REVIEW: July Talk, he said, she said
It’s clear the public prefers to hear both sides of the story when it comes to using music to talk about relationships. Just see how well the co-ed dual lead vocalist approach has worked for so many artists. They call this the “Beauty and the Beast Effect” – an especially apt description of July Talk, […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: July Talk all action
After playing a surprise “secret” gig on Tuesday here in the city, July Talk heads down for a quick gig in Red Deer before circling back for a second SOLD OUT show, on Friday night at Union Hall. The Toronto-with-the-Edmonton-connection indie rockers released their debut self-titled album in 2012 to critical acclaim, and followed that […]
Edmonton Journal arts section gutted
Arts journalism in print form in this city has taken a terrible hit with the sudden departure of two of the Edmonton Journal’s veteran columnists. Theatre writer Liz Nicholls and music writer Sandra Sperounes and have both taken buyouts and will leave the paper on Dec. 2. The owners PostMedia announced in October it was […]
PLAYBILL: Be like Scrooge
Life is so unfair. The central character in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol experiences an epiphany of goodness and a complete change of heart by the end of his harrowing ghost story – much like the Grinch whose heart grew three sizes that day – and becomes the most kind, generous, warm, “Christmasy” person you […]
REVIEW: Embrace Anxiety with a brave heart
Edmonton’s “Theatre Yes” is not a company to sit us in theatre seats while we watch thespians perform. It demands that audiences not just join in but give themselves to the experience. No, you will not be expected to create a character, read lines or engage in improve, but you are drawn into a shared […]
A Tribe Called Red: We are the human beings
Chances are this was the first time First Nations pow-wow dancing was seen at the Union Hall – a room for sloppy rock shows and big drunken blowouts, much better suited to its previous name, The Thunderdome, literally like in the Mad Max movie. There’s a first for everything. A Tribe Called Red was in […]
REVIEW: Fen a bleak portrait of muddy misery
In highly successful plays like Cloud 9 and Top Girls, English feminist playwright Caryl Churchill dramatically examines the abuse of power, sexual politics, women under duress and the evils of capitalism. She creates new forms and styles to present each of her plays – which often include humour and even farce. There is not much […]
REVIEW: We were so stupid back then
Watching the checkered history of gay rights in the United States, which continues in headlines still today, it’s tempting to point a superior Canadian finger. But our record is not that distinguished, either. As recently as 1981, Toronto police raided a series of bathhouses rousting out and charging homosexuals with the resultant destruction of their […]
Drowsy Chaperone a fresh, lively romp
The story of The Drowsy Chaperone might make a musical in itself. It began as a stag party lark from Toronto playwrights Don McKellar and Bob Martin (with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison). It was transferred to a modest production at the Toronto Fringe where it wowed the locals. So much […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Make Something Different
Since the death of Steve Steffler from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning on Sunday, it’s become clear how important he was to Edmonton’s music scene – and how much he’s going to be missed. He was always looking for something different. He took risks when booked bands at Bohemia, a funky little club on 97th Street […]
PLAYBILL: Homosexual scandal rocks theatre scene
Shocking news, everyone: There may be gay sex occurring right under our very noses inside Edmonton’s live theatre community – and not the “lighthearted and carefree” definition of the word gay, either, though it could be both. Won’t someone think of the children?! Concerned citizens must pay heed to this menace that threatens the moral […]
