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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Follow the Yellow Brick Road

An old favourite has been revived at the Grand Theatre. The Wizard of Oz is on their stage again, after just seven years. However, as director Susan Ferley points out, that’s a lifetime for some members of the Wizard’s audience.

The classic story of Dorothy’s adventures after a cyclone carries her away over the rainbow is fresh and lively in this…

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Dry Streak creates comedy out of city/country clashes

The Grand Theatre’s latest main stage offering, Dry Streak, is more fun than naked rain dancing. Shown for the first time outside Saskatchewan, Dry Streak is written by Leann Minogue, herself a product of Saskatchewan farm life. It’s Corner Gas for the live stage, with a little more wit.

John Richards moves home to work with his parents, Peter and Olive, on the family farm, bringing along his well-travelled,…

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Students Rock the Grand with Grease

The Grand Theatre has done it again — taken 69 eager high school kids and put together a show with all the trappings of professional theatre. Students make up the cast, crew and musicians for the production of Grease, always an audience favourite. Written in the 70s to poke fun at the 50s, Grease is the story of tough guy Danny who falls for goody-two-shoes…

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Looking for love in London

Guadalupe Maria Milagrosa Josefina Paz Dominquez has a collage of Gloria Estefan posters on the wall of her makeshift bedroom/love nest. That in itself might give you a good idea of who you’re dealing with.

Melissa D’Agostino’s Lupe Undone is… hmm. Setting up the premise would give too much away, so I’ll summarize the themes instead. It’s about relationships, and it’s a comedy in both senses of the term: it’s laugh-out-loud funny, and it has a happy—well, hopeful—ending.

It would be an…

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Napoleon: Dynamite!

A lot of the time you’ll hear that an actor appears larger on stage. In Napoleon’s Secret Diary Ryan Gladstone does the opposite, seemingly shrinking into the role of the French emperor.

The show is a clever piece of historical fiction with just the right balance between the two elements. It’s spiked with (deliberate) anachronisms and sight gags, and one might think it owes as much to Father Guido Sarducci’s “Five Minute University” as to history itself. But it’s also an accurate, date-by-date retelling of major…

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Honky Tonkin’ with Hank Williams

If you’re a fan of Hank Williams, you must go to Victoria Playhouse Petrolia this week. And if you’re a fan of Joe Matheson, who plays Hank Williams, you should also go to VPP.

I count myself in the latter group. I have become an admirer of Joe’s work. He’s a talented actor who captured the audience a couple of years ago at London’s Grand Theatre in For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. Matheson and his wife Louise Pitre gave…

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