Category Archives: Reviews

Do shebangs come in partials? Simone et le whole shebang opens the L’UniThéâtre season

Posted on October 22, 2019 by

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca There’s a certain heat-seeking rom-com engine driving Simone et le whole shebang, the raucous, tart-tongued season-opener at L’UniThéâtre, Edmonton’s francophone theatre. At the centre is an unexpected encounter between two hostile, elderly characters, who are up … Continue reading →

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Type A fabulous: Baroness Bianka’s Bloodsongs at Northern Light. A review.

Posted on October 21, 2019 by

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The chandeliers give off a lurid red glow. The bandstand will make you smile; a sparkly set of outsized teeth with pointy incisors, the inspiration of director/ set and costume designer Trevor Schmidt. The stage accoutrements? … Continue reading →

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A rare backstage pass: E Day takes you behind the scenes of an election. A review of Jason Chinn’s new political comedy

Posted on October 20, 2019 by

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “Welcome! Thanks for volunteering your time,” says a bright young woman with a smile and a clipboard as you enter the theatre. You’ve wandered into a cluttered makeshift office (designer: Beyala Hackborn, lighting by Scott Peters), … Continue reading →

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Fight Night gets the vote out, in a fun and disconcerting way

Posted on October 18, 2019 by

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Uncanny. It’s all about us. Sorry to be self-centred, but it’s hard to believe that Fight Night, a fascinating five-year-old show from the innovative Belgian collective Ontroerend Goed, wasn’t custom-made for us, right now. So here … Continue reading →

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Capturing the screwball effect: Vidalia, the larky Teatro season finale. A review

Posted on October 3, 2019 by

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca If you’ve ever had the feeling that chaos was a mere blink away — and really, who hasn’t? — the screwball comedy is your go-to form. The unnerving sense that the fabric of modern life could … Continue reading →

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“I’m beautiful. And I’m here”: The Color Purple at the Citadel. A review

Posted on October 2, 2019 by

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “I believe I have inside of me/ Everything that I need to lead a bountiful life,” sings a confident woman in the last moments of the heart-grabbing musical currently on the Citadel mainstage. The heroine of … Continue reading →

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A whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on: Million Dollar Quartet at the Mayfield. A review

Posted on September 8, 2019 by

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Every once in a blue moon history serves up one of those those born-to-be-mythology moments where the greats happen to converge behind the scenes (and give the entertainment industry something juicy to speculate about). One of … Continue reading →

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“There’s only now”: the eternal present of Rent. A review

Posted on September 4, 2019 by

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca In one of the anthems to outsiders in Rent, the characters pay tribute to their gritty low-rent East Village world of starving artists, junkies, dealers, the homeless, the destitute, the marginalized of every sexual persuasion, “anyone … Continue reading →

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Juliet writes her own story: Juliet: A Revenge Comedy. A Fringe review

Posted on August 23, 2019 by

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Juliet: A Revenge Comedy (Stage 36, La Cité Auditorium) “I don’t think I’m in Verona any more,” says Juliet. No kidding. Funny how possibilities for travel seem to multiply when you don’t die on purpose, at … Continue reading →

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Meet Barry, the hipster ‘bot: Artisanal Intelligence, a guest 12thnight Fringe review by Alan Kellogg

Posted on August 22, 2019 by

Artisanal Intelligence (Venue 10, Acacia Hall) By Alan Kellogg Well, here we are, apparently a group of über-hip start-up types, ready to pitched by Jane (Hannah Everett) on a revolutionary new product. It’s Barry, (Drew Carlson) and she (or pick yer … Continue reading →

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