Weekend arts choices

Coming off of Christmas, I'm sure everyone can relate to a tale about relatives who can't stand each other - but are closer than anyone else in the world. Last night we saw Domino Theatre's production of an early Daniel MacIvor play last night, Marion Bridge, and were "impressed enough."

It's a sort of charming little piece that the smart and usually edgy MacIvor wrote about three East Coast sisters who are holed up together waiting for their mother (offstage) to pass. Not much gloom and doom in there at all - one of those "relief when it happens" situations, and it's the relationships between the very different sisters that are the key to the story.

Everyone will have their favourite sister (or actress) - mine was the agonized failed actress with a tendency to drink too much (now, don't go saying anything, folks!) played by Linda Murray. Nicole Rea works very hard at a difficult character (and adds another realm of humour to the show) and Andrea Leyton plays the long-suffering Theresa. You gotta love her when she finally lets go...and can't quite believe it herself. Strong direction by Mike Catlin. Although this isn't the sort of play I'd say "gotta see it, gotta see it" it's the sort that's certainly safe enough to take more mid-road theatre fans to see without fearing you've "succumbed to the dumb." Writing and acting students can get a good lesson from this, as well.

We could be going to the Queen's student opera Hansel and Gretel tonight, or (quite the other end of the spectrum) do the time warp (again?????) with Queen's Musical Theatre's Rocky Horror Show on campus. Instead, we'll save ourselves for the arty AEAC Symposia at the Ellis Auditorium tomorrow aft (www.aeac.ca) ...and the opening of a very neat show, which I sneak previewed at Sandra Whitton Gallery. Cross Pollination introduces at least one fantastic painter (Maggie Sutherland), and pairs five visual artists with five poets, all of whom inspire each other to paint or write. Whitton Gallery is above Serendipity, next to Lonestar.

In terms of theatrics, I'm gearing up for The King's Conscience from Theatre Kingston and Salon Theatre only two weeks from now, Feb 3-20. That same week brings a phenomenal singer, Basia Bulat, to Sydenham United Church and The Vagabond Opera (Feb. 1) to the Mansion.Gotta start thinking about all those things now, because February is full, full, full. I'd make sure to hit King's Conscience early...so you can fit in that other "later month stuff." (And I REFUSE to talk about Valentine's Day weekend stuff yet. It's only designed for us to work off that Christmas "did I do enough" guilt!)