Category Archives: Reviews

Oh no! Bots have invaded theatre and they can do it: Plays By Bots, a Fringe review

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

Plays By Bots (Stage 7, Yardbird Suite) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Welcome to the future. Crazy: Why did I choose to believe that, OK, bots might be able to do neurosurgery, repair Maseratis, host TV morning shows, but there are … Continue reading →

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Putting the grit into dark comedy: Mules, a Fringe review

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

Mules (Stage 4, Walterdale Theatre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Mules, a tense and suspenseful two-hander by the actor/playwright team of Beth Graham and Daniela Vlaskalic (who starred in the 2006 premiere), puts the grit back into dark comedy. Its entry-level … Continue reading →

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Epic in scale (and complication). Horror, mythology, folk tale, social satire in a new musical… The Erlking, a Fringe review

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

The Erlking (Stage 23, Strathcona High School) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca There’s a fascinating ambition about the mélange of horror, mythology, folk tale and social satire in this new musical (book, music, lyrics) by Chris Scott. In a small town … Continue reading →

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A smart, fun, dark new ‘relationship’ musical: Conjoined, a Fringe review

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

Conjoined: A New Musical (Stage 13, Servus Theatre, La Cité francophone) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca There’s always someone to block your sun. And, be honest, wouldn’t your heart feel lighter, your spirits rise, your life be just better without that … Continue reading →

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Creating ‘the impossible, mysterious sound’: The Hunchback Variations, a Fringe review

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

The Hunchback Variations (Stage 3, Studio Theatre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca A curious pair arrives onstage at the start of this smart, touching, genuinely odd, sometimes trying two-hander comedy. “Good evening and welcome …” says the brisk, professionally genial guy … Continue reading →

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Weird and wonderful, a human vaudeville under the skin: Epidermis Circus, a Fringe review

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

Epidermis Circus (Stage 18, The Luther Centre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca There’s a nutty and ingenious self-reliance built into this “spicy puppet cabaret” from Victoria’s SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles (Little Orange Man, The Merkin Sisters). Let’s just say that … Continue reading →

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Was it Professor Plum, in the library, with the …? The lead-pipe cinch fun of Clue at the Citadel, a review

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “Let the game begin.” What fun. A high-style midsummer comedy whodunnit with all the trimmings, and a larky air of high camp about it.  That’s Clue, currently dropping clues, suspicions, weapons, suspects, and dead bodies through … Continue reading →

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Sexy Laundry at the Mayfield, a review

Posted on July 28, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca In Sexy Laundry, the hit 2005 sitcom by Vancouver playwright Michele Riml currently onstage at the Mayfield, we meet Henry and Alice, a middle-aged couple whose 25-year-old marriage has gone stale.   At the instigation of … Continue reading →

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The Cirque du Soleil is back and the joint is bugged: OVO, a review

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca At the outset, a giant egg sits onstage, full of mystery, ready for the hatching.  With OVO (Portuguese for egg), the Cirque du Soleil, a storied Canadian company fallen on hard times and dormant for two … Continue reading →

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The dismantling of decorum: A Grand Time in the Rapids, an ingenious Teatro farce

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca A newcomer — a properly composed English lady, in high heels and a frock — explains at the outset of A Grand Time in the Rapids that she’s crossed the Atlantic and come to Grand Rapids, … Continue reading →

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