Busy Weekend! Theatre with Catalyst, The Varscona and The Citadel!

It was a busy weekend of theatre for me! Felt like old times! Three performances in three days!

On Friday, I took in The Invisible - Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare presented by Catalyst Theatre at the Eva O. Howard Theatre at Victoria School for the Arts. This was the last professional show i saw before the great pause and much of what I reflected on then, still holds true. You can read my original review here. The show has had some cast changes, but they are still a phenomenal ensemble of actors with no weak links. It's a terrific piece of theatre that reveals stories of women during World War II - stories we don't often get to hear. As I said before, it is one of my favourites from the company and remains so! 

The Invisible runs to October 5th with tickets priced between $26.83-$51.83. You can purchase them here. 

On Saturday, I went to The Varscona Theatre Gala. It was a lovely night with a variety of performers (House of Hush Burlesque, Die-Nasty, Lindsey Walker, and the Jambo Brothers), terrific food, and a silent auction (yes I 'won' something!). It was hosted by Kendra Connor and Jason Hardwick and told us about what was coming up in the theatre this next season. We saw a scene from The Noon Witch which will be part of the Teatro Live! season and Die-Nasty improvised Waiting for Godot: The Musical. All in all a terrific night! If you missed it, and want to support The Varscona either by donating or buying tickets to their shows, you can check them out here.   

My theatre weekend wrapped up on Sunday afternoon with A Streetcar Named Desire at the Citadel Theatre. It is an excellently done production. I will admit, Streetcar is a favourite of mine. I was an ensemble member in a production about 25 years ago, and I have always loved Tennessee Williams' plays. As I mentioned, this production is very well executed. The entire cast is up to the task and Stanley (Stafford Perry) and Blanche (Lindsey Angell) are phenomenal anchors to the piece. I was also particularly impressed by Sheldon Elter as Mitch, who gave a real layered and thought-provoking performance. The show is about 3 hours long, but does not feel long. It moves along and keeps the audience engaged. It's not often that you get to see these classic pieces, and it is nice to see it done so well. They've added live music to the transitions to create the mood and feel of New Orleans in the 1950s. These are all excellently done, but I wondered about whether this was necessary. It's hard to say, because after the show, my companion's first comment was about how much she liked the music! It certainly showcased some tremendous talent!

A Streetcar Named Desire runs to October 13th. Tickets are priced between $40-$125.00 and can be purchased here.