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Poster for Thousand Islands Playhouse's production of 'Once'. The show's title with show dates is listed. The top of a guitar is illustrated on the poster.

Heartbreakingly Beautiful, ‘Once’

  • Review
  • Thousand Islands Playhouse

Have you ever had a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with someone? Did they have such an impact that it changed the course of your life forever? Once is a Tony Award Winning Musical based on the 2007 Oscarwinning film of the same name. In its opening, we are introduced to an unnamed struggling Dublin musician portrayed by Tyler Check. On the verge of giving up on music altogether, fate brings him to […]

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Illustration of a dog's head next to a pair of scissors and razor. Text reads "HAIR OF THE DOG BARBER & PUB".

Barbers and Beer. It’s Comedy Night

  • Review

Have you ever seen a barber shop which is also a pub turn into a comedy club? Neither have I until last Wednesday.  It was a beautiful brisk Wednesday evening. The sun was setting on Kingston as me and a few friends finished a wine night and started our walk. Morale was high as we headed to Hair of the Dog Barber and Pub for their Monthly Comedy Night. It […]

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Illustration of a hand holding leaves and a small animal approaching the leaves. The background is green.

Who is Belle Island? Billie Kearns and Jill Glatt on Being Local

  • Artist
  • Interview

What began as a mutual admiration between neighbours has blossomed into a collaboration across artistic disciplines. Spoken word poet and storyteller Billie Kearns and visual artist and educator Jill Glatt often run into each other on neighbourhood walks in the Inner Harbour. This fall, they’ve teamed up to present Storytelling and the Land: Who is Belle Island?, a public workshop in preparation for their upcoming exhibition at the Agnes Etherington […]

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Photo of Aara Macauley smiling and holding a microphone.

Beyond Books: Kingston WritersFest 2023 is ‘Unbound’

  • Artist
  • Interview
  • Writersfest

Like red-tinged leaves, flannel shirts, and droves of students lining up for lattes, Kingston WritersFest has been a fixture in the autumn landscape for as long as I’ve lived in the Limestone City. This week, I sat down with Artistic Director Aara Macauley to discuss this year’s theme—Unbound—and to learn how the festival, which runs from September 27th to October 1st, plans to connect Kingstonians with literature beyond the printed […]

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Poster for Thousand Islands Playhouse Production of 'Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes'.

Loose Pieces Lead to Grand Finales

  • Review
  • Thousand Islands Playhouse

A humorous and intriguing play that will leave one thinking about it for days to come. Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes is by Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch, and revolves around Jon, a famous writer and professor, and Annie, a 19 year-old student of his fan of his work. The play is portrayed through Jon’s point of view and throughout the course of the performance his and Annie’s relationship grows […]

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Headshot of Michael Broadhead

Raising the Bar: Music and Labour with Michael Broadhead

  • Artist
  • Interview

If you’ve been to a handful of Kingston’s jazz nights, indie shows, musical theatre productions, or music festivals in the past decade, chances are you’ve heard Michael Broadhead on the upright or electric bass. In the wake of the Labour Day long weekend, I met up with Broadhead to talk about music, labour, and how performing artists can support one another in Kingston’s arts scene.  This interview has been edited […]

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Phil Perrin, Judy Tetlow, and Harold Potter performing in 'A Bench in the Sun'.

Canes and Comedy: ‘A Bench in the Sun’

  • Domino Theatre
  • Review

Have you ever been curious to follow two childhood friends into their retirement home? Well, now you can. Kind of.   Ron Clark’s A Bench in the Sun is a tale of two old friends who now live in a seniors’ home together. Every morning they meet on their bench in the sun and discuss life’s tumults and vexes with the other. Dialogue is endless and quarrels are persistent as the […]

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Autumn-Joy Dames, Kelsey Verzotti & Laura Caswell in Bittergirl the Musical 2023

‘bittergirl’ Brings Back Memories

  • Review
  • Thousand Islands Playhouse

You just got broken up with. How would you feel? Angry? Betrayed? Bitter?  bittergirl is a musical comedy that was originally a play created by Annabel Fitzsimmons, Alison Lawrence, and Mary Francis Moore. Throughout the musical, audiences follow three unnamed women titled A, B, C, and performed by Autumn-Joy Dames, Kelsey Verzotti, and Laura Caswell, as they each go through a breakup. The three women find companionship in each other […]

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Two individuals hugging in nature. One is dressed in traditional Indigenous wear.

Experiencing the Cedar Island Residency

  • Festival
  • Indigenous Theatre
  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • Review

On Tuesday, August 15th I was invited to see the first viewing of the Cedar Island Residency performance taking place the following day. I was not told much about the performance, giving me a feeling of nervous excitement. This is the first performance I have ever attended where I did not have much information about it beforehand. The only thing I was told was to meet at the Kingston Marina […]

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Performance of 'La Bulle'. Photo in black and white.

Bubbling with Magic: ‘La Bulle’

  • Corpus Dance Projects
  • Festival
  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • Review

Feeling curious about seeing a mime roam the ins and outs of a giant translucent bubble? See La Bulle in Kingston this weekend.  La Bulle is a mime show produced by CORPUS Dance Projects and is being presented at the Kick & Push Festival by the Kingston Theatre Alliance and Le Centre Culturel Frontenac.  The show follows a lonely mime, Pierrot (David Danzon / Guy Marsan; the performer at the […]

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Poster for 'A Perfect Bowl of Pho'. There is red background. Music notes with the shows title on top appear in a wave. A bowl of pho eating itself is seen. A cartoon of a bull singing is seen.

Pho Sure, You’ll Like it a Lot

  • Festival
  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • Review

A deliciously funny show. A Perfect Bowl of Pho is a meta-musical created and written by Nam Nguyen, music composed by Wilfred Moeschter, and directed by Steven Hao. The story is centered around a procrastinating University of Toronto student, Nam, performed by Chris Vergara. The story follows Nam as he struggles to write a musical about… I think you guessed it… Pho.  A meta-musical is a play within a play. […]

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Poster of 'One Night Only'. A man looking distressed and exhausted holds his arm in the air. Text reads: "duhdumduhdum productions presents ONE NIGHT ONLY WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY NICHOLAS EDDIE WRITTEN BY: NICHOLAS EDDIE DIRECTOR: SEPEHR REYBOD PRODUCER: NICHOLAS EDDIE ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: ADRIAN CHEVALIER"

‘One Night Only’ is One Not to Forget

  • Festival
  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Kingston Theatre Alliance
  • Review
  • Theatre Kingston
  • TK Fringe

An experience I don’t think I will ever forget. One Night Only is a one man show written, produced, and performed by Nicholas Eddie, directed by Sepehr Reybod, and assistant producer is Adrian Chevalier. An audience follows Eddie throughout the night as he is faced with a challenge which can only be completed in the following morning.  This review has mentions of suicide. This show felt like an experience rather […]

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