Review Archive

‘1969’: A Multimedia Hitchhiking Glimpse Into the Past

  • Festival
  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Review
  • TK Fringe

It’s 1969, the Vietnam war is at its peak with more than 500,000 American soldiers overseas and to protest the war and advocate for peace, John Lennon and Yoko Ono are staging a bed-in at a Montreal hotel. Enter Micheline (Lilli McDonald) and Suzie (Gia Silva), two Canadian teens trying to hitchhike their way to Montreal to allegedly join the protest efforts. They soon meet Sammy (Kieran Chenier), a young […]

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Making ‘Life More Sweet’ in Kingston

  • Festival
  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Review
  • TK Fringe

With soft, calming classical music drifting through the venue, your eyes are drawn to a single tent pitched at the center of the stage. At first, nothing happens, then a single sock pokes out from the slightly opened zipper. Then another sock pops out, tied to the first, followed by a folded lawn chair. Suddenly a tennis ball flies out of the tent, then a crumpled newspaper right after it, […]

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Poster for 'A Play We Just Wrote - Just Now' in TK Fringe. Poster includes the location, some dates and times, title, TK Fringe logo, The Kick & Push logo, box office phone number and web page, and the creators of the show.

A Play They Wrote Just Now… And They Absolutely Nailed It!

  • Festival
  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Review
  • TK Fringe

I knew I was in for a good time as soon as Hillary Yaas strutted on stage in a long Cruella De Vil-type coat and the biggest, most colourful wig I have ever seen. Co-creator Selena Vyle calls out to her from the stairs of the Baby Grand, and from the moment they are on stage together, the whole room feels alive. Their latest show A Play We Just Wrote […]

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Poster for 'The MaryRobin Show' in TK Fringe. Poster includes the location, some dates and times, title, TK Fringe logo, The Kick & Push logo, box office phone number and web page, and a small blurb about the show.

‘The MaryRobin Show’: Silly Syllabaries, Transfixing Translations, and More

  • Festival
  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Review
  • TK Fringe

Performing on the stage is one of the oldest and most universal forms of expression—or rather—it tries to be. But so much theatre is dependent on language, and theatres globally have been attempting to tear down this language barrier for years. Canada has made some great strides in the past with the Canadian Opera Company introducing Surtitles  in 1983, but reading words far above the action of a piece hardly […]

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Poster for '48 North: A New Musical' in TK Fringe. Poster includes the location, some dates and times, title, TK Fringe logo, The Kick & Push logo, box office phone number and web page, and the composer/lyricist and playwright credit about the show.

‘48 North: A New Musical’: Friendship, Farewells, and Moving Forward

  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Review
  • TK Fringe

Set in an unnamed Canadian location, this musical follows a group of four friends spending their final two days together at a cottage in the woods before leaving their Northern hometown for universities across the globe to pursue their different passions. Each is chasing a different dream, and the story blends hope, nostalgia, humour, and the inevitable bittersweet feeling of growing up. What makes Jack Oliver Kotanen (composer/lyricist) and Katelyn […]

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Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Wherefore Art Thou, Shakespeare? 

  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Review
  • TK Fringe

Three venues, all alike in dignity, in fair Kingston where TK Fringe lays many scenes. More specifically for Dana Schindel, it’s in the Davies lounge where she lays the scene for her show, Shakespeare: Say It! This delightfully creative show turns Romeo and Juliet into an interactive story, inviting the audience to step into the iconic roles themselves. Armed with character cards and visual cues, you’re not just watching the […]

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Give Me Excess of It: ‘Play On! A Shakespeare Inspired Mixtape’

  • Review
  • St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

William Shakespeare wrote his fair share of catchy song lyrics back in his day, but unfortunately you won’t find them playing on grocery store speakers as you wander the aisles. Luckily, Robert Markus, Julia Nish-Lapidus, and James Wallis have assembled a collection of popular tunes inspired by the Bard’s legendary works that one might be more likely to come across in day to day life. Play On! A Shakespeare Inspired […]

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Poster for 'The Drake Equation' in TK Fringe. Poster includes the location, some dates and times, title, TK Fringe logo, The Kick & Push logo, box office phone number and web page, and a small blurb about the show.

‘The Drake Equation’: A Solemn Journey Through Space, Art, and Mortality

  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Review
  • TK Fringe

The Drake Equation has an air of mystery surrounding it. The description, which makes no mention of its creator, doesn’t give much about the story beyond noting three mysterious events, which of course left me very curious as I walked into the Davies Lounge.

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Poster for Thousand Islands Playhouse's production of 'Cottagers and Indians'. The title, location, and dates are noted with an image of a deck chair, plant, and wine glass.

Dockside Drama at Canada’s Dockside Theatre: ‘Cottagers and Indians’

  • Review
  • Thousand Islands Playhouse

Ah, cottage country: a serene refuge for upper middle class urbanites to flee the troubles of the concrete jungle to a second home where their time can be wasted in relaxation, barbecuing, and boating. But Otter Lake is not quite so serene; there is a full-fledged war being waged between Arthur Copper (Jeremy Proulx), an “Aboriginal horticulturalist gone mad,” and Maureen Pool (Jane Wheeler), “the demon in khakis.” The casus […]

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‘[Blank] Town’ Destination: [Blank]  

  • All-Inclusive Comedy
  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Review
  • TK Fringe

From the Shire of Middle Earth to the Metropolis of DC comics, have you ever wished you could visit a fictional town? Would you believe me if I told you it might be possible? Well, kind of. [Blank] Town Bus Tours, run by the infectiously enthusiastic duo Tony Babcock and Wilding, can take you there. At the beginning of the show, they will hand you a pamphlet and repeatedly instruct you […]

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Poster for the Naughty Bits

Nothing is Off-Limits in ‘The Naughty Bits’

  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Review
  • TK Fringe

I must begin with a disclaimer: this review, like the show at its centre, contains an indecent number of genitalia references.

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‘Le Roi Boréal’ Discovers Kingston

  • Centre culturel Frontenac
  • Kick & Push Festival
  • Review

During the lockdown, when everyone was cooped up at home and avoiding the public, the wilderness slowly began reclaiming its territory. Creator Carl Veilleux saw poetry in this gentle takeover. Abandoned roads and empty sidewalks, once busy with human commuters, became pathways for deer, bears, and other wild creatures. The sight of animals returning to their roots sparked Veilleux’s vision: to capture that sense of reclamation, magic, and poetry in […]

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