It is a sunny, crisp spring morning as I write this. I recently finished a draft of a difficult play, and I’m preparing for a vacation that will involve three of my favourite things on the planet: role-playing games, great beer, and my oldest, dearest friends. After that, I’ll be heading directly back to the…
For the second time since the election, Donald Trump has butted antlers with the professional theatre industry. I guess it’s not that surprising; after all, he seems hard-wired to antagonize everyone within his reach, and thanks to Twitter and the U.S. Presidency (in that order), his reach is vast. Still, it’s disorienting to have worked…
2016 has been variously described as a “catastrophe,” a “garbage fire,” and as a “practice run for the apocalypse.” As someone who has had the apocalypse on his mind quite a bit lately, I’m tempted to go with the last one, but lately I’ve begun to incline towards more vulgar and assonant labels. Right now,…
Donald Trump did not win the election on a traditional platform. There were no forward-thinking promises or plans, only talk of regression and enemies. Trump painted a picture of a nation beset and infiltrated by enemies: job-stealing Mexicans, terrorist Mulsims, crooked politicians, etc. And since Trump is a megalomaniac who can’t abide criticism, he drew…
In February 1601, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men gave a command performance of Shakespeare’s play, Richard II. The aim was insurrection; Lord Essex was hoping that the play (which depicts an unfit monarch getting deposed by a righteous usurper) would stir the commoners’ hearts to support an actual coup d’etat against Queen Elizabeth I. The mob…
It took me awhile to figure out why I can’t stop clicking on Donald Trump-related links. It’s been a time-consuming distraction, especially since the national conventions, when Trump’s approval ratings really started dropping heavily. As a Cape Bretoner, I have a weird connection to Trump, thanks to an accidental viral tourist marketing campaign. But I…
