Tag Archives: William Shakespeare

Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho) talks about Prophetess: an interview

Posted on September 29, 2026 by barczablog

I am intrigued by Prophetess, a new play from Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho) to open October 7th at Tarragon Theatre, described this way on their website: Margaret, the Chair of her English Department — and the Queen of Etymology … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews | Tagged Christine Horne, Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho), Joanna Falck, Karen Robinson, Mike Payette, Natasha Mumba, Nina Lee Aquino, Prince Hamlet, Prophetess, Richard Rose, Rick Roberts, Tarragon Theatre, theatre, trace, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment

Having it both ways with Measure for Measure at Crow’s Theatre

Posted on September 21, 2026 by barczablog

Measure for Measure is one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays”. It straddles genre boundaries, enigmatic & challenging, darkly funny. Yes it’s still considered a comedy even though we hear a lot about executions & life in prison, offering glimpses of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged Beck Lloyd, Christopher Manousos, comedy, Crow's Theatre, Danté Prince, genre, James Cavanagh, Katherine Gauthier, M4M, Measure for Measure, problem play, radio theatre, Sébastien Heins, voice, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment

Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark from Shakespeare, Lepage, Côté and Gzowski

Posted on April 26, 2026 by barczablog

The run is so brief as to make this review seem pointless. Friday night I saw the opening of the Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark. My blog may be done by Saturday, but anyone seeing a weekend showing already … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged 887, ballet, dance, Elgin Theatre, Guillaume Côté, Hamlet, hybrid, John Gzowski, movement vocabulary, music, Robert Lepage, Shakespeare, Show One Productions, The Far Side of the Moon, The Tragedy of Hamlet, theatre, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment

Robert Lepage’s Macbeth at Stratford

Posted on September 6, 2025 by barczablog

Bruce asked me whether the Scottish play is worth seeing. I had seen it from the front row, able to see every detail of the complex presentation in the Avon Theatre, less Shakespeare’s immortal play than Robert Lepage’s Macbeth. YMMV … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged 887, Avon Theatre, Bertold Brecht, Bluebeard's Castle, Canadian Opera Company, Eonnagata, erwartung, Ex Machina, Gesamtkunstwerk, John Gzowski, Lucy Peacock, Macbeth, Needles and Opium, Richard Wagner, Robert Lepage, Stratford Festival, The Tempest, Tom McCamus, Verfremdungseffekt, William Shakespeare, YMMV | 2 Comments

Falling for Sky Gilbert’s Shakespeare Lied and other bardish books

Posted on August 17, 2025 by barczablog

I want to explain where I’m coming from, as I review the second of three books from Sky Gilbert about William Shakespeare. Shakespeare Lied appeared in 2024, while Shakespeare Beyond Science came out in 2020. My response this time (over … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged 1939, books, Heratio, Leslie Hotson, literature, Mr WH, Paul Streitz, Richard Paul Roe, Shakespeare, Shakespeare Beyond Science, Shakespeare by Hilliard, Shakespeare Lied, Sky Gilbert, The Shakespeare Guide to Italy, theatre, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment

Heratio premieres at the Guild Festival Theatre

Posted on August 11, 2025 by barczablog

I’ve just seen Genevieve Adam’s Heratio, a new play that picks up from where Hamlet ended. It’s another of the scripts that build on Shakespeare, with much of the fun coming if you know the original, as in Stoppard’s Rosenkrantz … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged 1939, Clowns Reading Shakespeare, Fortinbras, Genevieve Adam, Guild Festival Theatre, Hamlet, Helen Juvonen, Heratio, Horatio, Jack Davidson, Janelle Hanna, Jani Lauzon, Kaitlyn Riordan, Kenzia Dalie, Philippa Domville, Phoenix Fyre, Rashaana Cumberbatch, Rosenkrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Scarborough, Siobhan Richardson, Tom Stoppard, William Shakespeare | 1 Comment

Asking Genevieve Adam about her newest play Heratio

Posted on July 21, 2025 by barczablog

On August 8th Guild Festival Theatre will be giving the world premiere performance of Heratio, a re-imagining of Hamlet that picks up the story where Shakespeare left off, giving voice to the women and servants who are left to clean … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged Genevieve Adam, Guild Festival Theatre, Hamlet, Helen Juvonen, Heratio, In Conversation With Classics, Jack Davidson, Janelle Hanna, Philippa Domville, Phoenix Fire, Rashaana Cumberbatch, Scarborough, Shakespeare, Siobhan Richardson, theatre, William Shakespeare, writing | 1 Comment

Kenzia Dalie explains Clowns Reading Shakespeare

Posted on May 25, 2025 by barczablog

After a couple years of development (and many laughs), Kenzia Dalie is ready to share the full version of Clowns Reading Shakespeare, a show coming to parks east (Kew Gardens) and west (Memorial Park) in Toronto in June. A multidisciplinary … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews | Tagged Alyssa Pothier, Brendon Kinnon, Callan Forester, clowns, Clowns Reading Shakespeare, family-friendly, Full Haus Productions, Hamlet, Kenzia Dalie, Macbeth, Panoply Theatre Collective, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, Sienna Singh, theatre, William Shakespeare | 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

Rossini’s Otello from Opera By Request

Posted on June 26, 2023 by barczablog

Last night I watched a concert presentation of Rossini’s Otello from Opera By Request, a company who demonstrate their importance with every outing. Bill Shookhoff leads from the piano working without a conductor, seated upstage of performers who face the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Arrigo Boito, Berio di Salsa, Bill Shookhoff, College Street United Church, Ernesto Ramirez, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Meagan Reimer, Opera by Request, Otello, Othello, Paul Williamson, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment