Regina Arts Reviews

10/24/2022

Only 1 week left to apply for Tic Toc TEN 2023!
https://tictoctenfestival.com/

07/27/2022

Congrats to the Write Like You Mean It winners!

06/24/2021

Today’s discovery of 751 unmarked graves at a cemetery near the formal Marieval Indian Residential School is the heart-wrenching reality of Canada’s past. It is a reminder that we have a long way to go on the path of finding reconciliation. We are deeply saddened by the news and share in the grief of our brothers and sisters.

05/18/2020

The coronavirus pandemic has already caused the shutdown of theaters in the West End and on Broadway. This has affected productions of Frozen, Hangmen …

04/02/2020

Watch One Man, Two Guvnors with James Corden - a comedy hit filmed live on stage at London’s National Theatre. We’ve launched National Theatre at Home to giv...

03/07/2020

4OUR
By The Company
The University of Regina Theatre
The Shu-Box Theatre | March 5-8, 2020

Review by Joanne Weber (Co-Founder, Deaf Crows Collective)

One of my passions as a deaf educator is to train hearing allies to work with the deaf community. I also teach deaf students who are acculturated into the hearing world and who have no exposure to…

01/27/2020

Exit, Pursued by a Bear
By Lauren Gunderson
The Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre Main Stage | January 22 -February 9, 2020

Review by Art Babayants (Professor, University of Regina and Artistic Director, Toronto Laboratory Theatre)

Back in 1947 Austrian actor, Eduard von Winterstein wrote: "Naturalism was the great mud bath that the art of acting had to go through to prepare itself for the new era that would dawn a decade later." (translated by Holger Syme). It is now 2020 and yet, a lot of English Canadian theatre refuses to step out of the mud bath of naturalism and acknowledge how the 20th century revolutionized performing arts. The kitchen-sink naturalism has become the dominant style of English Canadian theatre and despite many attempts of contemporary Canadian artists to move away from it, it still dominates stages of many provincial theatres and theatre festivals. Regina’s Globe theatre is not immune to the sad disease of kitchen sink drama. Globe’s most recent production Exit Pursued by a Bear (directed by Judy Wensel), however, makes a few attempts, however modest, to defy the dominant and, sadly, favourite genre of Canadian theatre.

The play, written by Lauren Gunderson in 2012 and set in the state of Georgia, is a tongue-in-cheek comedy talking about the brutality of spousal abuse and the no less brutal spousal revenge that may or may not follow it. What makes this play really exciting to watch is not only its impossibly dark humour embedded in the lines of each of the four characters but more importantly, the constant switching of the perspectives, such as abruptly taking the audience from the present into the past and vice versa, from one character’s story into another’s, and from the personal into the political. The play utilizes a number of Brechtian techniques to make the audience engage with the production not only emotionally but also intellectually: for instance, when some characters temporarily put on an identity of another character while the same character is already present on stage creating a clever double making us take sides and question what we may be considering real. Another Brechtian technique is the use of projections: every now and then the screens around the audience provided stage directions telling us what may be happening while the stage is dark and forcing us to focus on the theatrical rather than on the ‘real’.

Judy Wensel’s direction presents an interesting battlefield between the beloved kitchen-sink naturalism and the overt Brechtian theatricality. The latter encourages the audience to think and prevents us from simply diving into the world of the play. While there is nothing new about the Brechtian aspects of the production, it seems to be working quite effectively and I only wish it were used even more. Perhaps, much more. Another interesting aspect of Exit is that the actor-characters are allowed to visibly recognize the presence of the audience, once again defying the kitchen-sink naturalism of the set. This is indeed a rare occurrence at the Globe, whose setup should be naturally encouraging this recognition since the audience always remains visible to the performers and each other.
The main downside of this stage work is, perhaps, an attempt at hyper realistic scenography with… sadly… a real kitchen sink and a number of furniture items that hardly ever get used throughout the course of the play. Nor do they provide any symbolic meaning. Another element that could have benefited from more Brechtian subtlety is the acting, which generally uses very broad strokes relying on clichés rather than allowing the actors to comment on the characters, as Brecht would have probably liked.

Overall, despite the kitchen sink naturalism of the set, the production allows Gunderson’s play to shine despite. I for one enjoyed its 75 minutes of dark humour and fairly fast pace.

Cast of Exit, Pursued by a Bear | Directed by Judy Wensel, Costume design by Rebecca Donison. Photo by JL photo.

12/02/2019

Seatbelt
By Natasha Urkow
University of Regina Theatre Dept.
Shu-Box Theatre | November 26-28, 2019

Review by Alan Bratt (President, ACTRA Saskatchewan)

There are considerations when discussing a work in progress. What one comments on may already have been rejected by the playwright. Or there may not have been time or resources to make the playwright’s intentions theatrically viable. Or casting may have been more in aid of getting it on its feet than full realization.

The production of Natasha Urkow’s play ‘Seatbelt’, November 26, 27, 28 at the U of R Shu-Box, comes fairly far toward being a full production and as such deserves serious consideration.

Often what we see lacks depth and ambition. There are tried and true formulae resorted to again and again leaving us amused and perhaps comforted. Occasionally we will see something that challenges us but so often we have merely passed the time.

‘Seatbelt’ is more than a diversion. It is pregnant with the playwright’s rage. Her life was almost taken from her in a car crash. She fought for her life and then she had to fight regain her identity. We see in the characters Tash and Tash Now resistance, regret, the most cruel of objectification, and also understanding. We see those who fought for her and those who fought against her.

There are flashes of comedy in the grotesque form of Dr. Gusano, who pronounces upon not only her present but her future. There are moments of inspired staging. An actor who uses a powered chair and who plays Gusano’s assistant comes forward and addresses both Tash and the audience about human value. The very being of the actor makes the statements more resonant. There are moments when we hear the poetry of Tash or is it of Natasha, the playwright, exceeding the confines of the dramatic situation. There is the double vision of Tash on the stage and the projected Tash Now commenting on the action.

All of these are valid and interesting but there is so much there that they work at cross purposes. The projected Tash Now is a strong device but was it germane to a family struggling with the catastrophic injuries of a child and sister? The officious Dr. Gusano, the predator Tim and the oblivious staff are a cutting comment on what happens to anyone who becomes a subject to an institution but are they perverse comic relief or worthy of a powerful satire on their own? What of Jack who is so central to Tash’s recovery but is almost lost in the larger action. And Damien, so important to Tash but who gets lost early on and reappears almost like a hurried but so necessary afterthought.

Of all the elements the projected Tash raises the most questions. She dominates the stage like some deus ex machina. But the chronology is not clear. Some times she is hectoring and vindictive in the stage present and others she is retrospective. Is what happens on the stage in her head or is she completely outside of the action? Is she, like Euripides’ gods, deeply flawed and used almost to undermine her own existence? Does she talk to Tash on the bed or does she talk about her? And what are we to make of her different costumes. The mature sophisticated dress is one thing but the water wings are almost absurd. Perhaps the Euripides conceit is not off the mark. Does Urkow want us to question or doubt Tash Now. Her presence is so powerful it must be resolved.

I once complained to a poet that I couldn’t stand listening to most poets reading their own work. It was stilted and awkward. She explained to me that for a poet each word has been agonized over and has as much value as its fellows. I think Natasha Urkow is like the poet. Every part has value. Every part is true. Every part is strong. But a play is not a poem. Things happen and are witnessed. Too many things happening can cause confusion. Or worse they weaken the play. The test of a play is in performance and there is a need to see what works and what does not. More does not mean stronger.

That is not to say that ‘Seatbelt’ is incoherent. We know what Natasha Urkow is getting at but I cannot escape the desire that she blow all it apart and write the several plays contained within ‘Seatbelt’. Hers is a powerful and raging intelligence and she brings a needed passion to the stage but she has not done the necessary cutting to intensify the play.

I recall hearing that a newspaper editor would tell his reporters to cut what they thought was their best line. It’s not about that best sentence. It’s about all the rest.

No matter how strong or true they may be it is the taking away of those things that do not strengthen the whole that is the most important part of the writing.

11/14/2019

Captain Blood
By Vidas Barzdukas
Regina Little Theatre
Regina Performing Arts Centre | October 2-5, 2019

Review by Alan Bratt (President, ACTRA Saskatchewan)

I remember hearing an argument over the music of ABBA. One person held that it was essentially fluff and not worth listening to. The answer of the person opposite was “what have you got against joy?”

I tried to keep that in mind while I watched ‘Captain Blood’ presented by the Regina Little Theatre. The show was meant to be an exciting tale of romance, piracy, dastardly villains and overcoming adversity. It was supposed to be fun.

And it was. The cast had fun, the audience had fun; everyone seemed to have fun. Even I had fun and I hate fun. But the no fun side of my nature kept asking what more could there have been? Could we have had more fun? Could we have had fun but with more pleasure of the theatre?

And it’s there that my enjoyment stumbled. Like Rocky in the film ‘Key Largo’, I want more.

So what is it that I want?

I want a play that is worthy of the hard work and enthusiasm of the cast and crew. A play that does not demand a far more technically sophisticated stage than the Performing Arts Centre offers. A play that doesn’t ask for elaborate and very expensive costuming. A play that because of its challenges does not ask for rigorous stylistic solutions.

I have trouble with the play for political reasons. It’s supposed to be fun. Pirates, villains, lovers, bold actions, heroic gestures and a happy ending. It’s full of the stuff to quicken the pulse and tug the heart strings. And then right at the end the emissary of King William of Orange comes in and fixes everything. William of Orange.

For those who are interested in constitutional monarchy the ascension of William and Mary to the English throne meant a major step toward the triumph of parliament over the crown. But it also meant the end of the Jacobite hope of having a regime sympathetic to Roman Catholicism. It also meant the entrenching of a cruel bigotry among some classes toward Catholics.

The play is framed by two historical events. The first, where we see Peter Blood arrested and transported is the Monmouth Rebellion. It was a failed attempt in 1685 by Protestant forces to overthrow James II. The second is the deposing in 1688 of James by the William of Orange in what was called The Glorious Revolution. The latter consolidated Protestant power in Britain and resonated for centuries in the Jacobite Uprising of 1745, the repression of Catholicism and of the Irish in Ireland, The Troubles in Northern Ireland and perhaps even in a mutated form in Brexit. Closer to home the ruthless suppression of the Métis on the prairies by Ontario Orangemen was the consequence of those old battles.

Even rollicking tales have political and historical meaning. It’s no surprise that in the world of the play the French, being foreign, can’t be trusted. And Arabella, restored her rightful ownership of her plantation will also own the human beings that are the foundation of her wealth. As to Peter Blood, he may not be an Englishman but he is a gentleman and probably of the Irish Ascendency. All’s well that ends well as someone said.

This might seem a little fraught for a happy evening at the theatre but it has implications for the presentation.

This is a beast of a play having many characters, many scenes and a ridiculous number of set changes. It was conceived in a time when the theatre had huge resources of staging to draw on and would have revelled in the verisimilitude achieved on stage. Little wonder it made such an exciting movie.

But the Regina Little Theatre does not have a fly tower or a revolve or the numerous other devices of the theatre.

The director, Bryce Schlamp, did not attempt to create the actual period of the play. He replaced historical mimicry with stylization and that made sense and was laudable. He trod in the footsteps of two major figures of twentieth century theatre, Harley Granville-Barker and Bertold Brecht. The former developed the idea of play as concept. One did not put ‘Twelfth Night’ in an actual court. The play had its own world and the staging should echo that. For Brecht the theatre was a place of demonstration. One watches a play with one’s critical faculties engaged, fully recognizing we are being shown something. I have grossly over simplified two immense ideas but it will serve to place what Schlamp has done in a context.

When actors appeared wearing modern eye glasses it was not a concession to their poor eye sight though they may have had poor eye sight and needed the glasses. It was because their being in the actual historical period was not important. The period was indicated and we were informed by direct address often enough to know what was going on. Even the costuming was a melange of periods of which perhaps the most jarring was Lord Willoughby’s combination of Jacobean upper class ruff and a mid-nineteenth century dandy’s frock coat.

This refusal to concede to the realistic conventions is shown in the vivid colours projected on the upstage scrim as well as the set pieces themselves which indicate rather than imitate. Everything in the production works against the realistic conventions of the period of theatre the play was conceived during.

The production is theatrically self aware but it lacks a control of its stylistic ambitions. It dispenses with convention but for what? Granville-Barker sought a consistent world within a play and Brecht wanted to show social and political implications reflected by a play. The Regina Little Theatre production of ‘Captain Blood’ is bold and vigorous but doesn’t understand itself or what it’s about. It accepts the premise of the play uncritically and in this age we no longer have that innocence.

11/12/2019

Spring Awakening
Book & Lyrics by Steven Sater | Music by Duncan Sheik
University of Regina Theatre Dept.
Riddell Centre Theatre | October 30 - November 3, 2019

Review by Landon Walliser (Producer, The Women’s Company)

It has been 32 Years since the University of Regina last presented a full scale musical as part of its regular season. In that time the university theatre department has moved locations, completely changed their roster of professors, and restructured their program almost completely from the ground up. Broadway, likewise, has changed. The theatre world that produced ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’, the last Broadway musical presented by the university, could never have conceived of a show like Spring Awakening, first presented on Broadway in 2006. Gone was the glitz and glamour of shows like ‘Hello, Dolly!’, ‘The King and I’, and ‘A Chorus Line’; gone was the spectacle of ‘Mame’, ‘South Pacific’, or ‘Sweeney Todd’. A moody, explicit, stripped down, alt-rock chamber musical, ‘Spring Awakening’ stood out as a new beast in theatre and was widely praised in its premiere production. While the musical score itself may not be as intricate or as challenging as Sondheim, the rich thematic material, explicit subject matter, and dense poetic language provide a sizeable challenge for anyone mounting a production of Spring Awakening.

It’s with these challenges in mind that I went into the University of Regina’s ‘Spring Awakening’. I have now seen the show twice, once during previews to get a sense of the design and then again on opening night for the purposes of this review.

The show is beautiful to look at, and I appreciate how they’ve remixed the original productions idea of “song light” in the design. Some numbers utilise the song lights better than others. “Don’t Do Sadness” in particular fell flat because Joseph Mclellan walked through the choreography with his light without embodying any of the emotional stakes Moritz is feeling in that moment. In fact, throughout the show it was consistently the group numbers where the light, music, and the performances came together best. “Touch Me”, “The Word of Your Body”, and “Left Behind” all stood out as especially beautiful moments with the song light guiding exploration, filling a sky of stars, and becoming solemn cluster of funeral prayer candles respectively.

The set itself is a large, black, playground style structure with a ladder, a slide, and a couple pieces of scaffolding that betray the productions Brechtian ideals. At the top of the show, there is chalk writing on the front facing wall, that then becomes the chalkboard of the schoolhouse. I loved this detail, but I do wish the design took it further and had turned the whole of the black set into a chalkboard covered in words, possibly giving us a better idea of the dictums governing these children’s lives. The costumes are exactly what you would expect of a show set in Germany at the turn of the century, with a few modern touches thrown in throughout. Overall a very clean and effective design.

The performances are a bit scattered. Nathan Sgrazzutti holds his own in the lead role as Melchior, especially given that he replaced the previous actor only a week before, and is able to show a depth and understanding of his work that most of the cast has a difficult time embodying. Tianna Chorney (Wendla) has some issues with this, but improves as the show progresses and especially in shared scenes. The consistently strong performances come entirely from the supporting cast with standout performances from Bryan Luansing, Ryan Ramsay, and Emma Eaton. All three remain in character at all times, bring depth and work to their characters, and sing their way through the score without any indication of difficulty.

It isn’t a perfect production. Inconsistent performances and technical issues with the sound make it difficult to understand what is happening at times and can make it a struggle to stick with the through line of the show. Throughout, the actors’ focus is divided between the learning experience of putting on a musical and the work that goes into bringing a character to life. These experiences should not be separate and it illustrates how necessary it was for the University to dip its toe back into musical theatre. The boldness of the show compared to other local productions, the originality of the design and staging, and the necessity of the learning experience for these students far outweighs the issues with the production. RECOMMENDED.

Stray Observations:
- Glad to see the University and the MAPS faculty finally throw some advertising support the Theatre Department’s way. I worked for five years during my degree as the production publicist and I could only wish for money for billboards and web advertising.
- I have been told that sound improved greatly through the shows run. It was a learning show for the cast and the crew, and the show improved each night.
- Two actors stepped into their roles less than a week before opening and I likely wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t been told. Bravo.
- Major praise for the band. That Duncan Sheik score is gorgeous.

11/12/2019

Spring Awakening
Book & Lyrics by Steven Sater | Music by Duncan Sheik
University of Regina Theatre Dept.
Riddell Centre Theatre | October 30 - November 3, 2019

Review by Julia Peterson (Graduate Student, Arts Journalism)

On the whole, I thought that UofR’s production of Spring Awakening was a strong outing for the theatre program, especially given that it is the Theatre Department’s first Main Stage musical. There were highs and lows, of course, and a few things I definitely have gripes with, but there were some really wonderful moments throughout the performance as well.

My first impression wasn’t ideal; when Wendla emerged from behind the curtains lit by a single lightbulb dangling in front of her, the initial image gave me an unfortunate impression of an anglerfish. Also (at least on Friday night, when I attended), ‘Mama Who Bore Me’ was noticeably flat, and there were balance issues in ‘Bitch of Living.’

As I watched the show unfold over the course of the night, I kept thinking to myself ‘did these actors just not warm up before they went on?’ To me, it seemed as though everyone in the cast took a while to kick into gear. When they hit their stride, they were fantastic – the female ensemble was brilliant in ‘The Dark I Know Well’ and the scene preceding it, and Moritz’s delivery at the start of ‘Touch Me’ was hauntingly wonderful. In fact, while I initially found some of his character choices slightly overdone, his whole performance and choreography in ‘Don’t Do Sadness’ was so good it took my breath away. By the time Wendla and Melchior meet in the woods midway through the first act, Wendla’s scenes all delivered an emotional punch, and Melchior sorted out the balance issues that impacted the first half of the act. I would say that ‘Totally F**ked’ and ‘Song of Purple Summer’ are even in my mind for the show’s best ensemble numbers.

I want to take note of a few things about Melchior in particular; first, he played a very convincing high schooler. I have worked on productions were I have been trying to cast college students as high schoolers, and I noticed at that time how hard it is to find students in this age demographic who are able to consistently seem five years younger than they are. I do wish he had had a falsetto (mainly because I came in familiar with the music – I thought the key change worked at the end of ‘Those You’ve Known,’ but was quite jarring in ‘Left Behind’).

With regard to costuming and set design, I wasn’t sold on the dangling lights at first, but they were used so consistently and effectively throughout the show that I came around to them – honestly, the ‘Don’t Do Sadness’ choreography would have been enough to justify this entire design element to me, and there were a lot of other good moments with them as well. I’m still not convinced that the round cutouts in some parts of the set added value. Regarding costuming – and this might be because I have a bit of background working in theatre costuming – I have some strong feelings. First, I thought the girls’ dresses and shoes were all fantastic. They all added to the characters’ personality and distinctiveness. I wasn’t convinced about the boys’ tennis shoes, or having the reformatory boys in those short-sleeved hoodies, and the piano teacher’s costume seemed exaggerated slightly past the point of comedy. What I do really admire is how well everything was sewn – there were so many scenes where the actors were shining lights under each other’s skirts and jackets, and this lighting and blocking – coupled with fabric choices that allowed the light to shine through – meant that any errors in construction would have been visible to the audience, and it was obvious even from ten rows back that these pieces were all so well-made. I also do have a gripe about Melchior’s tattoo being visible in the hayloft scene; especially since he doesn’t take his shirt off until he goes behind the sheet, why wasn’t he put in a shirt with longer sleeves?

I do love how the show ended – the blocking in ‘Song of Purple Summer’ seemed very polished and well-rehearsed, and everyone’s performance was absolutely mesmerizing as they bridged the old story with the modern times.