An Excellent Start to the 2026-2027 Theatre Season - YAGA and MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

I'm always very happy to see an excellent show - isn't everyone? - but it's a particularly great feeling to kick of a season with two excellent shows back to back!

 Marc J. Chalifoux Photography

Most recently, and still onstage, I saw Yaga by Kat Sandler and directed by new Artistic Director Lana Michelle Hughes at Shadow Theatre. I went in kind of blind as I didn't really know the Yaga reference (my son asked if it was about the woman who had a cabin in the woods on chicken legs - and it sort of is, but I had no idea going in what that meant; my husband referenced John Wick movies - and the play does too briefly). Anyhow, the mythology of Yaga, or Baba Yaga, is all explained creatively throughout the play so I was good. The show itself melds police thriller with fairy tale and cautionary tale and seems quite fitted for our current world. It's scary and funny and the ride is wild! I was invested from start to finish and was never quite sure what was coming next, but I sure wanted to know!

 Marc J. Chalifoux Photography

There's a few reasons why this show worked so well. First, the script is really well written. Three actors play all the characters and this helps with the unknowns and the unwrapping of what's going on. You can see why the play is being adapted for a TV series (which I definitely will be watching) - smart, sharp modern dialogue that drives the action. Second, the direction is so tight. Transitions that clip and never slow things down and often add to the dramatic tension. Third, the cast of three (N Girgis, Emily Howard and Maxwell Vesely) are so connected and all three are able to flip from character to character fluidly. They work so well with each other and with the text and they are also able to be both smart and funny. Finally, the world created is perfect - such a gorgeous and unexpectedly dynamic set (cm zuby), highlighted with dramatic lighting and smoke effects (Even Gilchrist), a chilling and creepy soundscape (Chris Scott), and costumes that perfectly define who those characters are (Kat Evans). I say you should definitely check this out! Shadow Theatre has set the bar high for this season and all the shows that will follow! 

Yaga runs to November 1st with tickets running from $25-40. There are also PWYC and Two for One Nights. You can purchase tickets here. 

Nanc Price

Earlier in the fall, I caught Murder on the Orient Express at the Citadel Theatre. It's run is finished and I am sorry you won't be able to catch it. I believe they had a sold out final week of their run, so it might have been hard to grad tickets anyhow. It's was also excellent. The show was a co-production and because they had a run in Winnipeg, they were a tight, well-oiled machine. The production was also very well done. The script scaled down the number of potential murderers on the train, but on a stage and a very cool set, it still felt like there were a lot of people with motives and secrets and large personalities. Alex Pochin-Goldin was the perfect Hercule Poirot, and the cast and production as a whole captured the required atmosphere for the Agatha Christie classic. I really loved Brian Perchaliuk's set since the Orient Express must have it's own personality in the story, and this world was certainly well thought out and magical. Director Kelly Thornton kept the pace brisk and the secrets well hidden until just the right time! A thoroughly enjoyable theatre experience!

Tonight I am headed to Walterdale Theatre for the first show in their season. It's a sequel to Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew called The Tamer Tamed. Written in the age of Shakespeare by John Fletcher, the script has been adapted by Anne Marie Szucs and Joyanne Rudiak for the company. I'm looking forward to seeing how Petruchio's new wife, Maria, manages to tame him! 

The Tamer Tamed runs to October 24th with tickets $25-30 and they also have a PWYC night coming up. You can get your tickets here. 

Tiny Beautiful Things at Shadow Theatre - Theatre for Your Soul!

 Tiny Beautiful Things at Shadow Theatre
Photo Credit: Marc J. Chalifoux Photography and Video

In Tiny Beautiful Things by Nia Vardalos (of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame), anonymous online columnist “Sugar” receives letters asking for advice, to which she responds with reflections on her own life which helps those seeking guidance (and the audience) with their own challenges. Michelle Todd is perfectly cast as Sugar (aka author Cheryl Strayed). Todd is warm and empathetic, and makes you believe that Sugar is in a good place now, but that there have been many terrible things in her life that she has overcome. The portrayal is honest, emotional when necessary, and layered with a gentle humour. The letter writers (played by the trio of Michael Peng, Brett Dahl and Sydney Williams) embody a wide variety of humans seeking advice for a wide variety of life challenges. Their portrayals are also honest and generous to each other and the audience. Peng is particularly moving as father in mourning. I was worried that a play based on letters back and forth would become a bit 'talking heads' but directors John Hudson and Lana Hughes have wisely created a world where Sugar interacts with her petitioners in conversation - they are welcome in her home (an adorable set designed by C.M. Zuby). It's dynamic and healing. 

 Tiny Beautiful Things at Shadow Theatre
Photo Credit: Marc J. Chalifoux Photography and Video

I mention that it felt a bit like therapy (in a good way) as the stories told by Sugar made me reflect on my own past and current emotional challenges. I am still thinking about some of these things several days later. With laughter, some tears, and some gentle introspection this show is one that will feed your soul. If you don't connect to all the stories, you are bound to relate to a few of them. 

Tiny Beautiful Things is presented by Shadow Theatre at the Varscona Theatre and runs until May 12th. Tickets are $25-$38 and there are Pay-What-You-Can nights. You can purchase tickets here. 

Robot Girls is full of Laughs and a Love for Science at Shadow Theatre!

If you’re looking for a show on in Edmonton this week and next, I highly recommend Robot Girls presented by Shadow Theatre at the Varscona. It’s a brand new work by Trevor Schmidt about about a school science club at an all-girls junior high school. The four actors (played by Larissah Lashley, Hayley Moorhouse, Abigail McDougall and Jayce McKenzie) are letter perfect as grade 7, 8 and 9 students who endeavor to build a robot in their club to go to an international science competition. Their teacher advisor is missing in action, so it’s all up to them to figure out how to get the work done.

As a junior high school science teacher myself, I was both tickled and impressed by the portrayals. McKenzie is simply hysterical as the grade 7 club member Vanessa. She's filled to the brim with a golden retriever puppy energy that feels all too real. Moorhouse, on the other end of the age spectrum, plays the senior member of the club, grade 9 Bloody Mary, with just the right amount of distain and compassion for her younger club mates. In the middle, we have two grade 8 of varying temperaments; Lashley with her student council Vice President authority, and McDougall who just needs a club to be in while she balances the demands of her family. I was struck by how accurate (in a heightened way) the three ages were portrayed. You wouldn’t think there was a wide difference difference between a grade 7 and a grade 9, but there is, and this show capitalizes on it and really makes it work. It was also terrific that these weren't 'mean girls' or 'troubled girls', but real kids who happen to be smart and like science and want to belong somewhere, which is far more my experience with the age group. 

The laughs start immediately with this show. Schmidt has a knack for writing funny and truthful, young female characters. Co-Directors John Hudson and Lana Michelle Hughes keep the action moving with clever lights and robot dancing. The pace is brisk and tight. The relationships are honest, sometimes unintentionally hurtful, often touching, and most of all very humorous. 

Of course it’s not all simple. With the lack of a teacher in the room, the four girls must figure everything out on their own both with the robot building and how to deal with each other. Mistakes are made, but then fixed, and the future for women in science looks very hopeful.

I can’t overstate how funny it is, and how much the packed opening night audience was howling with laughter. If you have a daughter or granddaughter, or niece, aged 12 and up, I highly encourage you to take them to see this show. It might be really cool for them to recognize themselves on stage (whether they are a science kid or not). It’s more about the relationships than the science, but the science is pretty cool, too. It’s Spring Break next week so you could take your kid and they don’t have to get up early the next morning for school.

Robot Girls by Trevor Schmidt runs to March 31st at the Varscona Theatre. Tickets are $25-$38 with a Pay-What-You-Can night (at the door), and can be purchased here.

Photo Credit: Marc J. Chalifoux Photography and Video