Category Archives: Reviews

Wrapping the self in fantasy: Strange/Familiar, a new ‘autofictional’ play at the Gateway

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca In a telling moment in Strange/Familiar, a new play by Liam Monaghan, we see the protagonist open a suitcase. Liam, who shares a name with the playwright in this “autofictional play,” seems to have packed light: … Continue reading →

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A cabaret, an opera, a comedy, thriller, a festival: yup, a weekend of theatre in Edmonton

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca For your weekend entertainment, Edmonton theatres are standing by, and you shouldn’t miss your chance. You could experience … … the reinvention of cabaret. For one thing, there’s nothing like getting the scoop first-hand. In his … Continue reading →

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Sunday in the park with Greeks: Euripides’ Helen from Trunk Theatre, a review

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Sometimes you just have to marvel at the adventurous chutzpah of Edmonton indie theatre. You just don’t expect to find yourself in a park on a sunny Sunday afternoon sitting in a lawn chair watching a … Continue reading →

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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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