Updated: Feb 9, 2025 Theatre Calgary is staging a Streetcar Named Desire at the Max Bell Theatre from January 28th to February 23rd. I usually enjoy getting into an exegesis of a play’s themes, its relevance to our contemporary anxieties, and the cultural and philosophical impact of the work on its audiences. Not today. The reason…
Day: April 22, 2026
A Christmas Carol: Traversing Reality And Hope
“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that…
Charlotte’s Web Unspun: A Brave New Spectacle of Hollow Theatre
Updated: Dec 26, 2024 Alberta Theatre Projects is staging Charlotte’s Web from November 26 to December 29th at the Martha Cohen Theatre. Adapted from E.B. White’s classic for young readers, the play brings the story to life on stage. The story anthropomorphizes animals, it draws on the classical heritage of Aesop’s fables, encouraging us to see ourselves…
Paw-sitively Interesting: Humor, Hierarchy and Hope
Updated: Dec 26, 2024 Morpheus Theatre staged Puss in Boots at the Pump House Theatre from the 13th to the 21st of December, 2024. The play was advertised as a pantomime and did not disappoint in living up to the zaniness of the genre. The characters and audience were encouraged to break the fourth wall, akin to…
And Then There Was Disappointment
Updated: Dec 7, 2024 Workshop Theatre is staging And Then There Were None, based on Agatha Christie’s iconic mystery novel, at the Pumphouse Theatre from the 29th of November to the 7th of December. The story takes place on a remote island where strangers are invited on a pretext and discover that their mysterious host is absent during…
A Stage Without Anchors: Laughs Abound but Mystery Falters
Murder on the Links, an Agatha Christie murder mystery, adapted by Stephen Dietz, is being staged by Vertigo Theatre till the 21st of December. The plot follows detective extraordinaire Hercule Poirot and his steadfast comrade, Captain Arthur Hastings, as they delve into the enigmatic mystery behind the murder of the secretive millionaire, Paul Renaud. The rich array…
Beyond Heroism: War and Loss in Jake’s Gift
Written and performed by Julia Mackey, ‘Jake’s Gift’ is being staged by the Lunchbox Theatre and is running till the 17th of November. It is a story that delves into themes of soldierly sacrifice and loss, doing so with performative and authorial efficiency. It is a play that has received a fair number of accolades and…
No Sacred Cows: The Riotous Irreverence of A Court of Bran and Raisins
A court of Bran and Raisins staged by the late breakfast show is a humdinger of a variety show, brimming with hilarious irreverence, licentiousness and sardonic social commentary. This rollicking spectacle courts the truly absurd, exhibiting raucous humour with a blistering creative edge to deliver a riotous mix of satire and farce, skewering everything from…
The Seafarer: Brilliant Moments Adrift
The Seafarer, staged by the Alberta Theatre Projects, will conclude its run on November 10th. The play has earned several Tony Award nominations, as well as a Laurence Oliver Award nomination, celebrating its mordant humor and metaphysical themes that have riveted audiences worldwide. It is a play that is brim with compelling dramatic and characterological…
Finding Flow: Immigrants and the Tao in the Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night, a Shakespearean Comedy, is being staged by the Shakespeare Company at the Vertigo Studio Theatre and is set to end its run on the 19th of October. The Twelfth Night has traditionally not been seen as one of Shakespeare’s problem plays (Shakespearean works that do not neatly fit into the comedy, tragedy, or history genre)….