The Mandrake

Based on "the greatest play in the Italian language," (La Mandragola by Machiavelli), The Mandrake makes its debut here in Vancouver at the Havana Theatre on Commercial Drive. Theatre Pandora introduces us to their new artistic director Tom McLaren who has journeyed over the great oceans from the United Kingdom to be here.

The play itself is a comedic farce revolving around con artists, lust, and a quick paced rapport between the two actors who, in this new take on the story, take on 8 different characters and even rotate characters between one another throughout the play! It's not as confusing as it might sound, as both Valerie Pauwels and Trent Red do a tight job juggling all the roles, and occasionally breaking down that fourth wall to make sure the audience is still on the same page.

It's that breaking of the fourth wall that really pulls together what the shows seeks to convey. In a epilogue of sorts, the actors discuss the role of identity and acting and how in this world we call a stage, we are all but actors taking on whichever identity fits us at the time. By donning different costumes and accents, the actors have managed to showcase that lesson in this vehicle, leaving us to wonder if we truly are who we say we are.

The Mandrake is on now until October 11th at the Havana Theatre.

My Rabbi

Kicking off the 2014/2015 season for the Firehall Arts Centre is a timely, politically-infused portrait of friendship, hate, and religion. My Rabbi is the story of two friends, Arya (who is Muslim) and Jacob (who is Jewish).

Told through a jumping timeline, we are introduced to the characters in present day Toronto, years after their friendship has dissipated, while traveling back to see how two buddies came to grow so far apart. The religious backgrounds of both play a vital role in their separation, slowly building a wall up between them.

Both Kayvon Kelly and Joel Bernbaum weave back and forth between the past and the present, swapping out their hats and yamakas to take on auxiliary characters such as distant fathers, racist border guards, radical relatives, and more. With creative (yet simple) staging and lighting, we are transported from pub to pub, into a Jewish synagogue, and even bear witness to an exchange of letters/emails eloquently depicted between the two characters. This 65 minute show has enough complexity in its subject matter to encourage dialogue (at times, a bit too forcefully) which is the mark of a thought-provoking button-pushing piece of work.

My Rabbi plays at the Firehall Arts Centre until October 18th.

Kosmic Mambo at Studio 58

Kosmic Mambo is a hypnotizing, time-traveling, space race fantasia with a sense of humour.

The story adapts The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the Coleridge poem, into a compelling story of a dangerous journey, a shipwreck, and a condemned captain, whose spirit is forced to wander the Earth telling the cautionary tale of his wrathful actions, death, and damnation.

Cosmonauts + scientists, photo by David Cooper

The Coleridge poem from 1798 is remixed into a sci-fi story set during the end of the U.S./Soviet Union space race in the late 1960's. It tells a fictitious story of the USSR's failed attempt to send six cosmonauts to Mars in response to America's successful moon landing.

In honour of the real space race, the play debuted October 4, the anniversary of the launching of the first man-made satellite, Sputnik in 1957.

This play is the latest in a series of physical theatre pieces that started 25 years ago at Studio 58. Physical theatre means that the story is told—for the most part—non-verbally. The storyline is communicated through the body—and in this case, quite well. I never lost track of the story.

However, there were times I found myself wishing the physical movements had been more refined. Some of the actors' movements were a bit heavy in some of the dancing or when simulating zero gravity. (It looked more like 20% gravity at times.) To their credit, I will say those zero-gravity scenes look like they take a lot of strength and flexibility! The lab-coated scientists who manned gorgeous, high-production-value sets, had some of the best choreography of the play.

The music, which co-creator David Mackay, aptly describes as, "hallucinogenic," samples from Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, the soundtrack to "2001," and Queen (which accompanies a delightful Busby-Berkeley-inspired dance number). And if you're not into classic rock, don't worry the music is short and they do play some Goldfrapp to cleanse your palate.

This play really pleased and entertained my inner geek. The bad part is that it reminds you how long ago the space race seems now.

Kosmic Mambo

October 02 - October 19, 2014
Studio 58/Langara College
100 West 49th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Y 2Z6

Tickets are $12-$25 at TicketsTonight.com.

VIFF: 52 Tuesdays

This Australian feature focuses on the lives of a transgendered Female To Male who is going through transition and the impact it has on his 16 year old daughter. The daughter is the main focus of the movie, and perhaps it's because actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey does such a precise job at being a self-involved teenager that I was completely annoyed by her. Her transitioning parent however, is played delicately by Del Herbert-Jane and I quite enjoyed her performance.

It's a tough topic that's done with tenderness and openness, showcasing how a family can get through change together.

52 Tuesdays plays at the Vancouver International Film Festival on Oct 7 at 1:30pm at the SFU Woodwards theatre.

VIFF: Advanced Style

This joyous and celebratory documentary brought tears of happiness to my eyes! With both screenings already sold out, Advanced Style seems to be one of the Must Sees of the Film Fest this year!

The film features several older women of New York who dress to the nines on a daily basis, and are captured on camera by Ari Seth Cohen, who started documenting fashionable older ladies on his blog of the same name, Advanced Style.

Directed by Lina Plioplyte, who was there in attendance, this remarkable and brilliant film will give everyone hope through fashion and the lives of these fantastic people! (I got to thank Lina personally for making such a wonderful film! Yay!)

The next sold out screening of Advanced Style takes place Sunday October 5 at 7pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. News has it that the film will be making a return during the VIFF Repeats series, at the Vancity Theatre, so keep your eyes and ears open!

Show Tunes Night at 1181

Something WICKED this way comes... It's a Wicked-ly inspired Show Tunes night on October 3 at 1181 Davie Street, as we celebrate the start of October in all its witchy glory! Come on by for the happiest happy hour of the month!  Check out the Facebook page for more information!

VIFF: Everything Will Be

Julia Kwan's Everything Will Be is a strikingly moving and beautifully shot documentary about Vancouver's changing Chinatown.

Perhaps I was moved by it because of my own connection with the neighbourhood, recalling my childhood when I would go down there with my parents every Sunday to grocery shop and get a haircut at the corner shop barber. The film showcases the very many stories that are thriving right now in the area, from an upstart artist trying to make his way to a club of senior citizens coming together daily to form a singing group.

There is no one narrator, as the film suggests that Chinatown is more about the parts that make the whole. Even real estate guru Bob Rennie is featured talking about the changing neighbourhood and what he's tried to do to preserve what he can. It's a gorgeous film that will guide you through all the hidden nooks and crannies of Vancouver's historic Chinatown - perfect for any local who wants to rediscover its lost magic.

Poignant, touching, and charming, Everything Will Be plays on Sept 29, Oct 1, and Oct 3 at the Vancouver International Film Festival.