Category Archives: Reviews

A strange new Trevor Schmidt play for Whizgiggling: Paloma & Joy, a Fringe review

Posted on August 20, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

Paloma & Joy (Stage 8, Gateway Theatre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The double set of opening sequences, the best part of this very odd new Trevor Schmidt comedy/drama for Whizgiggling Productions, are a kind of performance art. They’re a graphic … Continue reading →

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‘A brief history of colonialism’ by bouffon clowns: strange, unsettling, fascinating Colonial Circus, a Fringe review

Posted on August 20, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

Colonial Circus: History, Clown-Style (Stage 27, Sugar Swing Upstairs) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The two bouffon clowns of this strange, fascinating, and unsettling (feel free to use the term “fringe-y”) show, “a brief history of colonialism,” sure know how to … Continue reading →

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Couples therapy on Mars: red dirt / red storm, a Fringe review

Posted on August 20, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

red dirt / red storm (Stage 8, Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The premise of this two-hander from the Los Angeles company Second Star on the Right is not without promise. It locates a warring couple, … Continue reading →

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Wow, a deadly riot caused by … live theatre, in a riotous new show from Monster Theatre: Riot!, a Fringe review

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

Riot! (Stage 15, Campus Saint-Jean Auditorium) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Imagine this: a time and place when live theatre was such a big deal that it caused a deadly riot. What happened in NYC in 1849 is awe-inspiring: two rival … Continue reading →

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Closeted in a sparkling showbiz world: The Spotlight’s Shadow, a new musical. A Fringe review.

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

The Spotlight’s Shadow (Stage 14, Café Bicyclette Stage at La Cité francophone) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca This ambitious new musical from Light in the Attic Productions getting its start at the Fringe is set backstage in a dressing room at … Continue reading →

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And then, a giant sturgeon ate a bunch of people, and the plot…. GUMS: An Accidental Beach Prequel, a Fringe review

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

GUMS: An Accidental Beach Prequel (Stage 18, Pro Stage at the Luther Centre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Edmonton’s wacky shape-shifting summer beach, an accident of nature, has already inspired an musical, an accident of agile Grindstone Theatre improv artists. That … Continue reading →

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The exquisite thrill of the scare: Victor & Victoria’s Terrifying Tale of Terrible Things. A Fringe review

Posted on August 18, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

Victor and Victoria’s Terrifying Tale Of Terrible Things (Stage 11, Varscona Theatre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “What if we aren’t awake?” wonders Victor, half a set of Victorian twins, terrified and a bit thrilled by the nightmare he’s been having. … Continue reading →

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Jeez, a serial killer on the premises. Final Girl: A New Musical, a 12thnight REVIEW

Posted on August 18, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

Final Girl: A New Musical (Stage 13, Servus Credit Union Theatre at La Cité francophone) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca You may already have noticed that the Straight Edge (as in razor) Theatre has an appetite for the macabre, especially macabre … Continue reading →

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Elbows up with the NaturElles. Flora and Fawna Face Their Fears, a Fringe review

Posted on August 18, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

Flora and Fawna Face Their Fears (Stage 11, Varscona Theatre) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca In Flora and Fawna Face Their Fears, the latest from the Guys in Disguise team of Trevor Schmidt and Darrin Hagen, the two earnest 10-year-old founders … Continue reading →

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Just for the halibut: ShipShow!, a free-floating nautical cabaret. A Fringe review

Posted on August 17, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

ShipShow! (Stage 25, Spotlight Cabaret) By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca All the nice girls love a sailor, all the nice girls love a tar,” as the old music hall ditty has it. And as for the rest of us … we’re … Continue reading →

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