Category: ART
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Maev Beaty, Rosemary Dunsmore and Brianna Rodrigues in Here For Now Theatre’s 2026 production of Suzannah. Photo by Ann Baggley By Galen Simmons Here For Now Theatre’s final play of its 2026 summer season, Suzannah, is a journey into the mind of a woman losing her grasp on the present as she processes the grief…
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Rose Napoli as Rosa Priore (front left) and Graham Abbey as Giuseppe “Peppino” Priore (front right) with members of the company, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Stratford Festival 2026. Photo by David Hou. By Galen Simmons For my money, there’s nothing quite like a well-written, well-staged family drama. There’s something I love about watching family members explore…
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From left: Cyrus Lane as Sir Henry Savile and Deborah Hay as Martie, The King James Bible Play. Stratford Festival 2026. Photo by David Hou. By Galen Simmons When it comes to writing something down and preserving a message for generations to come, language matters. And when that message forms part of the most-read book…
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From left, Michael Man as Dr. Wilson Wong, Karthik Kadam as Devan Pillay and Agnes Tong as Arabella Flynn, The Tao of the World, Stratford Festival 2026. Photo by David Hou. By Galen Simmons Complete with stylishly elegant costumes and a set that brings audiences into the heart of the daily lives of the Singaporean…
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Justin Shaw in his one-man show, Off-Island Odyssey, at the Blyth Festival. Photo by Keith Tomasek By Galen Simmons What’s the difference between home and away? It sounds like a simple question, but after seeing Justin Shaw’s Off-Island Odyssey at the Blyth Festival earlier this month and speaking with him about the show, I’m not…
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Rachel Cairns in Hypothetical Baby. Photo by Dahlia Katz By Galen Simmons For playwright and performer Rachel Cairns, the idea for Hypothetical Baby began with a deeply personal experience and a question she thought would have a relatively straightforward answer. After becoming pregnant and deciding she wanted an abortion, Cairns went to her doctor to…
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A self portrait by Michael “Cy” Cywink. Image courtesy of EagleEyes Media Productions By Galen Simmons For filmmaker Cory Bilyea, bringing the story of her longtime friend and mentor, the late Anishinaabe artist Michael “Cy” Cywink, to Stratford represents a full-circle journey decades in the making. Bilyea’s documentary, The Creation Story of Michael ‘Cy’ Cywink,…
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Members of the cast of The Last Mayor of Rusty River (and Captain Whiskers) at the Blyth Festival. Photo by Alex Franklin By Galen Simmons It’s not often the high-stakes drama of small-town politics is put under the bright lights at centre stage, but that’s exactly what The Last Mayor of Rusty River delivers at…
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Madeline Elliot Kennedy, Andrew Perun, Kevin Kruchkywich, Aidan de Salaiz and Naomi Ngebulana in Here For Now Theatre’s Early Genius. Photo courtesy of Here For Now Theatre By Galen Simmons Remember that kid in your class back in elementary school who thought he knew it all? They would answer every question the teacher asked, whether…
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Justin Shaw in his one-man show, Off-Island Odyssey, at the Blyth Festival. Photo by Keith Tomaseck By Galen Simmons There was something both familiar and comforting about listening to Justin Shaw share his life experiences and bizarre Canadian encounters after leaving his childhood home on Prince Edward Island to find his way in the…