Discussion

Opening February 26th at the Vertigo Studio Theatre in Calgary, and closing March 5th, Full Circle Theatre presents a gender-flipped Romantasy version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Kyle sits down with director Cayley Wreggitt and costumer Tawni Marie Evans to discuss how this vision of the production came to be and what they hope audiences take away from the opportunity to bear witness to it.

Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/the-taming-of-the-shrew-hazndhyk

About the Show:

First produced by Full Circle Theatre in 2011, The Taming of the Shrew marked the beginning of our journey with Shakespeare. Fifteen years later, we return to Padua in a whole new way, reimagining Shakespeare’s most provocative comedy through a bold, romantasy-inspired lens.

This production keeps the original text intact while flipping the genders and placing the story in a lush High Fae Court. It is a world of magic, hierarchy, and unspoken rules where power is always up for negotiation. Here, a brooding fae prince meets their match in a fearless human knight, sparking a battle of wills that blurs the line between performance and desire.

Often dismissed as one of Shakespeare’s problematic plays, The Taming of the Shrew becomes, in this telling, a story about control, consent, and transformation. Witty, sharp, and charged with tension, this production asks what love looks like when two people refuse to yield - unless it’s for each other.

Expect Shakespeare’s language layered with fae glamour, enemies-to-lovers tension, and a court where every glance, gesture, and word carries consequence. This is a Shrew that leans into spectacle and storytelling while wrestling honestly with the questions at its core.

Discussion

Opening February 27th and running through March 7th at the Pumphouse Theatre in Calgary, Scorpio Theatre presents Terry Pratchett's Guards! Guards! directed by Chris Gamble. Kyle sits down with Chris, and producer Carl Bishop, to talk about how the show has come together and the long road it has gone down for Scorpio to realize this fantastical production.

Tickets: https://www.showpass.com/guards-guards/

About the Show:

Welcome to “Ankh-Morpork”, the (second) greatest city in all of Discworld. As cities go, it is on the far side of corrupt and polluted and is subject to outbreaks of comedic violence and silly brou-ha-ha’s on a fairly regular basis… but things are about to take a sinister turn. A secret organization, The Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night, have concocted a most ingenious plan – by utilizing a stolen magical book, they plan to summon a fearsome Dragon to terrorize the city and replace the leadership of Ankh-Morpork with their own puppet king.

Defending the city against this monster threat is the underpaid, undervalued City Night Watch – the drunken and world-weary Captain Vimes, the cowardly Sergeant Colon, the small opportunistic Corporal Nobby of … unknown origins…and their newest recruit, Lance-Constable Carrot, whom is a dwarf (by adoption only). They may be called the Palace Guard, the City Guard, or the Patrol. Whatever the name, their purpose in any work of heroic fantasy is the same: it is, around about Chapter Three, or ten minutes into the play, to rush into the room, attack the hero one at a time … and be slaughtered.

No-one ever asks them if they wanted to.

Discussion

On March 12th at the Hope Covenant Church in Strathmore, the Strathmore Theatre Players Guild opened Nana's Naughty Knickers, closing on March 28th. Directed by Robert Cole, Kyle sits down with Robert to discuss what the show is all about, why they chose it and the difficulties around presenting this sort of comedic face in a church setting.

Tickets: https://thevaultonline.ca/collections/strathmore-theatre-players-guild

About the Show:

Bridget and her grandmother are about to become roommates. However, what Bridget saw as a unique opportunity to stay with her favorite nana in New York for the summer quickly turns into an experience she’ll never forget. It seems her sweet grandma is running an illegal boutique from her apartment, selling handmade naughty knickers to every senior citizen in the five-borough area! Will Bridget be able to handle all the excitement? Will her nana get arrested – or worse – evicted?