Category Archives: Reviews

A fizzy offshore reunion: Destination Wedding, a Fringe review

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Destination Wedding (Westbury Theatre) Like the drinks at a tropical all-inclusive — where you have no serious cultural obligations except buying jewelry with seashells in it and having fun — the clues keep coming in this … Continue reading →

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The Deaf world, from the inside out: Deafy, a Fringe review

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Deafy (Backstage Theatre) Then character we meet in Deafy is droll, wry, a master of the eye roll/shrug combo, a guy who’s in touch with the absurdities of his world. Nathan Jesper is Deaf. And his … Continue reading →

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A collision of worlds and cultures: Chanzo, a Fringe review

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Chanzo (Backstage Theatre) Guilt, grief, and responsibility, the enduring triple-crown of family dysfunction world-wide: that’s the emotional infrastructure of Chanzo. And since this new play from the Kenyan-Canadian playwright/ dramaturge Mūkonzi Mūsyoki, in a fluid mixture … Continue reading →

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Burlesque meets accordian: Squeezebox Cabaret, a Fringe review

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Squeezebox Cabaret (Garneau Theatre) “We wrote a song about COVID for you…. Just kidding.” There is some mesmerizingly kooky about a burlesque cabaret that’s presided over by a flamboyant accordionist, doing squeezebox covers of pop songs, … Continue reading →

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The body-shaming knot unravelled, in a cunning little play: Woman Caught Unaware, a Fringe review

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Woman Caught Unaware (Varscona Theatre) In this surprising, cunningly written little 2018 play by the Brit writer Annie Fox, an older woman (a woman of a certain age, the delicate way of saying over 50 and … Continue reading →

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“Leaders wanted!” Sing a song of regicide: Freewill’s Macbeth, a Fringe review

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Macbeth (Freewill Shakespeare Festival at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Society) “Leaders Wanted.” “Why Not You?” “Volunteer Here.” At the start of Macbeth, three raffish figures in scavenged combat gear stand onstage holding signs and eyeballing … Continue reading →

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Celebrating the return of actors to the stage: Freewill’s Much Ado About Nothing, a Fringe review

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Much Ado About Nothing (Freewill Shakespeare Festival on the Vanta Outdoor Stage) For the first time in a 32-summer history, the Freewill Shakespeare Festival has arrived at the Fringe — and it’s in runners, carrying a … Continue reading →

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A rom-com that opens a window onto our own history: Heaven, live at the Citadel. A review.

Posted on August 6, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Silvery trees grow downward from above in Whittyn Jason’s evocative design for Heaven, the first production of the Citadel’s (socially distanced) return-to-live “summer season” after a year of constantly changing restrictions.    Someone up there in … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on the Plain Janes’ Scenes From The Sidewalk the sequel

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca You have to hand it to the catastrophe that is the pandemic: it’s impossible now to take for granted the “live” in live theatre. “Going out to the theatre,” a phrase to be tossed off expectantly … Continue reading →

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Breaking out of our cages: Night from Major Matt Mason in Rundle Park. A review..

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Rundle Park on a cloudy night is an eerie place. A network of cement roads and parking lots, all abandoned. They seem to be holding at bay the woods, the dark tangle of trees, the taller … Continue reading →

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