertaining AND a really well crafted script, a splendid production by Toronto’s Soulpepper and a very engaging look at corner store culture.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Appa in Kim’s Convenience. Credit: Bruce Monk
At Waterfront Theatre until May 17, 2014
Conceived and written by KC Brown with the RIP! Creative Collective, RIP! is produced by Axis Theatre Company that mounted, remounted and toured the extraordinarily successful The Number 14.
Stefano Giulianetti and Wayne Specht. Credit: Pink Monkey Studios
At Jericho Arts Centre until May 17, 2014
The late 19th century was not a good time to be a teenager in small-town Germany; strict religious and social codes of behaviour kept young adults straight-jacketed while puberty raged within them.