Vancouver Fringe Festival – 2023

muse: an experiment in storytelling and life drawing

Written & performed by Cameryn Moore

September 7, 9,13, 14, 15& 17, 2023 | The NEST, Graville Island

The premise of Muse, Cameryn Moore’s self-entitled experiment running at Vancouver Fringe, undoubtedly rouses many questions in pre-attendees. And the show doesn’t fail to answer them. In fact it is surprisingly straight forward – Moore poses and talks, we draw and listen. Nevertheless,when it ends we are left contemplative,and the questions we have are by no means small. What is the relationship between the body and the self? Can we separate the two? By now we all know art is subjective, but how objective is sight? Full review

 

Peaches: The Play!

Written & performed by Maarika Freund

September 7, 10,11, 13, 16& 17, 2023 | The NEST, Graville Island

Maarika Freund’s Peaches: The Play! is a one-woman show set in 2028; a not-so-distant future and a not-so-dissimilar dystopia. The entertainment industry is capitalizing on rape, with a new musical singing the power of forgiveness ........ Full review

Lia & Dor

Written by Cristina Tudor, directed by Keltie Forsyth

September 8, 9,10, 11, 14 & 16, 2023 | Performance Works, Graville Island

Stories are fantastical because life is fantastical. Cristina Tudor's beguiling Romanian fairytale explores the space where they collide. Starting its run at Vancouver Fringe Festival last night, Lia & Dor takes its audience on a journey through Lia’s family history and Romanian folklore. Full review

 



Three Acts of a Woman: Birth-Life - Tomorrow

Written & Directed by Majid Tafreshi

September 7,9,13,15,16 & 17, 2023 | Waterfront Theatre, Graville Island

IThe song opening Three Acts of a Woman, which premiered at Vancouver’s Fringe Festival this week, is lamenting, moving. It encompasses all that the women of Iran have lost. Such unimaginable losses might appear to have left nothing but ash, but still from the ashes Iranian women rise. Full review



Broadway Across Canada
Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations

When & Where September 12 to 17, 2023, evenings 8pm, Sat & Sun matinees at 2pm | Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver

Director Des McAnuff Choreography Sergio Trujillo Music Director Jonathan Smith Music Coordinator John Miller Scenic Design Robert Brill Costume Design Paul Tazewell Sound Design Steve Canyon Kennedy Lighting Design Howell Binkley Production Stage Manager Nicole Olson

Reviewer John Jane

The show’s subtitle “The Life and Times of the Temptations” is largely based on the autobiography of Otis Williams, the group’s founder and de facto leader. Jeremy Kelsey (in place of Michael Andreaus on this night) in the role of Otis capably leads the twenty-member cast, as well as taking on responsibility of the story-telling. Full review





Theatre Under The Stars
Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical

When & Where alternating nights between July 12 to August 26, 2023 All shows at 8pm, except on Fireworks Nights (July 22, 26 & 29) when shows begin at 7pm | Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park

Director Stephanie Graham Production Manager Richard Berg Set Design Brian Ball Lighting Design Robert Sondergaard Costume Design Christine Reimer Sound Design Michael Kidder Musical Director Lia Wolfe Choreography Krystal Kiran Stage Manager Koh Lauren Quan Musicians Director Stephanie Graham Production Manager Richard Berg Set Design Brian Ball Lighting Design Robert Sondergaard Costume Design Christine Reimer Sound Design Michael Kidder Musical Director Lia Wolfe Choreography Krystal Kiran Stage Manager Koh Lauren Quan
Musicians
Ariyanna Vellani, Barb Choi, Monica Sumulong-Dumas, Colin Parker, Stanley Tsang, Martin Brosnan, Anya Murray, Jennifer Innanen, Miranda Wheeler, Lindsay Goldberg, Justin Kury & Nicky Walsh

Reviewer John Jane

Matilda The Musical is based on Roald Dahl’s dark children’s story, adapted for the stage by Dennis Kelly and songs added by Tim Minchin. Set in England, roughly in the time it was written, it follows the misadventures of a five-year-old girl who doesn’t fit into her family’s self-absorbed dynamic. Full review

Theatre Under the Stars
The Prom

When & Where alternating nights between July 11 to August 25, 2023 All shows at 8pm, except on Fireworks Nights (July 22, 26 & 29) when shows begin at 7pm | Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park

Director/Choreographer Tracey Power Assistant. Director Paige Fraser Music Director Sean Bayntun Production Manager Richard Berg Technical Director Matthew Oviatt Set Designer Brian Ball Costume Designer Stephanie Kong Lighting Designer Robert Sondergaard Sound Designer Michael Kidder Props Stephanie Barclay Intimacy Director Karyn Mott Dance Captain Ava Maddison Stage Manager Emma Hammond Musicians Sean Bayntun, Barb Choi, Livia Cohen, Iain Waddell, Michelle Xu, David Zhen, Christian Richardson, Monica Sumulong-Dumas, Colin Parker, Nick Apivor, Lawrence Woodall, Julie Holden, Andrew Radke, Justin Kury & Elijah Morrison

Reviewer Christian Steckler

In a time of culture wars in America, and increasingly in Canada, a production such as The Prom is a broadside on those who ironically want to forbid people being who they are by citing freedom of speech and expression. They say that no one has the right to tell others how to live, and then act and legislate to do just that - tell others how to live. Full review


Bard on the Beach


Goblin:Macbeth created by Rebecca Northan with Bruce Horak

When & Where August 19 - September 24, 2023, evenings at 7.30, Sundays at 2pm | Howard Family Stage in the Douglas Campbell Theatre, Vanier Park

Director Rebecca Northan Costume Designer Philp Edwards Masks Composite Effects Lighting Designer Anton deGroot, Michael K. Hewitt Stage Manager Lili Beaudoin

Reviewer Elizabeth Paterson

Improv theatre with Macbeth for inspiration and Goblins to boot. This is an intriguing premise for a show at Bard on the Beach and a bit of a leap of faith for Swan-of-Avon-ophiles, but theatre is nothing if not exploratory.Full review


Henry V
by William Shakespeare, adapted by Lois Anderson

When & Where June 28 – August 13, 2023, evenings at 7.30, Sundays at 2pm | Howard Family Stage, Vanier Park

Director Lois Anderson Set Designer Amir Ofek Sound, Music Director and Composer Pankanea Lighting Designer Sophie Tang Costume Designer Mara Gottler Choreography & Fight Director Jonathan Hawley Purvis

Reviewer Christian Steckler

In her insightful adaptation of the play, Lois Anderson focuses on the effects of violence and war on the individuals and societies involved. The result is moving and thought-provoking for the audience, bringing, in this reviewer’s opinion, a deeper appreciation of Shakespeare’s work. Full review


Jennifer Lines as Antony. Photo Tim Matheson
Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare, adapted by Stephen Drover

When & Where June 15 – September 24, 2023, evenings at 7.30, Sundays at 2pm | BMO Mainstage, Vanier Park

Director Cherissa Richards Costume Designer Jessica Oostergo Set Designer Pam Johnson Sound Designer Kate De Lorme Lighting Designer Gerald King Choreographer/Fight Director Jonathan Hawley Purvis Video Designer Candalario Andrade Production Stage Manager Joanne P.B. Smith

Reviewer Elizabeth Paterson

Fast paced and vivid, Bard on the Beach's Julius Caesar will have you on the edge of your seat, swept into a world of violent politics, plots, treachery and war.Full review




As You Like It

When & Where June 8 – September 30, 2023, evenings at 7.30, Sundays at 2pm | BMO Mainstage, Vanier Park

Director Daryl Cloran Musical Director Ben Elliott Costume Designer Carmen Alatorre Set Designer Pam Johnson Sound Designer Owen Hutchinson Lighting Designer Gerald King Choreographer/Fight Director Jonathan Hawley Purvis Dance Captain Sharon Crandall Intimacy Director Melanie Yeats Production Stage Manager Joanne P.B. Smith Musicians Sally Zori, Isaiah Terrell-Dobbs

Reviewer John Jane

Director Daryl Cloran’s whimsical re-imagining is a delightfully entertaining piece of theatre, but hardly one for Bard purists. Cloran moves the action from late sixteenth century in the Forest of Arden to the Okanagan in the sixties. Duke Frederick and Duke Senior have been replaced with Dame Frances and Dame Senior as the truculent siblings. Full review



Empire of the Son
An Interview with creator & performer Tetsuro Shigematsu

When & Where September 28 - October 21, 2023; Wed - Thurs 7:30pm, 8pm Fri / Sat with 2pm Sat and Sunday matinees | Pacific Theatre, 1440 West 12th Avenue

Interiewer John Jane

I spoke to Tetsuro by telephone this week (August 28) as he was attending a theatre conference in Victoria by the Sea, P.E.I. I asked what audiences will find different in this production compared to the one first seen in 2015. Full interview




Wise Owl Theatre Collective

The Window Outside By Belinda Lopez

When & Where June 10 – 25, 2023; Evenings at 7:30pm, final matinee performance on Sunday 25 June @ 2pm | Presentation House Theatre, 333 Chesterfield Avenue North Vancouver

Director William B. Davis Set Designer Erin Finnerty Costume Designer Julie White Lighting Designer Adrien D Hodgson Sound Designer John Mills Cockell

Reviewer Eve Newstead

If aging is the heart of Belinda Lopez’s big-hearted play The Window Outside, then its arteries and veins are dementia, loss of self, familial obligations, choice and death. Lopez considers universal issues in the context of one ordinary family.Showing now at Vancouver’s Presentation House Theatre, her Canadian premiere production boasts a talented cast and a triumphant blend of humour and tragedy. Full review



Pacific Theatre
God Said This by Leah Nanako Winkler

When & Where June 2 – 24, 2023, evenings Wed - Sat at 8pm & Sat at 2pm | Pacific Theatre, 1440 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver

Director Kaitlin Williams Set Design Alaia Hamer Costume Design Melicia Zaini Lighting Design Jonathan Kim Sound Design Chengyan Boon Properties Coordinator Monica Emme Stage Manager Taylor MacKinnon

Reviewer John Jane

Leah Nanko Winkler obviously likes to write about what she is most familiar with. Born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Caucasian American father, then raised in Lexington, Kentucky, the Shiota-Rose family at the centre of her family drama is much like her own, and is even set in Kentucky. Full review






A rice & beans theatre production

Happy Valley

When & Where May 25 - June 4, 2013, evenings 7.30pm, Sat, Sun at 3pm | Firehall Theatre, 280 East Cordova St.

Writer and Performer Derek Chan Dramaturg Heidi Taylor Sets/Props/Costume Design Megan Lane Video Designer Andie Lloyd Lighting Design Sapphire Haze

Reviewer Nancie Ottem

Happy Valley closes out the 2022/23 season for the Firehall Arts Centre. It is an appropriate production to close the 40th season at the Firehall Arts Centre being an intimate one man show in an intimate theatre. Derek Chan, playwright and performer of Happy Valley has devoted his life to theatre. Full review