Strombo's Ode to Vancouver

This was the opening that George Stroumboulopoulos used for his Vancouver stint last week:

No Trespassing

I went to see the latest Morris Panych play The Trespassers at the Vancouver Playhouse last week.



It's the story about a teenage boy and his relationship with his grandfather and eventually his mysterious death. It was on the slow side, in my opinion, and I didn't find the story gripping. The play jumped back and forth in time, which sometimes works for me, but in this instance it just seemed messy and all over the place. There were no surprises, so nothing was keeping me on the edge of my seat. All in all, meah, a bit of a disappointment.

Bob Rennie Art Collection

This past weekend, I finally got to visit the Rennie Collection at the Wing Sang building in Chinatown! To get in, you have to book a time through the website but they only have certain timeslots available, most of which are during the workday. Finally they had a weekend opening, and I made the reservation.

The building is the oldest one in Chinatown, dating back to 1889 built for Chinese Canadian entrepreneur Yip Sang and his four wives. You can read more about it here. Once inside the building, we were greeted by a student from the Emily Carr art school, who proceeded to give us an hour long guided tour of the building and each piece of art on display.

The current exhibition features Amy Bessone and Thomas Houseago, individual artists in their own right, but also a married couple. Below are some pieces from Houseago, whose sculptures I found more interesting than Bessone's paintings. And of course there's the Martin Creed piece featured on the exterior of the building. Of note is an upcoming Martin Creed exhibit that will take place after this one closes down.

If you get a chance to visit the gallery, do so!