Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike By Christopheer Durang Directed by Michael Shamata The Belfry Theatre April 14 - May 17, 2024 Reviewed by Joy Fisher Playwright Christopher Durang admits there are echoes of Chekov in his 2013 Tony Award-winning play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. He likes to say he’s taken […]
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Patrick Friesen is an award-winning author, formerly from Winnipeg, now living in Victoria. He was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award for poetry and the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize in 1998 and 2003 and won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award in Manitoba in 1996 and the ReLit Award for Poetry in 2012. He adapted […]
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For Your Safety Please Hold On Kayla Czaga Nightwood Editions 96 pages, $18.95 Reviewed by Kelly Shepherd It’s exciting to review a book with so many award-winning poems. I was a little nervous, even, when starting to read it. But I was quickly drawn in to Kayla Czaga’s large and eccentric (yet eerily familiar) extended family, and […]
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University of Victoria creative writing professor Bill Gaston’s remarkable insight into human nature, his gentle sense of humour and his imagination make him one of Canada’s most highly acclaimed authors. His previous collections of short stories have received nominations for many national awards, so it is no surprise that his most recent collection, Juliet Was […]
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The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Adapted by Ron Reed from C.S Lewis’ Novel Starring Mark Gordon and Kaitlin Williams The Phoenix Theatre Two added shows: Oct. 24 and 25 Reviewed by Madeline McParland Phoenix Theatre alumni Mark Gordon and Kaitlin Williams have been touring The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe for the past […]
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Whatever Lola Wants by George Szanto Brindle and Glass 424 pages, $19.95 Reviewed by Aaron Shepard From his heavenly cloud, Ted tells stories about what he sees on Earth. His audience is Lola, once a movie star, now a god, ranking higher than Ted’s status as an immortal. There is a gentle irony in this […]
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Emerging Artists Alumni Series, School of Music, University of Victoria Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, Sept. 21 Featuring Sarah Tradewell and West My Friend Reviewed by Chris Ho I was skeptical. A classical violinist and chamber-folk band seemed like an unusual pairing for a concert. But Victoria-based musician Sarah Tradewell and local favourite West My […]
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Islands of Decolonial Love By Leanne Simpson ARP, 143 pp., $14.95 Reviewed by Tyler Gabrysh Leanne Simpson’s latest work, Islands of Decolonial Love, is an impressive collection of short stories. Simpson’s book includes poems and brief vignettes, as well as audio downloads for select stories to round out the reader’s experience. Simpson’s writing concerns Indigenous […]
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Former West Coast freelance journalist Marjorie Simmins now lives on the East Coast of Canada, in Halifax, and has become a teacher and writer of memoir. Coastal Spectator Editor Lynne Van Luven recently emailed Simmins some questions about her latest book, Coastal Lives: A Memoir. The book is now available in bookstores, and to order […]
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By Joy Fisher The Playwrights Guild of Canada announced a new initiative at its annual general meeting in Montreal recently aimed at redressing the chronic underrepresentation of women in key creative positions in Canadian theatre. The Equity in Theatre (EIT) initiative will call on the theatre community as a whole to respond to gender inequities […]
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