Tag Archives: Freewill Shakespeare Festival

Under the big top: after two years Freewill Shakespeare Festival is back in the park

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca The geese are milling around backstage in the greenest of green rooms. A crew is planting marigolds on the route between the gate and the stage. The mosquitos are working out their ensemble numbers. Sound cues … Continue reading →

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Melanie Piatocha: theatre has lost a bright talent and a questing spirit

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca In this bleak mid-winter of theatre, heartbreaking news of the January death of actor Melanie Piatocha at 36 seems particularly cruel. The abrupt loss of a talent so expansive, and a quester so spirited, so restless, … Continue reading →

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New faces in theatre: meet actor Rochelle Laplante

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

They’re young, adaptable, and creative. And as theatre returns in this late-pandemic grind, and the doors open to live audiences, we’ll be seeing the work of these theatre artists light up, and transform, the scene here, on- and backstage. Meet … Continue reading →

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Getting excited about Edmonton theatre in 2022, a how-to guide

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca I sometimes have to wonder if my annual ‘what to look forward to in theatre’ piece in January has become speculative fiction in our pandemical world. A universal disclaimer seems to hang over everything like ice … Continue reading →

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2021: the year Edmonton theatre returned to live (part one)

Posted on December 17, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca In theatre, 2021 is a year that isn’t ending as it began. It was more than half over when The Pivot pivoted. Live performance gradually, cautiously ventured out of its online exile, where it had creatively … Continue reading →

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‘A lovely step back into live performing’: What was it like to be a Fringe artist in 2021? We asked.

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca For artists, the Fringe has always been an experiment. Does their new show have potential? Will it attract an audience? How will the audience react? Will they get it? Laugh in weird places? In 2021, when … 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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It’s Fringe Eve, the moment to consider intriguing prospects in a year to experiment

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca It’s Fringe Eve (the night the green onion fairy leaves a special stay-awake pill under your pillow). And lordie lordie, our giant summer alternative theatre extravaganza is turning 40. The big four-oh? During a pandemic? A … Continue reading →

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Will goes fringing: Freewill Shakespeare Festival takes their resident playwright to the Fringe

Posted on August 9, 2021 by Liz Nicholls

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca For more than three decades, they’ve camped out in the river valley every summer with the world’s most famous playwright. And they’ve shown off their artist-in-residence in big full-bodied productions under the Heritage Amphitheatre canopy. For … Continue reading →

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