Death is the uncommon theme of this medley of pieces; hence, the name: "Deadley" = "medley" + "death". Nursery rhyme puppet-play is juxtaposed with behind-the-scenes SNAFUs in Heaven and more poignant scenes of everyday experiences of death; there are even a few musical numbers. In other words, the collection is a little all over the place.
What holds the production together is less the script than the solid chemistry between the two actors: Gabriel Carter and Shauna Johannesen (also the author) as they played against each other, constantly changing roles. Ms. Johannesen leads the piece subtly and well, and Mr....
Are you a fan of the Police Academy movies? The sequels to Porky’s? Do you like joking about farts and sharts? Then Misadventures of a Massage Therapist is going to be comedy gold for you.
Jason Brasher enthusiastically presents stories of pranks and assorted weirdness in the course of his career as a massage therapist. There’s the client with a G-string and digestive issues. In another anecdote, a crazy new employee wanders into their meeting room, lets out a long fart and scampers off. And then there’s that outrageous prank where Brasher manages to… wait for it… get the receptionist...
Travis Bernhardt’s performance actually prompted an audience member to exclaim, “I’m all sweaty now!” after his final card trick on Sunday afternoon. This was because after much anticipation…the trick did not actually work! This illusionist, luckily, is not only a great performer but is also charming and very funny. The trick was repeated with double the anticipation in the crowd as well as, seemingly, in Bernhardt himself. The audience was tense and the heat was rising in the air… to the climax of…yes! a successful and truly amazing peak to the show.
This magician exudes a quirky humour while filling...
TJ Dawe’s autobiographical one-man, Lucky 9, show gets stronger with each passing minute. He draws together seemingly random and disjointed anecdotes from his childhood, school and his adult life into an artful voyage of discovery about personality types and what it takes to transcend them.
Bremner Duthie, a classically trained singer and musician gives us an idea of how stifling and stultifying it must be for long-term performers at Disneyland, 'the happiest place on earth' ™. But what about the risks of moving on and leaving the security of a good pay cheque, benefits, an early retirement age? With story-telling, songs and mean self- accompaniment on the button accordion and ukelele, we're taken cabaret-style through an exploration of one of those timeless questions: What is happiness?
Characters like a world war veteran returning home to Canada (with a somewhat anachronistic but kinda sweet Joni Mitchell...
Fucking Stephen Harper is the tale of a journalist’s obsession for holding Stephen Harper accountable for his gay bashing policies, an obsession that eventually climaxes with the journalist being (unjustly) charged for sexual assault of Harper.
With a lust to wander, and a desire to connect to an evasive, possibly illusory, principle of universal truth, Martin Dockery takes his audience on a dynamic, fast-paced, quirky, and hilarious odyssey through the trials and tribulations of independent travel through West Africa.
Heptademic Redux is a powerful and creative exploration of the limits of sanity, inner vulnerability, and the deterioration of boundaries. Seven people are involuntarily ushered into a room, the door is locked. Outside the walls an epidemic is raging, possibly claiming family members, cherished dogs. But the seven have been confirmed free of contagion. One of them is connected to the government, and help is on its way to transport them to safety. So they wait. Day after day after day. Eating meal supplements left by the government, in a room where the light never goes off, sharing one washroom,...
What would a fellow named Colin Godbout, a guitar, and the Vancouver Police Museum unveil to an audience of 6 on a Friday night? Police and Sting cover songs, of course. I admit that for the first 2 songs of this wonderful performance, I was searching for clues to a deeper symbolic reading. What did the order of the songs mean? Why the Police Museum, besides the obvious? Then I realized, this performance was not laden with symbolism, mystery, or metaphor. This performance was, however, filled to the brim with Colin Godbout’s love for music, his guitar, and for the...
Don’t want to think too much? Just want to laugh? Then The DK and Morgan Show is definitely for you.
I didn’t really know what to expect when the lights went down at Performance Works But suddenly I was watching two guys with bright orange traffic cones on their heads singing praises about Crayola. What had I gotten myself into? Just over an hour of sketch, improv and stand-up comedy. Nice!
DK and Morgan are two guys who could not be any more different in size, stature, appearance and even name – but they certainly know how to make comedy...
