Category Archives: Reviews

Bummed out in Buffalo: will they? won’t they? The struggles of the blue-collar male in The Full Monty at the Mayfield, a review

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The guys we meet in The Full Monty are up against it. They’re unemployed steel workers in rustbelt Buffalo. And, as one points out, in the opening musical number “it’s a long night when you’re scrap…. … Continue reading →

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Two sisters and a snowman: Frozen will thaw your cold cold heart, a review

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca There’s a moment in Disney’s Frozen the Broadway Musical, just before intermission, when you just can’t help cheering the liveness of a musical that challenges itself to bring to the stage one of Disney Corp’s hottest … Continue reading →

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Is theatre itself a form of hypnosis? An Oak Tree at Theatre Yes, a review

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca At the Aviary, a little performance space off the beaten track that’s nobody’s idea of a conventional theatre (except there’s a bar), something weird is happening. It’s magic and you have to be there to experience … Continue reading →

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War as the human constant through time: After The Trojan Women, a review

Posted on February 3, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The centrepiece of the stage is a gory altarpiece that looks a red tree upended, or maybe a giant artery wrenched out by its roots. Alison Yanota’s striking design for After The Trojan Women cuts to … Continue reading →

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Portrait of a men’s movement recruit: Angry Alan at Northern Light, a review

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca There are so many reasons to dismiss a guy like Roger, the protagonist of Angry Alan, a smart, surprising little stinger of a play, and the latest in Northern Light Theatre’s ‘Making A Monster’ season. I … Continue reading →

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Mapping the frontier of empathy: Bea at Shadow Theatre, a review

Posted on January 25, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The Varscona stage is dominated by a bed. And in the opening moments of Bea, we see a young girl using it the time-honoured kid way — bouncing on and off it, dancing, singing along with … Continue reading →

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The improbable magic of theatre (as discovered by goblins) in Goblin: Macbeth. A review.

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Three striking, masked figures — pointy ears, black topcoats — stride through the Citadel box office lobby from … the Lee Pavilion? the parking lot? the cosmos? And they instinctively know how to gather an audience … Continue reading →

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The fun of not one but two redemption stories. Die Harsh: The Christmas Musical at the Orange Hub, a review

Posted on December 20, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca Nothing says Christmas like a villain redemption story, I think we can all agree. Die Harsh: The Christmas Musical, Grindstone Theatre’s very funny contribution to seasonal cheer, has two. And, in this original creation by the … Continue reading →

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A holly jolly “Christmas horror musical” at Workshop West: Krampus, a review

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca If you’ve cracked your sweet tooth on the hard candied nut of family togetherness, or you’re blinded by the glare from your neighbour’s seasonal light display, there’s gruesome fun waiting for you at Workshop West. Straight … Continue reading →

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Fascinating, and nerve-wracking: Cycle pedals a provocation. A review

Posted on December 13, 2024 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca There is something valiant, energizing, and scary as hell, about the show that’s currently spinning its wheels faster and faster at Mile Zero Dance. The man we meet in Cycle does something we all know how … Continue reading →

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