News & Reviews — Kingston Theatre Alliance

Rulers, a well-loved Kingston creation written by Gord Love,  won both People’s Choice and Best Production from its turn at Domino Theatre’s Come Play by the Lake One-Act Festival this year.  During my visit to PubShed Productions’ TK Fringe presentation of the Limestone Teachers Theatre original, I learned exactly why.  Following the story of a first-time teacher’s tumultuous first day, Rulers is a heartfelt comedic musical exploring the student-teacher relationship. […]

Roller Derby Saved My Soul by Nancy Kenny is a fantastic and tender-hearted script selection for any Fringe Festival—but Theatre Kingston’s Fringe Festival has the unique advantage of also featuring Jen Buder.  A one woman show is an entirely independent spectacle: it is the responsibility of the sole performer to fill the entire theatre space all on her own. In the snug boundaries of the Tett Centre’s TK Studio, Jen […]

Content Warning: ‘DADS’ includes discussion of suicide. Although this review does not discuss these topics, there is compassionate mention of it within the performance.

Don’t confuse the up-and-coming for the inexperienced: Blue Canoe’s production of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown sets the stage for young performers to spread their wings. In their 20th season of hosting the Juvenis Festival, Blue Canoe has delivered a wonderful opportunity for young musical talent across Kingston to create, experiment, and test their limits on stage. Ranging from the ages of 12-17, these performers sing, dance, and deliver […]

The Caretaker walks through the empty halls of a high school, paying no mind to the 20 people following him. He occasionally pauses to drink from the fountain, or to tune his radio to the right station. All the while, myself and 19 others fan out around him, taking in the different angles of this Caretaker’s nightly routine of monotonous and essential work. Le Concierge (The Caretaker) opened on Thursday […]

Veuillez noter que cet article contient des spoilers pour Le concierge. J’ai eu la chance et le bonheur de vivre l’expérience immersive qu’est la production de Le concierge à deux reprises: lors de sa création à Toronto en mars 2023, puis à Ottawa en février 2024.  Je vous partage une texte que j’avais envoyé à Vincent Leblanc-Beaudouin suite à la représentation d’Ottawa. Salut Vincent, Je serais curieux de discuter avec […]

From Kingston originals to community classics, Domino Theatre’s Come Play by The Lake One-Act Festival is a reliable wellspring of satisfying theatre. The festival opened July 3rd with presentations of three Kingston original plays: Rulers Book by Gord Love, Ethically Sourced Chocolate in the Post Extinction Era by B.C. Gorrie, N. Neokleous, and Maleeka Thaker, and A Quarter Hour with Arsene Lupin Maurice Leblanc translated and adapted by Matthew Kane. […]

If you’re looking for a place to cool down in this heatwave, Thousand Islands Playhouse’s production of Grease is not the place to go. Taking to the stage as the first musical of their 45th season, Grease is a rock n’ rolling party full of excitement. A perfect choice for some mid-summer fun, the Playhouse’s performance of the classic feel-good musical is a hot hit.  Fresh off the rails of […]

Job Description The Kingston Theatre Alliance’s Performance Blog is a primary resource for audiences, artists, and theatre practitioners to engage in critical dialogues. Our platform consolidates events and news about arts workers and organizations in the Southeastern Ontario area in an accessible and accountable manner never seen before by the region. The writing team looks for passionate individuals who are committed to questioning who and what criticism is FOR, all […]

Face cast in an almost permanent frown, Harriet Leary stumbles into her recently deceased mother’s lake house with the urgency of a to-do list that has nothing scratched off. She moves about the house with a general air of uptight worry. Not long after her follows the topsy turvy Juliet ‘Jules’ Leary, bustling through the house with an uproarious energy and apparent emotional indifference, quickly searching for a drink. Lastly […]

This past winter came early, hit hard, and—quite frankly—overstayed its welcome. It clung to Kingston’s limestone buildings with both hands before the sun managed to thaw the city. As the tulips gradually emerged and newborn goslings paddled around the inner harbor, Princess Street restaurants traded in their snow shovels and sidewalk salt for parasols and patios. Kingston welcomed this much-anticipated seasonal change the best way it knows how: with music.  […]

This year at Thousand Islands Playhouse, the Springer Theatre’s first show of the season is Sugar Road, written by Kristen Da Silva and directed by Sheila McCarthy. Like the formulaic Hallmark movies that are beloved around the holiday season, Sugar Road follows a structure that will be as familiar to most audiences as the back of their own hands: two sentimental protagonists, two comedic side characters, enough miscommunication to push […]