Theatre
Fountain School opens
Arts have a new home at Dal The much-anticipated Fountain School of Performing Arts opened its doors in July, considerably expanding music, theatre and film studies programs at Dalhousie. In May 2013, Dalhousie received a $10 million donation from the family of university chancellor Fred Fountain, making the new school possible. Canada’s largest performing arts…
Read MoreVanishing into “How to Disappear Completely”
In September 2000, lighting designer Itai Erdal received news that his mother was diagnosed with cancer. She had only nine months to live. After moving back to Israel to be with her, he shot hours of documentary-style interview footage and took hundreds of pictures, all of his mother in her final days. Erdal transformed…
Read MorePutting on Pericles
Dalhousie’s theater department will present Pericles, its second production of the 2013-2014 season, on Wednesday, Nov. 26. Pericles is a magical adaptation of Ancient Greece, telling the epic tale of Prince Pericles’ journey across the Mediterranean Sea as he finds love and yearns to become a king. Pericles must overcome many obstacles such as storms, pirates,…
Read MoreDal Theatre presents: The Ghost Sonata
A twisted ride through a fever dream, The Ghost Sonata is nightmarish in a way that only powerful theatre can be. Dalhousie Theatre’s first performance of the season is a purgatorial world of doomed mansions and enslaved souls, a place where blame is but one element of truth. The Ghost Sonata was written in 1907 by Swedish…
Read MoreWhere to see plays in Halifax
In spite of your lengthy Netflix queue, theatre lives on. Get out of the house and plop your bum in a seat at one of Halifax’s dramatic theatre venues. Neptune Theatre (1593 Argyle Street) is the venerable and crowd-pleasing uncle of the local thespian scene. The coming season promises popular productions like Mary Poppins and The Comedy of Errors alongside…
Read MoreRedefining Theatre: the King’s Infringement Festival
Student plays break the mold
Read MoreStrawberries in January
Strawberries in January, written by Évelyne de la Chenelière in French and translated by Morwyn Brebner, is a story about saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and having things work out nonetheless. After seeing Strawberries in January put on by the Lions Den Theater company, I’m reminded of the old adage: Timing is…
Read MoreWhere the hell is everyone trying to get to?
The aura of the small theatre was one of uncertainty: in the background wind whispered secrets while low yellow light illuminated the set. Before the action onstage started, the atmosphere was thick with questioning and unease. The Ends of the Earth, written in 1990 by Morris Panych, is an existential comedy in the style of…
Read MoreTo Solo
Shakespeare and I have had good times and bad. Some of the best performances I’ve seen were at the National Theatre in London and, comically, some of the worst in Stratford-upon-Avon—Shakespeare’s hometown. The idea of a solo Hamlet production made me nervous– it’s hard to believe one guy could perform 17 characters in the two…
Read MoreLilah Kemp: the hero version
By Kristen Reid and Kathleen Stairs, Arts Contributors Picture this: a small black room strewn with artistic patrons holding mason jars full of wine and a distinct feeling of ripe, undiscovered genius. The Bus Stop Theatre presented the 17th episode of the Lilah Kemp Reading Series on Sept. 26. The aura of the space and…
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