Author Archives: Liz Nicholls

How Peter Pan got his groove: Peter and the Starcatcher at the Citadel

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “To have faith is to have wings,” declares says the earnest little smarty-pants Molly (Andrea Rankin) to a gaggle of skeptical onlookers in Peter and the Starcatcher. Faith, that is to say, in the theatre and … Continue reading →

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La Raccourcie: a father/son confrontation at L’UniThéâtre

Posted on April 6, 2017 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca There are mysteries at the heart of La Raccourcie, the 1991 two-hander by Quebec writer Jean-Rock Gaudreault that opens at L’UniThéâtre this week, in French with English surtitles. It’s a father-son confrontation in the woods that … Continue reading →

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Players De Novo replaces Belke play as annual fundraiser

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Five weeks before opening night Players de Novo and Workshop West Playwrights Theatre announced their decision Wednesday to replace David Belke’s Forsooth My Lovely as their upcoming fundraising production.  This is their statement: “After careful consideration, … Continue reading →

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Catching ‘starstuff’ onstage: Peter and the Starcatcher at the Citadel

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “Use your thoughts to hoist the sails,” advises the stalwart Victorian captain of a British frigate in the prologue to Peter and the Starcatcher, opening on the Citadel’s Maclab stage Thursday. Which is exactly what director … Continue reading →

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Lighting a (bon)fire under improv

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Wrap your mind around this terrifying idea for an improv show:  What if an improviser found himself onstage in a fully rehearsed, costumed, blocked 30-minute play he knows nothing about — without a script, as a … Continue reading →

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The Maggie Tree presents 9 Parts of Desire: the women of Iraq

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Survival: Life and love in a time of war and occupation.    There is nothing simple about the lives of the nine Iraqi women we meet in the 2003 play cum theatrical documentary that opens Thursday … Continue reading →

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Bright Burning: a conflagration in the class divide. A review

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca A sense of absurdity hangs over the group portrait in constant motion in Colleen Murphy’s Bright Burning, currently trashing a beautiful set on the Timms Centre stage. A kid (Jake Tkaczyk) comes down a marble staircase … Continue reading →

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Art and politics mix it up at Gravity cabaret

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The situation is … grave. And getting graver. Yup, Gravity, “the cabaret of art and politics” that made its debut 18 months ago, has a lot to work with this time out.  We’re at a moment … Continue reading →

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Colleen Murphy: burning brightly at Studio Theatre

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “Our big fat myth,” declares Colleen Murphy (whose declarations tend to have a combustible edge to them) “is that we’re a classless society.” “The tremendous gap between the wealthy and the working poor, and the rage … Continue reading →

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MacEwan’s new downtown arts centre: a peek inside

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls 12thnight.ca There’s a surprise waiting for Edmonton downtown. It’s in an elegant glinting glass-wrapped box that catches the light on all sides. And it’s tied up with lime green ribbons. Here’s impossible magic for you: what’s contained … Continue reading →

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