Category Archives: Reviews

Behind the scenes in war, a story of human resilience: Barvinok, a review

Posted on September 24, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “My Baba has a secret,” says Ukrainian-Canadian Hania in the opening moments of Barvinok. “A secret she is bringing with her to her grave.” As we learn in Lianna Makuch’s suspenseful and moving play, inspired by … Continue reading →

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Assault by the (corporate) media: Network, opening the Citadel season. A review.

Posted on September 23, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca  Before memes became meme-ish, when the medical profession had sole ownership of “viral,” there was the scene in Network, the Paddy Chayefsky film of 50 years ago, in which a veteran TV anchor declared “I’m mad … Continue reading →

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Heart and soul in 2 Pianos 4 Hands at the Mayfield. A review.

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The charming, poignant, and very funny musical comedy now at the Mayfield begins in classic concert fashion: the bow from the waist and the flipping of the tuxedo tails. Two men in formal tuxes take their … Continue reading →

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Facing the fall-out: A Doll’s House Part 2 launches the season at the Varscona. A review

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The stage is dominated by a door, a giant door. The room has the outlines of wainscoting and six sealed windows — all bleached out, painted over, uninhabited. There’s no human clutter: a couple of chairs, … Continue reading →

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Kiss the cod: Come From Away at the Jube, a review

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Come From Away wasn’t Away long, in real time. And yet, the world has changed in such unmistakeable ways since March 2019, when the American touring production arrived here, bringing a story of Canadian-ness back to … Continue reading →

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Gathering dreams: Dreamers Cantata, a new revue from the Plain Janes. A Fringe review

Posted on August 19, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

Dreamer’s Cantata – A New Revue (Stage 11, Varscona Theatre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca What would we do without the Plain Janes?  In addition to their excavations in the corners of the musical theatre repertoire where the forgotten or neglected, … Continue reading →

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Insights honed to a knife edge: Horseface, a Fringe review

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

Horseface (Stage 14, La Cité Auditorium) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca At the heart of this whip-cracking solo show is a smile — wide, tight-lipped, ambiguously ulterior. This is what seething looks like when it’s smiling. In this funny sharp-eyed solo … Continue reading →

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And put your hands together for … Jesus Teaches Us Things, a Fringe review

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

Jesus Teaches Us Things (Stage 16, Sue Paterson Theatre, Campus Saint Jean) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca You’ve got to hand it to Jesus. He’s more famous for his exits, right? (well, exit singular really). But the guy really knows how … Continue reading →

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Inner critics be gone! Ellie Heath takes charge in Fake n’ Bake, a Fringe review

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

Fake n’ Bake (Stage 28, Lorne Cardinal Theatre at the Roxy) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Here’s a solo show for a likeable, vivacious woman, who arrives onstage to tell us a story, wow, trailing her own personal Greek chorus. They’re … Continue reading →

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Celebrating a vibrant culture erased by homophobia: The Pansy Cabaret from Guys in Disguise, a Fringe review

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

The Pansy Cabaret (Stage 27, Nancy Power Theatre at the Roxy) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca You just can’t go through the world assuming that drag shows will have overtures that are collections of vintage jaunty Edwardian songs played from a … Continue reading →

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