For the first ten minutes or so, Western, a play with music (playing as part of Next Stage Theatre Festival) is somewhat misty and disorienting. It doesn’t sit you down and hold your hand and walk you through its premise, but rather introduces it in a slow burn, a collaborative campfire fantasy that’s equal parts blood and poetry. Puppetry and clever staging introduce you slowly to the characters and the shared trauma they’re all determined to relive: the accidental killing of one boy by another that kickstarts a manhunt across a great unidentified landscape.Continue reading 2017 Next Stage Theatre Festival Review: Western, a play with music (The Harvey Dunn Campfire)→
Rock Bottom Movement’s production of MANICPIXIEDREAMGIRLS was my first experience of absurdist dance, and it was a ton of fun: energetic, frequently very funny, and extremely strange. Overall, this Next Stage Theatre Festival show is an exuberant, colourful exploration of — well, I’m not entirely sure, but it’s certainly exuberant and colourful.
At the beginning of a Songbuster – An Improvised Musical, one of the performers solicits a suggestion from an audience member for an exciting place where one meets people. The genius in the front row for the opening of Next Stage Theatre Festival offered: “ComicCon,” and we were off to the races. The absolutely hilarious and completely improvised races, through which we galloped for a very funny hour.
Rock Bottom Movement’s production of 
At the beginning of a