Theatre

Where's Charley?, which opens March 25^th as the final production for Langara's Studio 58 this year, is dedicated to the memory of Lloyd Nicholson. In addition to teaching at Studio 58 for over 25 years, Nicholson worked on a number of the company's musical productions through the years.  We spoke with Where's Charley? Director Dean Paul Gibson between rehearsals to talk about Lloyd and the legacy he leaves behind.

Much like a proper chocolate crème, the Theatre UBC production of George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man, currently playing at the Frederic Wood Theatre, has that perfect balance of a solid exterior shell and the gooiness at its center.

At one point during Underneath the Lintel, the Librarian refers to one of the clues he has discovered as “not riveting, but interesting”. This pretty much summed up my experience with the show, currently playing as part of the Chutzpah! Festival through March 20th.

In playwright Phil Olson’s world, family dysfunction comes with laughs and a capital D. It was therefore a bit surprising that it was in the more serious moments where Metro Theatre’s A Nice Family Gathering worked best and not in the comedy of that dysfunction.

In the program notes for Theatre Replacement’s The Greatest Cities in the World, Directors James Long and Maiko Bae Yamamoto tell us they develop their theatre to “make things more difficult for ourselves”.  Unfortunately, they also made it difficult for the audience.

Script for Goodwill Hunting revealed to have fallen from sky.  Ben Affleck IQ confirmed to be as low as it appears.  Two women play Affleck and Damon in Hollywood parody.  National Enquirer headlines from the turn of the century you ask?  No, just some of the fun that is waiting for you at the Fighting Chance Productions presentation of Matt and Ben, on now at the Havana Theatre through March 13th.

Just as Vancouver gets ready to welcome the world a second time with the Paralympic Winter Games, the KickStart Disability Arts and Culture Festival kicks off on March 8th and continues through March 27th with an array of exhibits, dance, music, and comedy. As part of the Festival, Vancouver Lesbian Jan Derbyshire presents her one woman show Funny in the Head on March 12th. We caught up with Jan to talk about her show, how humour ultimately saved her and got some serious advice for those dealing with a similar disability.

Vancouver's theatre scene is red hot and diverse. From a new musical about debt, to a serial killer's story told with puppets, here are a few of the shows, including a few with a QUEER! connection, set to play in January and February 2010.

Much like Thursday night, the two plays in Program B of Studio 58’s STEW: 4 Delicious Recipes For New Theatre, currently on stage through February 7^th, need a little more time for their full flavours to come out.

The nice thing about stew is it can contain just about any combination of veggies and meat with an almost limitless number of possibilities for seasoning.  Cooked slowly over time the stew simmers to allow all of its flavours to combine.  And while this first program of the Studio 58 short play series certainly serves up a tantalizing STEW, it does seem to be a little undercooked.