Anthropocene: The Human Epoch makes viewers think about big issues

About a third of the way into Anthropocene: The Human Epoch, a man installing an electric car battery is wearing a T-shirt that states these words: “Don’t know, don’t care.” Director Jennifer Baichwal, who grew up in Victoria, has created a meditative film (the third in a series, following Manufactured Landscapes and Watermark) that introduces us […]

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Potted Potter delivers the best medicine for students in October

My face hurts. I haven’t laughed this much in… I don’t know how long. I just went to see Potted Potter at the McPherson Playhouse with my best friend; we both walked in with high expectations and out with big grins. “Is this my Maurauder’s Map?” I asked the usher as she handed me a scroll […]

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Langham Court delivers spirited season opener

Believe it or not, Victoria’s Langham Court Theatre has just celebrated the opening of its 90th season. And what better way to kick off the year than with a tried and tested favourite? In this case, it’s Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward (it’s so much a favourite that this is the company’s fifth rendition of […]

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Unpacking A Doll’s House for a second time

When Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll’s House in the 1870s, he raised shockingly progressive and controversial questions about marriage, motherhood, and women’s societal roles. When the central character, Nora, chose to leave her marriage and children at the end of the play, it was a door slam for gender equality. In 2017, playwright Lucas Hnath […]

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Sweeney Todd mainly a victory from beginning to end

It’s a director’s worst nightmare: after months of preparation, something unexpected happens that requires a last-minute cast change. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street director Brian Richmond told the crowd just before the show started last night to go easy on Kieran Foss, who replaced Taylor Fawcett as a member of the chorus at […]

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New Music Revue: The Temperance Movement reach new heights on third album

British blues-rock band The Temperance Movement have been busy building themselves up to something pretty damn good. The band aren’t afraid to go heavy, but they also slow things down on the title track of their third album, Deeper Cut, highlighting lead singer Phil Campbell’s ability to sound great whether he is backed up by […]

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Nest 1/2 empty but heart full at Belfry’s latest play

The third installment of Mom’s the Word—Mom’s the Word 3: Nest 1/2 Empty, playing now at the Belfry Theatre—brings the laughs as five comfortably middle-aged women share their experiences of parenting children in their 20s and beyond. When I arrived at the theatre, I was a little trepidatious because I hadn’t seen the first two […]

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Stripped-down Pericles impresses at Shakespeare fest

With the scorching heat of the past week, I was amused to see blankets being handed out at the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival’s outdoor performance of Pericles last night. After all, my apartment has fans blowing hot air around 24/7—how cold could a field at Camosun’s Lansdowne campus get at 8 at night? The answer: […]

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The Drawer Boy delivers laughter and tears

Two things I wish I had known about Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre’s current production of The Drawer Boy: one, it’s pronounced drawer (like an artist), not drawer (like the thing in a desk); two, bring tissues—lots of tissues. Even though Michael Healey’s play is considered a landmark in Canadian theatre, I must admit I had […]

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