United Players

A Christmas in Wales Inspired by Dylan Thomas, adapted by Denis & Sarah Rodgers

When & Where December 1 – 24, 2023, Thurs - Sat evenings at 8pm, Sun matinee at 2pm | Jericho Arts Centre, 1675 Discovery Street, Vancouver

Director Sarah Rodgers Associate Director Leslie Dos Remedios Music Director Alison Jenkins Set Design Kevin McAllister Costume Design Catherine Carr Lighting Design Christian Ching Technical Director Nico Dicecco Stage Manager Emma Graveson

Reviewer John Jane

Sarah Rodgers and her late father Denis have adapted the Dylan Thomas autobiographical short story A Child’s Christmas in Wales into a play with added prose from the Welsh poet plus a few well-known folk tunes. Seven actors (3 women, four men) take on twenty-five characters. Full review

 

 

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Adapted from C.S Lewis’s novel by Ron Reed

When & Where November 23 – December 23, 2023; Wed - Thurs 7:30pm, 8pm Fri / Sat with 2pm Sat and Sunday matinees | Pacific Theatre, 1440 West 12th Avenue

Director Sarah Rodgers Set Design Lauchlin Johnston Lighting Design John Webber Sound Design Julie Casselman Costume Design Sheila White Props Dianna Lewis Stage Manager Victoria Snashall

Interiewer Eve Newstead

It is no mean feat adapting a sprawling fantasy world for theatre. Double the challenge when using two actors on a small traverse stage. Ron Reed’s adaptation of C.S Lewis’s favourite nostalgic novel The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe shows us how its done; driven by the power of imagination. Full review

 

 

Theatre Replacement
East Van Panto: Beauty and the Beast

When & Where November 22, 2023 - January 7, 2024 | York Theatre (The Cultch), 639 Commercial Dr. Vancouver. Visit the Cultch’s website for more details and to purchase tickets here.

Playwrights Jivesh Parasram and Christine Quintana Director Anita Rochon Assistant Director Howard Dai Composer/Musical Director Veda Hille Stage Manager Emma Hammond Assistant Stage Manager Jenny Kim Producers Daniel O’Shea & Andrew McCaw Choreographer Amanda Testini Costume Designer Alaia Hamer. Cast and additional credits can be viewed here.

Reviewer Darren Cordeiro

It was a “tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme”, curated as a pantomime. And, it was magical!

Presenting the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast, the opening night guests were in for a delightful holiday treat as part of the East Van Panto, an annual tradition loved by the local arts community. For those who don’t know what Panto is, it is based on the pantomime concept where a fairy tale is personalized to our beautiful city of Vancouver with a Holidays twist. Full review

 


The Improv Centre
Back To The Holidays

When & Where November 23 – December 24, Thursday – Saturday at 7:30 pm, until December 24 | The Improv Centre on Granville Island. Full details at www.theimprovcentre.ca
Reviewer Darren Cordeiro

Nestled in the heart of Granville Island lies the quaint Improv Centre where the laughs are loud and the energy is captivating! To kickstart this Winter season, their new Improv set gets us merry with a Holiday theme and cheer. Full review





An Interview with Sarah Rodgers – Director of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Pacific Theatre

Interiewer Eve Newstead

This year’s festive season, Pacific Theatre are remounting their production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Adapted by Pacific’s founder Ron Reed, the narrative is an imaginative sequel and return to Narnia with Peter and Lucy as adults rediscovering the wonders behind the wardrobe.Magic and nostalgia for the whole family. Full review

 


Broadway Across Canada
Hadestown

When & Where November 7 to 12, 2023, evenings at 8pm | Queen Elizabeth Theatre| Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Director Rachel Chavkin Choreography David Neumann Music Director Eric Kang Music Coordinator David Lai Scenic Design Rachel Hauckl Costume Design Michael Krass Sound Design Nevin Steinberg & Jessica Paz Lighting Design Bradley King Production Stage Manager Joel Rosen

Euridice Amaya Braganzaó, Orfeo J. Antonoi Rodrigues Hermes Will Mann, Hades Matthew Patrick Quinn Persephone Lana Gordon

Reviewer John Jane

Just about everything about Hadestown - the performances, production qualities and of course Anaïs Mitchell’s musical score is outstanding. J. Antonio Rodrigues owns the role as the naïve musician Orpheus and Amaya Braganza as the world-weary, ill-fated Eurydice who gets to die twice in a two and a half hour show is nothing short of amazing and is a perfectly pragmatist counterpoint for Orpheus’ dreamer predilection. Full review


Empire of the Son

Dates and Venue September 28 - October 21 7:30 pm, Wed. - Thurs., 8:00 pm Fri. / Sat. with 2 pm Sat. and Sun. matinees | Pacific Theatre, 1440 W 12th Avenue, Vancouver
Director Kaitlin Williams Writer/ Performer Tetsuro Shigematsu, Created in collaboration with Kaitlin Williams Stage Manager Susan Miyagishima Original Sound Designer Steve Charles Lighting Designer Jonathan Kim

‘You could say we’ve gone “a cappella”, Tetsuro Shigematsu writes in the programme note for Empire of the Son. Starting a run at Pacific Theatre, his one man show is stripped bare of its previous whistles and bells. How difficult it is to imagine the prior production - simplicity is its strength. Full review



The Improv Centre
Stage Fright 2: Murder at the Disco!

When & Where September 28 - October 28, 2023 | The Improv Centre, Granville Island. Tickets available at https://theimprovcentre.ca

Reviewer Darren Cordeiro

As Halloween approaches, thrills and chills are in the air! Nestled in the heart of the quaint Granville Island, The Improv Centre is currently hosting Murder at the Disco, a spooky improv ‘whodunnit’ where all the cast could be the culprit. Like the Bee Gees from the Disco era would say, the audience was guessing throughout the performance in terms of who will be “Stayin’ Alive”. Full review