Two-Headed/Half-Hearted at Northern Light Theatre - Perfect Story-telling!

Last Friday I took Mark along with me to check out Two-Headed/Half-Hearted (Northern Light Theatre) at the Studio Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures. I was so glad I did. I have to be choosy about what I take the big guy to because he does not have my appreciation for brave failed attempts. He always wants the show to be 'very, very, good' and this one was certainly that. I would venture to say it felt perfect. 

Rebecca Sadowski and Kaeley Jade Wiebe in Two-Headed/ Half-Hearted, Northern Light Theatre. Photo by Ian Jackson, Epic Photography

The story of conjoined twins Venus and Juno Hollis (Kaeley Jade Wiebe & Rebecca Sadowski) who relay the facts of their lives and other famous conjoined twins through song, conversation and anecdote. I was hooked from the moment they began singing. The songs are atmospheric and tight with an incredible tone and harmony. Both actors have beautiful, layered voices that sound great on their own and even more so when they sing together. The songs, composed by Wiebe, create a soundtrack that could live on it's own outside the play. Like the musicals Hadestown or Six, I would think that a recording of this show would be a highly desired commodity - so I am hoping that will come along in the future. 

As you can imagine, the story is one of those beautifully odd ones - conjoined twins hidden from the world in fear, where the girls view themselves as one being and their struggles as they evolve their understanding of themselves as being two. We hear of their parent's love story and tragic fates and how they must contend with the dangers of the world. It shifts from song to story and back in a way that feels right (Book by Trevor Schmidt). Every element was carefully thought-out and constructed. The actors cannot move from their perch, due to their characters sharing three legs and arms, but their clever costume (Deanna Finnman) and set contains them beautifully, supported by the captivating lighting design by Roy Jackson. 

Rebecca Sadowski and Kaeley Jade Wiebe in Two-Headed/ Half-Hearted, Northern Light Theatre. Photo by Ian Jackson, Epic Photography

I loved it. It is what theatre should be - excellent in all ways. It was an experience that gathered me up and held me in it's grasp until the very last moment, and one that I have thought often of in the last few days. I think I might go back again before it closes... 

Two-Headed/Half-Hearted runs to May 7, 2022 at the Studio Theatre Inside Fringe Theatre Adventures, 10330 – 84 Ave. Tickets are available here. 

A Pick-Me-Up Kind of a Show! Caribbean Muskrat at Teatro La Quindicina

I must admit, going to the theatre is starting to feel closer to normal... sure, there's the masks and if you're lucky a little bit of spacing, but in the past month and a half in addition to rehearsing the show I am directing, I have been able to catch 3 plays and my first ever evening of Die Nasty! Not quite my pre-pandemic pace, but a huge upswing and it really feels good. 

Photo Credit: Epic Photography; featuring Rochelle Laplante, Rachel Bowron & Jackson Card

It certainly helps that two of the shows (along with Die Nasty) have been comedies! Most recently I caught the Opening Night of Teatro La Quindicina's first offering in their 40th Anniversary season, Caribbean Muskrat, penned by Josh Dean and Stewart Lemoine. Lemoine also directed. I took in the show with Ephemeral Pleasures and we both delighted in the lightness of the humour created by coincidence, taboo attractions, sleep disorders and a very unusual prize (the titular Caribbean Muskrat) being held by a too-diligent Customs Agent. 

The cast of three, Cynthia Lodgepole (A driven Café hostess charmingly played by Rachel Bowron), her well-managed boyfriend Hadrien Burch (newcomer Jackson Card who is believable as the sleep disorder doctor who goes with the flow of whatever is asked of him), and the aforementioned Customs Agent, Bess Wesley (Rochelle Laplante, seen previously in Freewill's Macbeth and the Citadel's Peter Pan Gone Wrong). The three of them become entangled in attraction and friendship as the fate of the Carribean Muskrat is determined. Hopefully you can tell from this description that the show has a wonderful sense of silliness. It's situationally funny and the excellent banter of the trio carries the piece. 

The show has many of the trademarks of a Teatro show - quick dialogue, a terrific food and wine aesthetic, a sense of place (Kelowna, now or in the near future), complicating coincidences and an inevitable, yet still a little surprising, unravelling of complications. There's also a very clever and terrifically funny section where Bowron has a Bluetooth conversation with the Café staff while having brunch with the other two characters. The whole show is like the bubbles in a cold glass of prosecco - sparkling and fresh!

It's a wonderful show in it's lightness of topic after the heaviness of the last two years. There are no grand social issues being argued or weighed and that's okay. I know I left the theatre feeling a little weight lifted off my shoulders in the way that guiltfree laughter can do. 

Tickets are $37-$42 and are available here: https://tickets.teatroq.com/purchase/tickets 

There are also Pay-What-You-Can performances and you can find the information here

Oh and for your reference, here is a Caribbean muskrat: