Exploring the many tragedies of opera with Pacific Opera Victoria’s Falstaff

Suicides, poisoning, murders; deaths upon deaths narrated by the penetrating sound of the orchestra and performer. Welcome to the opera. But, it’s not all bad news: there is a comedic side of opera that gets overlooked. Commonly known for his great tragedies, Giuseppe Verdi’s last opera was Falstaff. Based on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of […]

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Dracula hits Victoria’s Craigdarroch Castle for some spooks and chills

Autumn has arrived. Burnt orange leaves begin to carpet the ground and dark grey clouds seem to linger forever. Heavy rains and howling winds make Victoria the perfect backdrop for harrowing tales, particularly those of the vampire variety. This autumn is no exception, as next week boasts the third year of Giggling Iguana and Launch […]

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Vancouver magician Camilo gets close up, on a large scale

Not many magicians have a song written about them, but that’s only one of many interesting things about Camilo Dominguez, the inspiration for Vancouver’s Said the Whale’s song “Camilo (the Magician).” Born in Columbia, Dominguez received his first lesson in magic at the age of four from one of many professional magicians who would be […]

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Humour via barbiturate overdose: local company brings farce to the stage

Six doors, obnoxious bellhops, and barbiturate overdoses: welcome to the zany world of farce, this time around brought to you by the Canadian College of Performing Arts’ Company C. The performance in question is Lend Me a Tenor, originally written by playwright Ken Ludwig, here brought to life again by director Julie McIsaac, herself a […]

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The Vic Theatre returns to downtown Victoria with big-screen gems

As of October 5, downtown Victoria will again have another big screen to watch movies on, but this won’t be any ordinary cinema. Once the classic Vic Theatre re-launches, filmgoers can look forward to first-run Canadian movies, mini film festivals, TV show screenings, documentaries, and the kind of film events that have been happening as […]

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New Music Revue: October 2, 2013 issue

Bosma Pirates and Kings (independent) 3/5 This is the seventh album that prolific local musician David Bosma has played on. It’s the fifth solo disc for Bosma, who has also spent time in Victoria bands Seven Year Old Poets, the Poppies, the Wildeggs, and the Splinterz. When it’s working, the album has a fresh sound […]

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Belfry’s production of Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) does the Bard justice

If you’ve ever had the desire to see people in tights fervently raising the battle cry of “Bullshit! Bullshit!” in front of a sold-out Victoria audience, then I suggest you go see The Belfry Theatre’s production of Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet). Canadian playwright Ann-Marie MacDonald brings Shakespeare’s most famous characters into collision with the […]

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Review: Victoria’s Great Canadian Beer Festival delivers a hoppy year

It started off a bit gloomy with clouds, but the sun came out to whet beer-drinkers’ appetites at the 21st Great Canadian Beer Festival on September 6–7. Though the soggy turf at the festival site of Royal Athletic Park didn’t dry out, it was a small price to pay for the pleasure of drinking beer […]

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Rifflandia: Victoria music festival in pictures

The sixth annual Rifflandia Music Festival recently took place in Victoria’s Royal Athletic Park, as well as a host of local clubs. Nexus‘ managing editor and grizzled music festival veteran Jason Schreurs was there to capture some of the action in pictures and words.                       […]

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Celtic Thunder defy cohesion, please Victoria crowd anyway

I’m completely puzzled as to why people would shell out so much money for a show like this, Celtic Thunder at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre here in Victoria (the $75 seats were all full). Not that the musicians were bad; they were all talented enough. But all I could think about was that a Celtic-themed […]

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