An author’s long journey

An author’s long journey Ottawa’s Michael Blouin launches first novel Ottawa author Mike Blouin’s journey back to his art began in the form of a letter. “Back in 1996 I left home one weekend to pick up a writer’s digest – a list of publishers. I had been receiving rejection letters one after another and…

Beautifully ugly

Beautifully ugly Globally acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream comes to Ottawa In 2004 the British High Council in India and Sri Lanka commissioned director Tim Supple for a project which captivated him: to direct an iteration of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a product of the fertile artistic soil of the near-Orient.…

An elegant statement

An elegant statement NAC English Theatre begins its 2008 season with style Under the artistic direction of Peter Hinton, the National Arts Centre has undergone something of a beautiful little renaissance over the past few years. Productions have pushed outwards on every front, becoming more stylish and colourful, or more sombre and profound, depending on…

How does the other half love?

How does the other half love? A top-quality production christens the Gladstone The first play of any theatre’s season has to come right out of the blocks with strength, but still be committed to building an audience, and this production of Alan Ayckbourn’s How the Other Half Loves is perfect in that role. A twisting…

A freehand approach to books

A freehand approach to books Ottawa’s Writers Festival presents must-see reading Susan Olding’s Pathologies is a very aptly named book. It is an elegantly paced collection of essays that calmly dissect the recollections of her life with clinical thoroughness. The medical theme of the collection is drawn from memories of Olding’s father, a pathologist. “The…

I, Claudia evokes a rare power

I, Claudia evokes a rare power GCTC opens its season with a surprise I sat for I, Claudia assuming that I would experience nothing firm enough to crack the veneer of being an audience member. But I was wrong. When I glanced towards my companion and saw tears on her cheeks in the stage light,…