‘Billy Elliot’ nothing less than a triumph by J. Kelly Nestruck

With spectacular dancing and strong talent, it’s an exhilarating show full of powerful paradoxes

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 4:13pm on March 2, 2011☆⚑

Dance skills take centre stage at Billy Elliot opening by J. Kelly Nestruck

Standing ovations sweep Billy Elliot opening night, despite unfocused music - sorry, Rocket Man - and they were warranted

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 10:22pm on March 1, 2011☆⚑

A bit of a drowsy Dream by J. Kelly Nestruck

Lack of heat and urgency make this ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ feel like it's partly in hibernation

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 3:52pm on February 24, 2011☆⚑

A bit of a drowsy Dream by J. Kelly Nestruck

Lack of heat and urgency make this ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ feel like it's partly in hibernation

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 3:52pm on February 24, 2011☆⚑

Canstage lures Atom Egoyan back to the stage by J. Kelly Nestruck

Acclaimed film director just one of many high-profile names announced for company’s 2011-2012 season

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 1:00pm on February 23, 2011☆⚑

Canstage lures Atom Egoyan back to the stage by J. Kelly Nestruck

Acclaimed film director just one of many high-profile names announced for company’s 2011-2012 season

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 1:00pm on February 23, 2011☆⚑

The Middle Place: Theatre reflecting its city urgently and entertainingly by J. Kelly Nestruck

Play is based on transcripts of interviews with youths in a homeless shelter

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 2:10pm on February 18, 2011☆⚑

The Middle Place: Theatre reflecting its city urgently and entertainingly by J. Kelly Nestruck

Play is based on transcripts of interviews with youths in a homeless shelter

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 2:10pm on February 18, 2011☆⚑

Rhubarb Festival: Lady Gaga gets a musical of sorts by J. Kelly Nestruck

Writer and director Alistair Newton on "aesthetic sampling", Stratford's Bruce Dow and collaborating with convicted murderer Michael Alig

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 5:21pm on February 16, 2011☆⚑

Are you suffering from ‘Drowsy Chaperone’ syndrome? by J. Kelly Nestruck

If so, this review - along with Theatre Calgary’s new production - can help you

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 4:55pm on February 16, 2011☆⚑

Stellar Canadian cast make ‘August: Osage County’ their own by J. Kelly Nestruck

When an unhappy family reunites, verbal bullets fly

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 3:58pm on February 15, 2011☆⚑

Mysterious happenings at the playRites Festival by J. Kelly Nestruck

Suddenly a second play on injustices to Asian Canadians and then a plot that gets lost

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 4:31pm on February 14, 2011☆⚑

The Romeo Initiative digs into a hot chapter of the Cold War by J. Kelly Nestruck

A lonely woman becomes the perfect target for a ‘honey trap’ set by spies

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 11:24am on February 14, 2011☆⚑

Divisadero: Dramatic hybrid ranges from spellbinding to murky by J. Kelly Nestruck

A mixture of poetry reading, cabaret act and radio drama, this stripped-down show has moments of startling beauty

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 2:12pm on February 9, 2011☆⚑

The enduring appeal of Michel Tremblay by J. Kelly Nestruck

New translations and revivals are giving a shot of Botox to plays written decades ago

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 4:30pm on February 8, 2011☆⚑

Toronto’s Soulpepper theatre embraces new business model by J. Kelly Nestruck

For its 2011 season, the non-profit company will schedule its production lineup based on audience demand, but will it mean more bums in seats

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 4:30pm on February 4, 2011☆⚑

Admiring Strindberg doesn’t mean we like him by J. Kelly Nestruck

Winnipeg’s Strindberg festival opts for many ‘re-imaginings’ of his plays in order to get around the Swedish playwright’s harsh misogyny

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 4:30pm on February 4, 2011☆⚑

Oleanna: A political correctness nightmare played just right by J. Kelly Nestruck

Soulpepper remounting makes it clear who the villain is

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 1:50pm on February 4, 2011☆⚑

Barrymore: Plummer’s electric performance transcends slight play by J. Kelly Nestruck

His affection for the ‘clown prince’ of U.S. acting royalty becomes infectious

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 2:31pm on January 31, 2011☆⚑

No small feat: Getting Miss Julie almost right by J. Kelly Nestruck

A crisp, well acted production in Winnipeg struggles with the play’s extremes

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 1:30pm on January 28, 2011☆⚑

The Wild Darkness: More of a tame darkness by J. Kelly Nestruck

The pictures director Pippo Delbono creates with his crew are often beautiful, but the effect is mostly lifeless and dull

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 4:55pm on January 27, 2011☆⚑

In all Earnestness, how’s Brian Bedford doing on Broadway? by J. Kelly Nestruck

Brian Bedford’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest for the Roundabout Theatre Company - based on his Stratford Shakespeare Festival production of 2009 - opened on Broadway a …

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 6:43pm on January 25, 2011☆⚑

Ruined: An earthquake of acting that will shake you by J. Kelly Nestruck

Yanna McIntosh’s performance illuminates a prize-winning drama about a horrific African conflict

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 1:59pm on January 21, 2011☆⚑

‘The Mill’ quartet is one play too long by J. Kelly Nestruck

All the charming Canadiana that made the exercise original in the first place is lost in the final chapter

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 3:32pm on January 17, 2011☆⚑

Famed Stratford director Michael Langham dead at 91 by J. Kelly Nestruck

English director solidified Stratford Shakespeare Festival, worked with company at various points over 52 years

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 1:29pm on January 16, 2011☆⚑