Category Archives: Reviews

Don’t drink the water: Accidental Beach: A Previously Improvised Musical, a Fringe revew

Posted on August 17, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

Accidental Beach: A Previously Improvised Musical (Stage 18, FOH PRO Stage) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “On January 18, 2024,” says a solemn announcer, “Grindstone Theatre improvised the perfect musical. Viewer discretion is advised.” Here’s the thing: they wrote it all … Continue reading →

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How does change happen? WROL (without rule of law), a Fringe review

Posted on August 17, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

WROL (Without Rule of Law), Stage 1 (Westbury Theatre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The phrase that weaves its way, ominously, through WROL (Without Rule of Law), is “when the collapse occurs.” Not “if,” as you will note, but “when.” For … Continue reading →

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“Who we were and who we are”: Rob and Chris (Bobby + Tina), a beautiful and funny new musical. A Fringe review

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

Rob and Chris (Bobby + Tina) – a new musical By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The couple we meet in this wonderful new musical adaptation of Collin Doyle’s hit play Let The Light of Day Through — by the playwright and … Continue reading →

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‘We listen. We engage. We share’. Fun with absurdity in Bright Lights, a Fringe review

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

Bright Lights (Stage 11, Varscona Theatre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca A weekly support group for people who’ve had encounters with aliens operates under an earnest multi-limbed mantra: “this is a safe place. We’re here for you. We believe you. Your … Continue reading →

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An audacious juxtaposition of comedy and trauma: Stéphanie Morin-Robert: SOFT SPOT, a Fringe review

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

Stéphanie Morin-Robert: SOFT SPOT (Stage 17, Grindstone Comedy Theatre and Bistro) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca There is nothing timid or easily classifiable about this complex, boundary-testing comedy from the fearless, and very funny, Stéphanie Morin-Robert. The soft spot in question … Continue reading →

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SeaMAN: absurdism at sea, swimming for shore. A Fringe review

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

SeaMAN (Stage 1, ATB Westbury Theatre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca In this relentlessly nutty and scrambling show by 2 Sleepy Ratguys (Amica Hunter and Bruce Ryan Costella) we meet a salt-crusted, windburned, garrulous old sea captain — in two bodies. … Continue reading →

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How did it all go wrong? Civil Blood: A Treaty Story, a review

Posted on July 28, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz NIcholls, 12thnight.ca On a sunny afternoon in the Edmonton river valley, the old Fort looks positively benign. And when we gather in the courtyard for a performance of Civil Blood: A Treaty Story, happy endings, love stories, alliances, … Continue reading →

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A visceral reverb that stays with you: Brick Shithouse at Found Fest

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca It’s stayed with me, the way dangerous theatre does. So I wanted to tell you about Brick Shithouse. I was lucky to catch the last performance of the fenceless theatre production that sold out its whole run … Continue reading →

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The breezy and the sharp in a comedy of (bad) manners: Private Lives at Teatro Live! A review

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “I think that very few people are completely normal really, deep down in their private lives….” argues Amanda in Noel Coward’s 1930 comedy of (bad) manners, the season finale at Teatro Live!. It’s a declaration on … Continue reading →

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So … what could possibly go wrong? The Play That Goes Wrong at the Citadel, a review

Posted on July 13, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Live theatre is a risky business. And there’s a show onstage in town designed expressly, with single-minded high-precision calculation, to mine the comic gold in that. The Play That Goes Wrong, currently making people laugh en … Continue reading →

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