The following review was submitted by Rachel Kralka, a London Central co-op student who has recently been working with London Community Players. Thanks to Connie Galera for setting up the opportunity, and of course thanks Rachel!

Gotta Love Those Clowns

A Thousand Clowns, written by Herb Gardner, took place at the Palace Theatre on February 19–27. It is a heart warming comedy, taking place in the one room apartment of Murray Burns (Jordan Morris) and his illegally adopted nephew, Nick Burns (Brady Johnson). Unemployed and without a care on the world, Murray’s procrastination has its consequences as Albert Amundson (Andrew Johnson) and Sandra Markowitz (Kathryn Mitchell), two social care workers, show up to inspect Nick’s living environment. The production is witty and is a realistic piece of writing.

The characters are…

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This edition of Inside the Arts: Theatre Edition was broadcast on February 2, 2010. In this show, Jeff and Simon talk to Dale Hirlehey about Original Kids, Simply Theatre and other projects.

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Witching for Laughs

The Wingfield franchise of laughter continues with its seventh instalment, Wingfield Lost & Found, which opened Friday at London’s Grand Theatre.

For those not familiar with the Wingfield series, Dan Needles has used a string of newspaper columns to create a story of a Toronto stockbroker who leaves the big city to become a hobby farmer in the mythical township of Persephone. Stratford actor Rod Beattie stars in the one-man shows, directed by his brother Doug Beattie. The series has a loyal following, and they have stuck closely to their popular format — almost all the same characters, on the same set, but with new laughs in each play. The plays have been filmed for television, in exactly the same format as the stage productions.

The play opens with Walt’s Belted Galloway cattle escaping, and the…

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A “he says/she says” relationship

The Last Five Years, currently on stage at the Grand Theatre in London, is one of those show-business shows that will be appreciated more by those in the industry. A musical with very few spoken words, it tells the story of a five-year relationship between Jamie, a writer, and Cathy, an actress. But even if all audience members don’t identify with their careers, they will recognize the flaws in the relationship.

There is a catch you need to know in order to really understand what’s happening: Cathy starts telling the story in the present, and then she works her way back reliving the last five years. At the same time, Jamie describes their relationship, starting when he first fell in love…

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The following review was submitted by Dan Martin, a London Central co-op student who has recently been working with London Community Players. Thanks to Connie Galera for setting up the opportunity, and of course thanks Dan!

Tina and her Mourning Dove

The premiere of Mourning Dove by Emil Sher occurred at the Palace Theatre on Wednesday January 20th. Directed by Sue Perkins, it is the story of the Ramsay family’s struggle to fix their daughter Tina (Emily Mailloux) whom, at a very young age, is deaf, mute, and stuck in a wheel chair. As Tina struggles, so do her parents and close friend, Doug Ramsay (Paul Myers), Sandra Ramsay (Maria Piccoli-Zimmermann), and Keith Martel (Andrew Jiggins). This play is an emotionally powerful masterpiece.

The set did not change at all, but because of the…

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