Category Archives: Reviews

A social media thriller, in a digital world that works on escalation: Subscribe or Like at Workshop West, a review

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “Sometimes I wonder what’s real,” says Rachel, one half of the millennial couple in Subscribe Or Like. That invasive ambiguity digs an ever-deeper channel right through a relationship in this very tense, fascinating new play by … Continue reading →

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‘Music without ego’: background music vs silence, a fierce battle in Listen Listen, a new Teatro comedy. A review

Posted on May 27, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca There is a quixotic premise that underscores Listen Listen, the new Elyne Quan comedy premiering in the Teatro Live season in a Belinda Cornish production. And it will make you smile. In a mall in 1986, … Continue reading →

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The fascinating contradictions of Anahita’s Republic, a review

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Anahita’s Republic is a thriller set in a mysterious world of concealed faces and shadows, secret agents, secret police, hidden agendas. That world is contemporary Iran. The playwriting duo of Hengameh E. Rice, one half Iranian … Continue reading →

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The improbable magic of live: Flop! the improvised musical, a little review

Posted on May 21, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Calling an improvised musical Flop! is like calling a plastic surgery practice Oops! or an aerial circus Thud!. It’s irresistible; you can’t not look. But then, it’s clearly impossible: making up an entire musical, with an … Continue reading →

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The dark pathways to coming-of-age: Boy Trouble at Fringe Theatre, a review

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The theatre is dim, lit with a barrage of come-hither text messages: “send a vid”, “wyd”, “join me and a couple buds”, “your cute”, “no pic no chat” “my truck?”. When the lights come up, you … Continue reading →

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A new Canadian musical tells a Filipino story: Prison Dancer premieres at the Citadel. A review

Posted on May 13, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca A human sparkler stands before us, a queen with gorgeous chiffon wings, in prison orange. That’s prisoner Ruperto Poblador, aka Lola (played by the charismatic Julio Fuentes), onstage to reveal how she became an internet influencer … Continue reading →

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An all-star weekend of choices in Edmonton theatre

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca An all-star weekend of choices in Edmonton theatre. Here’s a selection. •At the Citadel, First Métis Man of Odesa, created by and starring real-life husband and wife theatre artists Matthew MacKenzie and Mariya Khomutova, is a … Continue reading →

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A gay sitcom with a dark undertow: Darrin Hagen’s 10 Funerals at Shadow Theatre

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The stage (designer: Even Gilchrist) is hung with rows of black jackets, in every style and shape, bling-ed up or classic. It’s the fashion item of necessity in 10 Funerals. In each of the 10 scenes … Continue reading →

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What possessed him? Hannah Moscovitch’s clever Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes wonders about that. A review

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The man we meet in Sexual Misconduct in the Middle Classes has a lot going for him. At 42, Jon is a talented professor who gives good class. He’s a famous author. He has celebrity, good … Continue reading →

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Love and art in the time of war: First Métis Man of Odesa, at the Citadel. A review

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “Is this real?” In love and in art it’s the smelling-salts of questions. It can get your attention, startle you, give you a pinch, make you cautious. And it gets asked, at every possible angle, with … Continue reading →

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