Category: 2026
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Lemon Bucket Orkestra performed in concert at the Stratford Perth Museum July 19. Photo by Galen Simmons By Galen Simmons At first, there was only one person willing to get up and dance, but by the end of their show at the Stratford Perth Museum July 19, Toronto’s Lemon Bucket Orkestra (LBO) had everyone up…
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Kirstyn Russelle, Shaina Silver-Baird, Alyssa LeClair and Madison Hayes-Crook in Curveball: The Fast-Pitch Ladies from the Factory Floor. Blyth Festival 2026. Photo by Alex Franklin By Galen Simmons In recent years, the story of Stratford’s Kroehler Furniture Factory’s women’s softball team and their championship-winning 1953 season – the same year that saw the opening of…
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Will King and Ivy Miller in Waxwing Theatre Company’s Orbit, part of Toronto Fringe 2026. Photo by Barry McCluskey By Galen Simmons Do you ever feel alone in the galaxy; as if you’re trapped in an economic system that doesn’t value the individual, only the labour they provide, and no one is looking out for…
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Kelly Van der Burg and other members of the cast in Ghosts of My House at Here For Now Theatre. Photo courtesy of Here For Now Theatre By Galen Simmons How can a family move on when grief seems to be tearing apart its very foundation piece by piece? Playwright Susanna Fournier and director Leora…
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Shannon Taylor, Jasmine Case and Zara Jestadt in Love Us Most. Here For Now Theatre 2026. Photo courtesy of Here For Now Theatre By Galen Simmons There are more than a few hard truths in playwright Sara Farb and director Sabryn Rock’s world-premiere production of Love Us Most at Here For Now Theatre this…
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Blyth Festival review: Dry Streak brings all that small-town Saskatchewan charm with some fun twists
Robin Craig and Brontae Hunter in Dry Streak. Blyth Festival 2026. Photo by Lyon Smith By Galen Simmons If you’ve ever been curious about what it’s like living in small-town Saskatchewan, playwright Leeann Minogue and director Kate Lynch’s production of Dry Streak this season at the Blyth Festival might be the play for you. Having…
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Members of the company, Othello. Stratford Festival 2026. Photo by David Hou. By Galen Simmons There is no shortage of strong performances in director Haysam Kadri’s production of the Shakespearean tragedy, Othello, this season at the Stratford Festival. This production’s cast is anchored by the remarkable talents of André Sills as the titular character. Sills…
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Marissa Orjalo as Cecily Cardew, Carter Gulseth as Algernon Moncrieff, Joe Perry as John Worthing and Allison Lynch as Gwendolen Fairfax, The Importance of Being Earnest. Stratford Festival 2026. Photo by David Hou. By Galen Simmons Besides the return of Something Rotten!, which everyone knew was once again going to be a smash hit, director…
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By Galen Simmons I had never heard of the Fleck strike of 1978 in Centralia before walking into the Blyth Memorial Community Hall on opening night of playwright Kristen De Silva and director Mary Francis Moore’s Sisters of ’78 on June 12. But by the time I walked out, I was hoarse from cheering for…
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By Galen Simmons We are all on an island and it is sinking. Is there a life to live somewhere else or do we just live life to the fullest in the time we have left here? Is there an in-between? Those were the thoughts with which I was left after watching playwright Julia Lederer…