It’s the weekend of loooove, O-town! And the city’s set to please its citizens, whether you’re for or against Monday’s sugar-high inducing holiday. If you have a car this weekend, you’re in luck (or, if you know someone with a car, wheedle them into getting out of town for a bit). Whether it’s heading up to Vankleek Hill for a bit of Beau’s Winterbrewed, or taking in one of the many Black Sheep shows (who wouldn’t want to see a band called UKRAINIA!?), your mileage to pleasure ratio will be... | Continue reading article

On Thursday evening, I had the pleasure of viewing the National Arts Centre (NAC) English Theatre presentation of Agokwe, a one-man play about the challenges of growing up as a “two-spirited” man in northern Ontario. Written and performed by 26-year-old Waawaate Fobister, a native of Grassy Narrows First Nation, the story takes us into the lives of a cast of characters from competing reservations. Sparks fly outside a jeans store in a Kenora Shopping Mall between the Ojibway dancer Jake and the dreamy hockey player Mike, in town for an... | Continue reading article

I may be biased, but I think our city has one of the best airport codes – which naturally is why the name of this unconference tonight is so great. And the content will be, too! Also tonight? Danko Jones down at the Capital Music Hall – some serious rockin’ will go down there. On Friday, Julie Doiron hits the stage at Mavericks and Rich Aucoin takes on Cafe Dekcuf, while Babylon celebrates one year of its dancing FRENZY. Following owner Eugene Haslam’s stroke in December, Zaphod’s has decided to... | Continue reading article

Andrea Grant is a volunteer facilitator for The Lab, and she is looking forward to colLABorating with Apt613 readers before and in-between undercurrents shows. If you led a theatre company, how would you design the perfect play? Is it even possible to create such a “perfect play”? If so, how could you incorporate a whack load of toilet paper rolls? These are some of the questions that seeded the growth of The Lab – an interactive theatre project, taking place alongside the undercurrents theatre festival at the GCTC. Every evening... | Continue reading article

Strawberries in January? Okay, so they’re not your farmer’s market fresh variety, but this show will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy – no matter how cold it gets outside. The undercurrents festival also continues at the GCTC, with some of the best Fringe shows returning for another run. Now for the lowdown on the music scene this weekend: Tonight, we’ve got Dragonette at Babylon, The Queers at Mavericks, and a bit of New Country Rehab at the Black Sheep. On Friday, Kelly Prescott is releasing her newest CD at... | Continue reading article

The undercurrents festival starts this week at the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) in Wellington West with a line-up of interesting and oddly affordable shows. You can get a full pass to the festival for $60 and individual shows for $15. It’s a model that seems to be working, with many plays already selling out. This festival should help bring a different crowd to a building in need of an audience, and it’s great to see some smaller, interesting shows use GCTC’s studio space. We’ll have reviews from some of... | Continue reading article

Post by Jared Davidson Shadows, the darling of last year’s Fringe Fest, is preparing to take the stage again during the GCTC’s Undercurrents festival. This is great news if you happen to be one of many theatre-goers who weren’t able to get tickets for the perpetually sold-out production during the Fringe’s June run. Really, this is great news in general as, by all accounts, the play is superb. It won Fringe awards for Outstanding Overall Production, Fan Favourite, and Best of Fest. It also received nominations for Best Professional Director... | Continue reading article

Watch out Yuk Yuks and Absolute… The Elmdale Tavern in Hintonburg is establishing itself as the new home of up-and-coming comedy in Ottawa. Not satisfied with hosting Crush Improv’s new monthly show, the venerable drinking hole is also the launch site of the national capital’s newest comedy troupe this Wednesday and Thursday night. Ottawa Sketch is a comedic troupe in the mold of Toronto’s Second City and TV legends like SCTV and Kids in the Hall. The group draws its situational, character-based style of comedy from the inherent awkwardness of... | Continue reading article

The Fringe Fest is just around the bend! The annual festival of comedy, theatre and music  hits Ottawa from June 17 to 27, and they’re looking for volunteers! Here’s our top 3 reasons why you should get involved: 1) Swag – Volunteers get a shiny t-shirt, plus one free pass to a show for every shift they work. 2) Meet up – If you’re new to Ottawa or just want to upgrade your current friends for newer, better models, this is the way to go. Fringe fest volunteers are faster,... | Continue reading article

Just in time for the Queen’s Birthday, we are pleased to present the fourth and final (cue single tear) Airport Security webisode from the talented team at Gruppo Rubato. You can now look forward to getting the live Airport Security experience starting June 4th when the show opens at the Irving Greenberg Theatre.  You can get the details on the show online here.