When I went to The Company Theatre's production of Festen it was one of those rare opportunities for me to go to a show completely blind. I didn't know what it was about, so I didn't know what to expect. All I had heard about the show (even though I purposely tried not to read anything about it, there are things that always slip through) was that it was "intense". And yes, yes it was. Intense is a good word for it. It was also great.

The production of Black Rider at Tarragon Theatre is an incredible, and bizarre, show. And, really, it's hard to expect anything else from a collaboration between William S. Burroughs and Tom Waits. In fact, Scott, my show-partner for this one, described it as "a hilarious nightmare". I think it's a pretty apt description actually. If I had been in a different head-space, or a kid, I would have been terrified.

This week is a bit of a two for one deal on the theatre review front. Theatre Passe Murialle is showing Pyaasa and The Misfit simultaneously. Although these are two separate shows, they are playing in a way that means it's possible to go to both in one night. And, if you do go to both in one night, you get a $10 discount off the tickets. So, really, it just makes sense to review them both at once. And, the bottom line is that they're both good, so you may as well make a night of it...

I'm not entirely sure what John and I expected when we went to An Evening with Uncle Val at Theatre Passe Muraille, but it wasn't what we got. We were expecting straight up comedy, maybe even sketch comedy (as much as you can get in a one-person show). But this was more. Don't get me wrong, it was very funny, but it was also, I don't know... illuminating?

When you hear "puppet show", what do you think of? I'm pretty confident in saying that it's likely not what is offered up by the Old Trout Puppet Workshop's show Famous Puppet Death Scenes.

Instead of a playful children's piece, this depicts scenes of puppet death. Many puppet deaths. 22 to be exact. Some funny, some gruesome, some funny AND gruesome, and some that are just utterly beautiful. But here's my promise to you - when you go to this show you will laugh. In fact, you'll be laughing in the face of death, making it an act of bravery, right?

Sometimes you are lucky enough to get two for the price of one. You get that with Obsidian Theatre's double bill of Late and Black Medea playing at the Berkeley theatre.

The two plays have completely different tones - although they have similar thematic feeling with discussions of loss and family and identity - which makes it a great evening. The first show, Late, is funny and heartwarming with moments of sadness alternated with great guffaws. The second, Black Medea, is an intense exploration into the characters' psyches that drew me in with symbolism, dance and mischievous spirits.