Finster Finds

I saw 9 shows in January... I was supposed to see 10 but when winter hit on the 26th I couldn't face driving and missed one (😞)... But 7 of those shows were in the last two weeks! I'd say it's a real challenge to produce theatre in the second half of January in Edmonton - so much competition! Anyhow, I saw some good stuff, some silly stuff, some ok things... A lot of hard-working thoughtful artists. I started the month with the Mayfield's Back to the 80's . We had really enjoyed the first 80's show they did a few years ago and while the music in this one was still very well done (and my favourite era) I didn't think this show had as strong a script. An enjoyable evening, but not much more than that. However, I followed that up with The Humans at the Citadel. I was able to see it twice and was glad I could because it was so layered. I loved the naturalistic acting, the excellent writing, the connections between the actors, and the beautiful choreogr...

When you walk into the Theatre Lab at Grant MacEwan and take your seat, the show has already started. Actors engage with audience members, chocolates are handed out, I played a game with one of those origami fortune-tellers ( I would be disquieted... learning this made me... disquieted ), some people helped the actors run lines, one told us about her research... There was a lot happening and it set the tone for the rapid fire, multi-mini-scenes that make up Caryl Churchill's play, Love & Information . The show promises 22 actors, 100 roles and 57 plays centered around the themes of love and information. It's a good choice for the student actors, forcing them to shift quickly from scene to scene and to work as an ensemble as they tell these little stories. Director Dave Horak has wisely kept the pacing quick and the transitions sharp so that these little plays flip like pages in a book. The 90 minute show never drags and each scene seems as brief or as long as they need to...