Category Archives: Reviews

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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An incandescent performance in the kingdom of ice: A Hundred Words For Snow, a review

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca We surround an ice floe that seems to float in a sea of white. It’s overhung by translucent icicles. And there on a pillar of ice, lit from within, is an urn. Alison Yanota’s design for … Continue reading →

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Can you use it in a sentence? The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee spells f-u-n

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “We hear the word. We breathe. We Wait. Unlike idiots we ideate….” — The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Don’t you love it when there’s ideation? Enough, though, of omphaloskepsis. You can have a lot of … Continue reading →

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Living a love story in real life, with real-life obstacles to a happy ending: First Métis Man of Odesa, at the Citadel

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca First Metis Man of Odesa, opening at the Citadel April 27, is at its heart a love story, ignited by a chance spark — a “something between us” — in a theatre across the world from … Continue reading →

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