The Pink Unicorn by Elise Forier Edie - Northern Light Theatre
Directed by Trevor Schmidt and starring Patricia Zentilli
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| Brianne Jang BB Collective Photography |
I loved the journey that director Schmidt took us on. It's pacing is fast, but slows for thought and reflection. Trisha moves more in this production and this pulls us is. I also really loved Schmidt's set design, so I wanted to give that a shout out. It's a humongous papercraft window box of a small town Texas field, set off by pink swirls. Simply beautiful and giving a frame to this touching story of mother and child. Whether you saw this before or not, I highly recommend.
Tickets are $37.00 with Pay-What-You-Can and 2-For-1 performances and can be purchased here.
The Life of Pi - The Citadel Theatre
Based on the novel by Yann Martel; Adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti
Directed by Haysam Kadri
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| Photo Credit: Nanc Price |
I've been really looking forward to seeing The Life of Pi at the Citadel Theatre. It is one of my favourite books and so many friends who saw it earlier in the run told me it was marvelous. It also has puppets that were created by a former student so I was especially invested! It did not disappoint. The creation of the world is magical - puppets tend to up the theatricality and magic of a show! But the colours or the world and the manipulation of all the animals is very well-done and you are simply immersed in Pi Patel's journey. From the zoo in Pondicherry, to the tempest tossed cargo ship, to the lonely but crowded lifeboat, this production has managed to capture the feel and mood of those presented in the book. I re-read the book in the three days leading up to seeing the show so it was all present in my mind. I didn't mind the changes and I think leaving off the extra layer of story being told to the novelist was a strong choice for the play (we did not need another layer) instead bringing the hospital in Mexico in at the beginning and having Pi relate the story in a book-ended manner. I loved that I could hear actual lines that I had just read, but delivered in a way that was alive, honest and present.
The cast as a whole is very committed to serving this story. No one has much down time as many of them switch from puppeteer to character and back. The flow is incredible. The anchor to it all is Davinder Malhi as Pi and he is simply wonderful. You feel his joy and despair as well as his anger and need to survive. It is resilience demonstrated masterfully onstage. His nemesis, Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger he shares the lifeboat with, is a worthy scene partner to Pi. The puppet is gorgeous and wild and manipulated with strength and artistry by Braydon Dowler-Coltman and Troy Feldman. Kudos to them for making him come alive, and to Puppet Director Dayna Tietzen for all the puppet work. I really want some of those stunning flying fish just so I can make them flutter.
It was one of the best shows I have seen at the Citadel in recent years. I highly recommend!
Tickets for The Life of Pi are $40.00 - $147.00 and can be purchase here. It looks like several nights have limited availability which can make ticket prices increase, so buying earlier rather than later is recommened.
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