Author Archives: Liz Nicholls

A three-festival weekend in Edmonton theatre: improv, Shakespeare, musical theatre…

Posted on June 26, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Real people together, artists and audiences, getting festive: what a concept! It’s an AI-proof three-festival weekend on Edmonton stages. •No one can really know what will happen at Improvaganza, Rapid Fire Theatre’s annual excursion into the … Continue reading →

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Taking the leap into the timeless (with tartan): Brigadoon at NUOVA Vocal Arts, a review

Posted on June 25, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca If it takes a village to stage any Golden Age Broadway musical, consider the case of Kim Mattice Wanat’s production of Lerner and Loewe’s 1947 Brigadoon, the finale of this year’s NUOVA Vocal Arts Festival. The … Continue reading →

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Once more unto the park! Much Ado About Nothing celebrates the homecoming of the Freewill Shakespeare Festival, a review

Posted on June 21, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca A sweet, long-awaited reunion is happening in Hawrelak Park. And you should be there to feel the vibrations. It’s been a hard, uphill road back, but the Freewill Shakespeare Festival, a ‘merry wanderer’ (as a sprite … Continue reading →

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The season in Edmonton theatre: the 2025-2026 Sterling nominations, led by Cyrano de Bergerac

Posted on June 20, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca An exuberant, verse- and action- filled new adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, proved the jurors’ top choice as nominations for the 37th annual Sterling Awards were announced this week. Named for theatre pioneer Elizabeth Sterling Haynes, … Continue reading →

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New season new boss at Shadow Theatre: meet artistic director Lana Michelle Hughes

Posted on June 16, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca New season. New boss. At Shadow Theatre, Lana Michelle Hughes, the company’s multi-talented new artistic director (only their second in a 33-year history), has announced an all-Canadian quartet of productions. Hughes’ debut lineup has a striking … Continue reading →

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Much ado about … something big! Freewill Shakespeare Festival is (finally) back in Hawrelak Park, with two shows

Posted on June 11, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca They’re back! Finally. In the park where they belong…. When Benedick and Beatrice, the witty sparring partners of Much Ado About Nothing, take their “merry war” to the Heritage Amphitheatre in newly re-opened Hawrelak Park Wednesday, … Continue reading →

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A Michelin star performance by Andrew MacDonald-Smith in Fully Committed, at Teatro Live!, a review

Posted on June 7, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca A phone starts ringing before our unemployed actor hero even arrives at his day job for a shift in the underworld — at the reservation desk hidden in the nether regions of the hottest, hippest Manhattan … Continue reading →

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An ‘industrial puppet symphony’ by the transgender/gender-diverse community: Fantasies in Trash: in eleven movements, at Nextfest. A preview

Posted on June 5, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “It’s not a play it’s a puppet show!” declares Emilia Fox Hillyer, the artist who instigated and “assembled” Fantasies in Trash: in eleven movements. The collectively written “industrial puppet symphony” that opens Saturday at Nextfest is … Continue reading →

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Where the human and animal worlds meet: The Bin, at Nextfest. Meet playwright Lexi House

Posted on June 4, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “I’ve never written a play before,” says Lexi House. It’s a declaration of artistic intent that weaves itself through the fabric of Nextfest like a golden thread. Innovative (by very definition), Edmonton’s multi-disciplinary festival of emerging … Continue reading →

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A June week on E-town stages: two festivals, a multi-character solo show, a drag queen extravaganza, a Pride party …

Posted on June 3, 2026 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca A June week in Edmonton theatre: for starters, two festivals, a virtuoso solo show in which one extremely agile actor plays 40 (!) characters, an evening with local drag royalty, a big Pride block party. •The … Continue reading →

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