‘Domestic drama’ is a label that might not do justice to Poppy Kimtris (director) and Ava Pegg-Davis’ (producer) production of A Delicate Balance. Although the play is a conventional drama grounded in Aristotle’s three unities (one living room, just over one day, and one line of action), its subject matter is far from ‘domestic.’ Characteristic of this era in drama (1960s United States), A Delicate Balance focuses on psychological realism, sprawling family tensions, and fragmentation. As one...

Vienna, Austria, November 1823. An all-exposing white spotlight shines on the masqueraded Dylan Swain (as Salieri), whose hands are tied together by what look like knotty white bandages. He lurches forward, in silent pain, on the wooden chair upstage centre in the music-turned-performance space of the Laidlaw. The resounding 24-piece orchestra fills the room like the cream in the Fisher and Donaldson doughnuts metres away from my beady eyes. Positioned on a cake-stand, they rest above strewn...

On the love of words About four years ago, I was diagnosed with a very rare condition affecting my brain, specifically the Wernicke’s Area. You may be wondering what caused this condition. Genetics? Brain injury? Maternal drug use during pregnancy? The answer: a dictionary. The condition that I am talking about is lexophilia: the love of words. Or, to give it its full definition: “a love for words and a fascination or obsession with playing with language, such as puns, wordplay, and wit.” The...