Carousel Players is known for bringing thought-provoking theatre to a younger crowd as they tour their inventive creations to school gyms across Southern Ontario. Their latest play Whole World explores themes of communication and understanding through the story of Omar, a young refugee who has newly arrived in Canada.…
Essential Collective Theatre (ECT) is a St Catharines staple. Their latest production, The Welland Canal Play, takes another local icon as its subject matter, tracing the complex and contentious history of the Welland Canal’s construction. Here, critics Sumer Seth and Kristina Ojaperv share their thoughts: Sumer Seth w…
It isn’t often that a play begins with a three-minute sequence of a man making a sandwich, and ends up becoming one of the most touching pieces of theatre you can imagine. Essential Collective Theatre’s production of The Drawer Boy, directed by Monica Dufault and written by Michael Healey, brings us back to the summer…
February 22nd, 2017: I entered Robertson Hall in the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre at 7pm as The Drawer Boy crew were adding last minute tweaks to the set. The space was set up in typical tech week fashion: a row of tables and chairs in front of the stage for designers and operators, adorned with switchboards, c…
Caroline Coon writes: So this is it! After long days of interviewing seniors, scriptwriting, improvisation that usually ended in hysterics, and lots of dance rehearsals, we are in our final week of touring! It’s been an incredible experience, and I’ve learned so much about collaborative theatre. Not only that, but…
Ben Fallis writes: Poor would be one way to describe Essential Collective Theatre (ECT)’s newest production of the same name, playing at the First Ontario Performing Arts Center. The latest iteration of Suzanne Ristic’s one-woman show starring ECT’s artistic director (and Brock’s own) Monica Dufault and directed by Kar…
February 25, 2016 Caroline Coon, Sarah Bradford, Johnathan Clancy, and Daryl Hunter write: February 16: We entered Robertson Hall in the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre at 7:20pm with excited anticipation. The cue to cue was well underway so we made sure to enter as quietly as possible. This was our first time wit…
One of the best parts about covering the St. Catharines theatre scene is being able to see both the germination of a production and the work of friends and colleagues at the same time. When Essential Collective Theatre popped up on Facebook with a new show titled Senior Stories and a list of senior citizens homes they…
Emma Mackenzie Hillier and Joshua Stodart in Wings of Wax. Photo by B Squared – Barry Smith. Trelawney Erwin, Jennifer Dewan and Oriana Marrone write: It’s been hatched, nurtured, and it’s ready to leave the nest. Let’s watch ECT’s Wings of Wax get ready to fly… or better yet, soar. On Thursday, February 19, we sat in…