Elsa McKnight Gets Experimental
- Artist
- Interview
- News
- Queen's Theatre Troupe
“Everything is useful. Everything is worth studying.” When I met with Elsa McKnight to discuss EXPERIMENT 1a, I was slightly surprised by her cheerful demeanour. While the show’s marketing has a rather ominous tone—with black-and-red posters that read “Tabula Rasa Laboratory: We Are Always Watching” and Instagram posts with captions like “lean into the uncertainty” and “have you given up on society?”—its creator is warm and chatty, with a distinct […]
Performances
Bonnie & Clyde
First Friday Show
News & Reviews
A VR Journey: PXR 2024 is Here
- PXR Conference
- Review
Virtual Reality has been on the rise as a new medium in the theatre industry for a few years now, but is it ready to take the forefront? Last weekend I had the honour of attending the 2024 PXR Conference for the second year running. This time around, I attended Journey to Octopulis: Improv or Die, hosted by Unknown Theater, and Mary Shelley Lives Here, hosted by Hummingbird Interactive. Both […]
Modern Drawing Room Drama and Feminine Ennui in Queen’s Theatre Troupe’s ‘Hedda Gabler’
- Queen's Theatre Troupe
- Review
Depicting the titular woman’s dissatisfaction with her recent marriage and position in life, the famous Hedda Gabler, written by renowned playwright Henrik Ibsen, was published in 1890 and first staged in 1891. Hedda (Rachel Fenos) has married George Tesman (Aaron Alum), an academic devoted to his work, who is blissfully ignorant of her real feelings about their union. The one-room drama follows her interactions with friends and neighbours as she […]
Far from Wonderland, ‘Alice & the World We Live In’ Bumps Up Against Reality
- Review
- Theatre Kingston
Rather than tumbling into a fantastical wonderland, this Alice fights against reality as she struggles with the unexpected loss of her husband, Ever. Aside from the shared name, Alice & the World We Live In has no relation to Lewis Carroll’s famous character. Written by Alexandria Haber and directed by Rosemary Doyle, this powerful two-person show stars Helen Bretzke as Alice and Sean Roberts as Ever. He appears to Alice […]
Disturbingly Congenial and Delightfully Frightening: ‘Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde’
- Domino Theatre
- Review
Whether you recognize it from the theatre, the cinema, the Victorian novella, or the iconic Arthur song, the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is an enduring cultural touchstone. With a healthy mix of good and evil, fantasy and drama, this story provides the perfect recipe for a spooky autumn play—which means it’s arrived at Domino Theatre just in time. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 gothic horror […]
Interviews
Exploring Expansive Realities: An Interview with PXR 2024’s Nicole Eun-Ju Bell
- Interview
- PXR Conference
At PXR 2024, performance meets expansive realities across physical and digital spaces. Established in 2020, the PXR (Performance and XR) Conference is Canada’s first and only conference on XR (Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality) performance creation. PXR 2024, hosted by Single Thread Theatre Company, takes place in-person in Kingston, Toronto, and Vancouver, as well as virtually, from Friday, November 8th to Sunday, November 17th—local Kingston events are in partnership with […]
Writing a Play is Like Watching a Film: Richard Sheridan Willis on ‘Boy Beatle’
- Interview
- Playwright
- Theatre Kingston
The classic saying is, “The show must go on!” Well, so must the review… sort of. With our small team at the KTA, unfortunately when one of us is struck with sickness, there’s a bit of reworking to be done. This was the case last week, just as we were about to review Theatre Kingston’s production of Boy Beatle. However, we luckily managed to work out a short interview through […]
Drag, Advocacy, and Witchcraft with Kingston’s BeeWitched
- Interview
Become bewitched, bothered, and bewildered in the best way! Bee Dupuis, also known as BeeWitched, wears many hats including drag performer, event organizer, advocate, and chair of Kingston Pride. Recently I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with BeeWitched about performing drag, advocacy work, witchcraft, and the Halloween season. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Dupuis’ drag persona, BeeWitched, is “the embodiment of all the beautiful, but […]
10s All Around: A Decade of Kick & Push Festivals
- Interview
- Kick & Push Festival
The tenth day of the tenth month. What better time to read about the Kick & Push Festival’s tenth season? Although summer may be long over by now, the KTA has just finished wrapping up the necessary paperwork that must come with the annual Kick & Push Festival. As my colleague and Artistic Producer of the Kick & Push Liam Karry recently closed the books on this year’s busy run, […]