Author Archives: Liz Nicholls

And the 2025-2026 Sterling Awards go to …

Posted on July 21, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Two high-contrast fairy tales — one a small-scale, whimsical musical love story with Fringe origins and the other a large-scale, fizzy 20-year-old Broadway musical —  proved the top choice of jurors at the 37th annual Sterling … Continue reading →

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Finding Found Fest, a weekend excursion into the Edmonton wetlands

Posted on July 14, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca I put on my water wings just in case, and found myself this weekend at Found, a plucky and ingenious summer festival of art in unexpected places. In its 15 summers in Edmonton they’ve proven themselves … Continue reading →

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‘Mirth! mirth!’ Cocktails at Pam’s returns to Teatro Live! with the bubbly

Posted on July 13, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca If you ever suspected that human civilization is built on sand, or possibly the cubes in an ice bucket, you’re going to love the way the perfect hostess looks around her living room in the opening … Continue reading →

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Spell it, don’t sell it. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Citadel, a review

Posted on July 11, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca In the age of auto-correct, when the distinction between ‘their’ and ‘they’re’ has vanished into the mists of time — consider the kids in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, whose claims on glory depend … Continue reading →

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We’re invited to a ’60s party: Cocktails at Pam’s, Teatro Live! revives a signature Lemoine comedy. A preview

Posted on July 8, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Forty years ago a theatre company blithely outside the Canadian theatre mainstream invited Fringe audiences to a ‘60s cocktail party. In Cocktails at Pam’s, dressed-up people kept arriving at Pam’s place. Gimlets and gibsons got made, … Continue reading →

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What does it take to belong? Inside the high-risk world of SKNHEAD at Found Fest: meet playwright Shyanne Duquette

Posted on July 7, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “What would we do to be part of a community” What would we sacrifice?” Shyanne Duquette wants to know. With their new play SKNHEAD, opening Thursday at Common Ground’s Found Festival in a “secret location” on … Continue reading →

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Discover art and artists in unexpected places: get found at the Found Festival

Posted on July 6, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca There’s just no telling what will happen when you find yourself at Found. Yes, the festival of encounters with art and artists in unexpected places is back Thursday with a 15th annual edition. You too could … Continue reading →

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Brian Paisley: we’ve lost the breezy visionary who thought up the Fringe, and changed a city forever

Posted on July 5, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The saddest of theatre news this weekend. Brian Paisley, the founder of the Edmonton Fringe (the prototype for fringes everywhere on the continent) has passed away in Mexico where he’s lived for many years, following a pneumonia-related … Continue reading →

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Musical theatre tickles the Bard: larky Something Rotten! at the Freewill Shakespeare Festival, a review

Posted on July 2, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “Who on earth is goin’ to sit there while an actor breaks into song?” ambitious playwright/impresario Nigel Bottom wonders incredulously (in song, natch) in Something Rotten!, the ingenious musical comedy hit now singing and dancing on … Continue reading →

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Fringe Unforgettable: the upcoming 45th annual edition of the Edmonton Fringe Festival has a theme, a nickname, and shows

Posted on June 29, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca This year’s upcoming 45th annual Edmonton Fringe, the oldest and biggest of its kind on the continent, now has a theme, a nickname that gets to the heart of the matter: Fringe Unforgettable. At the christening … Continue reading →

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