Category Archives: Dance, theatre & musicals

Pickle Theatre staged reading of Venus in Fur

Posted on September 22, 2024 by barczablog

As M John Kennedy explained it to me before the show, they had to fill in a space on the application form they completed for their production of David Ives’ Venus in Fur, identifying the name of their company. “Pickle … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged Annex Theatre, Dahlia Katz, Erynn Brook, Leopold Sacher-Masoch, M. John Kennedy, meta-theatre, Pickle Theatre, Roman Polanski, Venus in Fur, Venus in Furs | Leave a comment

Unexpected light in 1939

Posted on September 21, 2024 by barczablog

Last night I watched 1939, a recent play by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan at Berkeley St Theatre, a brilliant snapshot of the madness of residential schools and resilience in response. It’s a Canadian Stage and Belfry theatre joint production … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged 1939, Belfry Theatre, Brefny Caribou, Canadian Stage, Canadian Stage Company, Catherine Fitch, Cree, Grace Lamarche, Indigenous, Jani Lauzon, John Wamsley, Kaitlyn Riordan, Merewyn Comeau, Mohawk, Nathan Howe, Ojibwe, Richard Comeau, Stratford Festival, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment

Fresh Rosmersholm at Crow’s Theatre

Posted on September 12, 2024 by barczablog

You sometimes hear people tell you that a play from another century seems to speak directly to our own time. Last night watching Duncan Macmillan’s new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Rosmersholm at Crow’s Theatre directed by Chris Abraham was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged Beau Dixon, Ben Carlson, Chris Abraham, Crow's Theatre, Diego Matamoros, Diego Matamoros) and with the sensitivity of director Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, Duncan Macmillan, Guloien Theatre, Henrik Ibsen, Jonathan Young, Kate Hennig, Rosmersholm, Thomas Ryder Payne, Virgilia Griffith | Leave a comment

A Faustian legend in miniature: Orville Doodles and his Terrible Imagination

Posted on August 18, 2024 by barczablog

Today it’s the full moon, when people seem to go mad. I have just watched Scott McClelland’s Orville Doodles and his Terrible Imagination: a retelling of the Faust legend at the Red Sandcastle Theatre. No, there was no transformation into a … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals | Tagged Faust, imagination, magic, Orville Doodles and his Terrible Imagination, puppets, Red Sandcastle Theatre, Scott McClelland | 2 Comments

Orville Doodles and the terrible imagination of Scott McClelland

Posted on August 14, 2024 by barczablog

Forgive me. The name of the show may be Orville Doodles and his Terrible Imagination but I couldn’t help thinking (as I ponder questions that I will pose to Orville’s creator), that Orville comes from the brain of Scott McClelland. … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews | Tagged Diablo Manor, Grande Guignol, Merrickville, Orville Doodles, Orville Doodles and his Terrible Imagination, Prof. Crookshank's Travelling Medicine Show, Professor NP Lewchuk, Red Sandcastle Theatre, Scott McClelland, Smiths Falls, Spencerville | Leave a comment

Recovering Romantic by Briane Nasimok

Posted on August 5, 2024 by barczablog

The concept of Recovering Romantic is simple. Whether or not we’re drinkers, we have all seen Alcoholics Anonymous in films and tv, that organization that gives addicts a place to find support on their journey back from rock bottom. AA … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Press Releases and Announcements | Tagged Alcoholics Anonymous, Briane Nasimok, Confessions of an Operatic Mute, Recovering Romantic, Red Sandcastle Theatre, romance, Story-telling | Leave a comment

Questioning Desperate Measures

Posted on July 7, 2024 by barczablog

Sometimes a theatre piece captures essential conflicts of modern life. If you read this excerpt from the press release for Desperate Measures you’ll see why I wanted to ask them some questions “What would you do for an extra stream … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews | Tagged Barbie, Cameron Kneteman, Catherine Teichman, Desperate Measures, Hilary Wirachowsky, Kat Sandler, Lisa Randall, Matt Pilipiak, Paulina Tapia, Rachel Moore, sexwork, Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto Fringe Festival | Leave a comment

Nightwood Theatre presents the15th Annual Lawyer’s Show June 13-15: The Sound of Music

Posted on May 3, 2024 by barczablog

Nightwood Theatre presents the 15th annual Lawyer Show The Sound of MusicMusic by Richard RodgersLyrics by Oscar Hammerstein IIBook by Howard Lindsay & Russel CrouseSuggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trappat the Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Press Releases and Announcements | Leave a comment

Spaceman is lightyears away from Operaman

Posted on April 24, 2024 by barczablog

After a friend described Spaceman as Adam Sandler’s best film I had to have a look, especially given that nobody I know takes Sandler seriously, and quite a few grimace at the mention of his name. I recently quoted CS … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals | Tagged Adam Sandler, Anger Management, Claude Debussy, comedy, criticism, CS Lewis, Eddie Murphy, Franz Kafka, improv, improvization, Jack Nicholson, Operaman, Pelleas et Melisande, Robert Altman, saturday night live, Spaceman | Leave a comment

My Little Brony: The Musical

Posted on April 11, 2024 by barczablog

It’s the morning after seeing My Little Brony: The Musical. The music was great, and we laughed a lot. It’s a delightfully enjoyable play. I went into it thinking about reviews and critics, wondering how I would approach a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged Epochal Imp, Graham Conway, Justin Trudeau, My Little Brony: The Musical, My Little Pony, Nathaniel Bacon, Pierre Poilievre, Sky Gilbert, Stewart Borden | Leave a comment