Dana Ewachow is too shy to order a pizza over the phone, but has no problem writing on the internet. She keeps herself busy and artistically poor by writing news articles, rants, and fiction for the internet. As you may have noticed, she also writes theatre reviews. She enjoys sketch comedies, dark comedies, light comedies, and burlesque. When she isn’t writing, her odd hobbies include: martial arts, throwing hatchets, and trying to cook food that won’t send her to the hospital. Armed with questionable diplomas and a second degree blackbelt, she will surely take over the world.
It’s Friday night and several friends (Splitz, Jam, Puss, and Little Bucky the Fag) gather in the woods with nothing to do. The solution is to create a mission out of something that only a bored and angry small-town teen could come up with. Splitz placed forth in a gymnastics competition and can’t handle the fact that she is not wearing that first place red ribbon. Jam, Puss and Little Bucky the Fag promise to do whatever it takes to get their chum the ribbon that she wants. The things teens will do for a ribbon made me squirm in my seat.
Delicacy by Theatre Brouhaha opened to a packed audience on Thursday night at the Lower Ossington Theatre for SummerWorks 2013. Kat Sandler’s play began with snappy and biting dialogue, delivered so naturally by Tenille Read (Tanya) and Andy Trithardt (Mark) that I wondered if we had all imposed ourselves on a couple’s living room.
Tanya and Mark are a couple trying to spice up their marriage. They had experimented at a local swinger’s club and are hoping to rekindle the adventure with the same couple. The other couple, Len (Kaleb Alexander) and Colby (Kelly McCormack) enter the home with the confidence of well-seasoned swingers. Slowly the wild fantasy is interrupted by reality, both in a funny and shockingly harsh way.
The Trial of Ken Gass is a fictional tale based on the non-fictional occurrence of Canadian theatre legend Ken Gass’ controversial dismissal. The play, written and directed by Bobby Del Rio, is done in an absurdist style. Del Rio drew inspiration from classic absurdists like Franz Kafka (hence the title) and Samuel Beckett. The mish-mash of Kafka’s bureaucratic frustration, Beckett’s oddness, and Del Rio’s sense of humour puts an entertaining spin on the Canadian theatre controversy.
