Category Archives: Reviews

Here’s a Chekhovian regret for you: Stupid Fucking Bird is gone

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Haven’t you ever watched yourself and got the vague feeling you’re a spectator in your own life instead of a participant? Or maybe a fictional character in something kind of meandering and plotless instead of something … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews | Comments Off on Here’s a Chekhovian regret for you: Stupid Fucking Bird is gone

The temptation of danger without the risk: Soliciting Temptation, a review

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Soliciting Temptation hands us a snapshot of a situation earmarked for our disapproval. Fretful middle-aged white guy in a grubby hotel room in a Third World city: He’s pacing, drinking whiskey, getting sweaty, fiddling with the … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews | Comments Off on The temptation of danger without the risk: Soliciting Temptation, a review

Crazy For You: sweet and embraceable at the Citadel

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “They kept me late at the bank but I’ve got my tap shoes on!” cries Bobby Child, a young man with a distinct career malfunction, at the start of Crazy For You. Words to live by, … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews | Comments Off on Crazy For You: sweet and embraceable at the Citadel

The song and dance of love: The Plain Janes’ Ah, Romance! reviewed

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “It’s a grand night for singing/ The stars are bright above. / The earth is a-glow/ And to add to the show, I think I am falling in love! — Rodgers and Hammerstein, State Fair Barring … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews | Comments Off on The song and dance of love: The Plain Janes’ Ah, Romance! reviewed

Kinky Boots the musical on tour: the blue collar gets sequins. A review

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Touring in high heels: who does that? There’s a highlight moment in Kinky Boots, the feel-good Broadway touring hit currently drilling its stilettos into the Jube stage, when everything about the 2013 Cyndi Lauper/ Harvey Fierstein … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews | Comments Off on Kinky Boots the musical on tour: the blue collar gets sequins. A review

Not so elementary my dear Watson: Baskerville the Sherlockian spoof at the Mayfield

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “Simplicity itself!” declares Mr. Sherlock Holmes, that arrogant master of keen observation and logical deduction, totting up the clues on a stray walking stick at the outset of Baskerville. Well, yes and no. As the detective’s … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews | Comments Off on Not so elementary my dear Watson: Baskerville the Sherlockian spoof at the Mayfield

Boom goes bust and Bust goes boom: a review of the strange new Matthew MacKenzie comedy at Network

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca “You wake up one morning and you have nothing….” Moonlight over an eerie forest of skeleton trees, a geometry of charred trunks…. Bust, the moving and funny, audaciously strange new Matthew MacKenzie play premiering at Theatre … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews | Comments Off on Boom goes bust and Bust goes boom: a review of the strange new Matthew MacKenzie comedy at Network

Disgraced: are we as tolerant and progressive as we think? A review

It’s a particularly unnerving week to see a play as, well, nervy as Disgraced. The news has seen to that. The snags in the social fabric are unravelling at a horrifying rate. Islamophobia isn’t even bothering to cover its tracks. … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews | Comments Off on Disgraced: are we as tolerant and progressive as we think? A review

Back at the apocalypse factory: Star Killing Machine reviewed

It’s playful. It’s smart. It’s playful about being smart. It’s funny. It’s a musical. And, oh, did I mention?, it’s about the end of the world. Yes, on the statistical probability charts, Star Killing Machine is right off the grid. … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews | Comments Off on Back at the apocalypse factory: Star Killing Machine reviewed

A rocky road to a reveal: Annapurna at Shadow Theatre

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The opening scene of Annapurna is a classic sitcom setup: a baggage sight gag. Ex-wife barges into ex-husband’s digs, dragging enough suitcases for a six-week spa tour of Europe and says she’s “passing through.” If this were … Continue reading

Posted in Reviews | Comments Off on A rocky road to a reveal: Annapurna at Shadow Theatre