In Japan there is a rather unusual fan club. It consists of young women who play pipes, flutes, fiddles, harps and bodhrans and call themselves The Lady Chieftains in honour of their Irish heroes. The Chieftains themselves were recently in Japan on tour and the young women
A decade is a decent amount of time in any job, but when you lead a chamber string orchestra the anniversary is something to take note of. So that's why Thirteen Strings will pay tribute in this 2019-2020 season to music director Kevin Mallon who is
During this federal election campaign, as undercurrents of intolerance waft by like the stench of trash left outside the window, two exhibitions downtown seem appropriately timed. The exhibitions are in the side-by-side institutions that are the Ottawa Art Gallery and SAW Gallery, and between them
Some time in the late 1970s, Newfoundland artist Christopher Pratt inexplicably gave his wife, fellow artist Mary Pratt, slides of nude images of his favourite teenaged model and not-so-secret lover. Mary knew of the affair, which started when Donna Meaney was only 16, but it was
The last thing he’d ever want to do, says Christian Barry, is tell a story with a clear and simple point of view. That makes sense, considering there’s very little about life that’s either clear or simple. Barry is a Halifax theatre-maker and the artistic co-director
The National Arts Centre capped off a week of celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the Orchestra with a Saturday evening Gala of music, performance and history that was capped by a heartwarming performance of hits and stories by Sarah McLachlan. The day began well for
Many orchestras choose to mark landmark anniversaries by inviting world renowned soloists to perform with them. NACO has gone a different route, celebrating their 50th birthday this week by turning the spotlight on the stars in its own ranks. Two concerts this week followed a similar
On the day of our interview Diana Beresford-Kroeger was not out enjoying her trees as was expected. In fact she was cleaning a bathroom when the phone rang. "Nothing very exotic," she said. "It's one of the jobs of the world." That's Diana, down to earth,
The New Zealand Dance Company is making its National Arts Centre debut next week. Before the trio of dances is revealed in performance, the artistic director of NZDC Shona McCullagh answered some questions from ARTSFILE. Q. Tell me a bit about The New Zealand Dance Company. A.
Two prominent playwrights with strong connections to Ottawa have been nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award for drama. The first ever artistic director of the National Arts Centre's Indigenous theatre Kevin Loring has been nominated for his play Thanks for Giving and Hannah Moscovitch is
