We Interrupt This Review-Glutting...

For a little update on things to come!

Sorry updates have been few and far between lately; my laptop has had some trouble, but it's fixed now and just as reliable as before the issues.

Unfortunately, it is also September, and that means school! To be fair, my school schedule is not as horrible and time-consuming as I'd like to believe, but there are still a lot of commitments I have to make if I want my marks to be stellar. And I do, I really do.

I will finish this year's round of Stratford reviews. I've yet to review:

• The Matchmaker
• You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown
• Cymbeline
• A Word or Two (maybe??)

I also mean to write about my experiences fencing, a sport I've just picked up this week and intend to take through to the end of the year. Lots of cool random stuff to tell you guys already.

My other big plan for this year is the vlog I've been getting ready these past couple of months. I will be reviewing foodie media. There will be food porn. The first thing I will review is Julie and Julia, and I will make some delicious boeuf bourgignon.

Add to that whatever shows I'm guaranteed to get involved in, and I think we have a pretty cool school year ahead of us!

Stratford's Much Ado About Nothing

One of the biggest problems I have with theatrical productions in general, but especially productions of Shakespeare, is the tendency of creatives to give their show a totally arbitrary setting and aesthetic. At best, this can be an amusing showcase of the creativity of the designers. At worst, the new setting can undermine the text and feel totally appropriative. I tend to feel uncomfortable with 'reimagined' settings no matter how unobstrusive they are, which is why I feel at a loss to describe my feelings about the Festival Theatre's production of Much Ado About Nothing. Light and engaging, with an appealing cast, Much Ado nonetheless has a troubling attitude towards its setting and the setting's culture.

Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound: Henry V at Stratford

Aside from his frenetic comedies of the past few years, I have not been a fan of Des McAnuff's directorial work at Stratford. As such, perhaps I was already a little biased when I went to see this season's flagship production of Henry V. But, as predicted, this interpretation held all the hallmarks of Mr McAnuff serving the needs of the lowest common denominator rather than the text.

Sub-Par Steampunk or Second-Tier Disney?: Stratford's Pirates of Penzance

The Stratford Festival has a long history with the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan. Many remember with great fondness the Festival's seminal production of The Mikado in the eighties, which had several revivals and a Broadway run. The productions of the other operettas that followed were just as handsomely dressed and casted (great Canadian stars such as Brent Carver and Maureen Forrester all had their turns in these productions), if not met with the same critical fervor. In 1961, The Pirates of Penzance had its first non D'Oyly Carte production at the Festival. So I was really excited to see the return of Gilbert and Sullivan to the festival.

I was not the only one; my little brother of seven years was seeing his very first play at the Festival the afternoon we attended, and he loves pirates. Particularly the ones who aren't very good at being dastardly.