Community News — Kingston Theatre Alliance

Residing in a hilltop Spanish Monastery, the monks Brother (Veronica Hortigüela) and Brother (Annie Luján) are brothers, and today they have guests for the first time in five years. On this special occasion they have big plans such as watching the donkey graze in the field and doing nothing… they just have to make sure to do so before the Abbot returns via the Glenora Ferry. I have ventured once […]

“I have good news for you, some of you have been coming to the festival for years, this year we have six good plays.” These were the words Festival Director Michelle McNichol chose to open the second and final night of this year’s Come Play By The Lake One-Act Festival. I have the pleasure of writing about the final two performances of the festival: NUTZ by Kate Barker and I’ll […]

Tribute to Wildflower: How to Read a Bouquet  A dimly lit stage with lively jazz playing in the background welcomes the audience to a night of reflective and personal stories. To the right, a sign reads “Connie’s Flowers,” and in the center, a table with various props sets the scene of a charming flower shop. The story about to unfold is one of sisterhood, loss, perspective, and new beginnings. In […]

Content Warning: ‘The Fall after Midsummer’ mentions murder, violence, and discusses an emotionally abusive relationship. Although this review does not discuss these topics in depth, they are general themes in the performance. 

Kate Barker is not new to the role of playwright. She wrote her first plays in the 1990s, then for the next thirty years worked as a magazine writer, editor, and journalism instructor. “It is a return to my first love, theatre,” she says.  In her newest play NUTZ, Barker brings Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang to their late 50s where Marcie owns a bar and Donald Trump is […]

In 2014 after moving to their new location at 52 Church St, the Domino Theatre revived Come Play by the Lake, their annual festival showcasing one act plays put on by local talent. In this new era of the festival, no playwright has produced more shows than Harry Jordan, who will be participating once again this year with his new show: Acorns. I had the chance to speak with Jordan […]

Checking items off a bucket list might be one of the most satisfying things in life, and as of July 5, 2025, writer, director, and performer Valerie Winslow is set to do just that. After years of being an audience member, sitting and enjoying shows from the sidelines, Winslow will finally live her dream. With months of writing and directing in anticipation, she will watch the premiere of her very […]

In the uniquely Canadian wagon train that is the Canadian Fringe Festival, jem rolls is kicking off his tour in what might just be his favourite city on Earth: sunny, green Montréal. This one-of-a-kind high-energy English performance poet’s career began at the age of 31, when he semi-accidentally stumbled on stage at a ‘terrible’ open mic in North London and never stopped. Feeling liberated by the possibilities of spoken word […]