Since 2009, I've pretty much stopped reviewing. One problem, a continuing one, is that my increasing deafness has made it difficult or impossible for me to know whether actors had difficulties with projection, or whether it was my hearing. It's also the case that missing crucial lines or enunciations makes it harder to sustain engagement in the action, and thus harder to be sure a problem is the company's and not your own.

I have since realized that an additional part of the difficulty for me at the time was that many of the cast and crews of local shows had come to count on the reviews as "verdicts" on the production, or as seals of approval (or the opposite). I have never thought of my reviews as providing evaluations, as I do not believe I have sufficient authority to offer categorical judgments. My intention was to offer food for thought, to provoke reflection and discussion of plays. When I have indulged in evaluation, it has been (at least so I've intended) in the service of thinking about why things are the way they are, and inviting others to think about that too. So I discontinued trying to review most local productions here.

I have, however, continued to patronize live theatre and do what I can to encourage it, partly through my St. Thomas English course, "The Page and the Stage," in which groups of students prepare "Playgoer's Companions" to local productions, usually during winter term every year.

More about this course -- and links to over seventy of the Playgoer's Companions -- can be found here.

More recent reviews:

• A Midsummer Night's Dream [Bard in The Barracks, June-July 2009]
• Two Men of Florence [Huntington Theatre, March 2009]

2006-2007 Season:

• Forever Plaid [Theatre New Brunswick, October 2007]
• Futures [Notable Acts Summer Theatre Festival, July-August 2007]
• Lifedream [ NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival NotaBle Acts Theatre, July 2007 ]
• Twelfth Night [UNB Theatre / NotaBle Acts Theatre, June 2007]
• The Graduate [Theatre New Brunswick, March 2007]
• Godspell [Theatre Saint Thomas, February 2007]
• Unity (1918) [UNB Theatre, January-February 2007]
• Brilliant! The Blinding Enlightenment of Nikola Tesla [Electric Company, 25 October 2006] [incomplete review]
• Proof [Theatre Saint Thomas, September 2006]
• Nights Below Station Street [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, August 2006]
• The Crucible [Shaw Festival, July 2006]

2005-2006 Season:

• Lutz [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, July 2006]
• Much Ado About Nothing [UNB Theatre / NotaBle Acts Theatre, June 2006]
• The Crucible [Saint John Theatre Company, May 2006]
• I Am Yours [UNB Theatre / Theatre Free Radical, April 2006]
• The Witch [UNB Theatre / English 2170, March-April 2006]
• For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again [Theatre New Brunswick, March 2006]
• Victoria [Dulcinea Langfelder & Co., February 2006]
• The Birthday Party [Theatre UNB, February 2006]
• The Rimers of Eldritch [Theatre Saint Thomas, February 2006]
• Our Town [Theatre Saint Thomas, February 2006]
• The Dining Room [UNB Theatre / English 3170, February 2006]
• I Love You You're Perfect Now Change [Theatre New Brunswick, January 2006]
• Pinocchio [Theatre New Brunswick, December 2005]
• Madwoman of Chaillot [UNB Theatre / English 2170, December 2005]
• Waiting for Godot [Lorenzo Society, Nasty Shadows Theatre Co., November 2005]
• Here on the Flight Path [Theatre New Brunswick, October 2005]
• All in the Timing [Theatre Saint Thomas, October 2005]
• "Thirteen Plays in Eleven Days: The NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival" [August 2005]
• Plastic: The Musical [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, August 2005]
• The Morning Bird [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, July 2005]

2004-2005 Season:

• Oh, Coward! [Theatre New Brunswick, March 2005]
• Love's Labour's Lost [Theatre UNB / English 2170], March 2005
• The End of Civilization [Theatre UNB / NYR COSTLEE Productions, February 2005]
• The Crucible [Theatre Saint Thomas, February 2005]
• The Blue Room [Windsor Theatre, Mount Allison, February 2005]
• Mary's Wedding [Theatre New Brunswick, January-February 2005]
• A Lie of the Mind [Theatre UNB, January 2005]
• Cricket on the Hearth [Theatre New Brunswick, December 2004]
• Rhinoceros [Theatre UNB, November 2004]
• Doppelgänger [Theatre Free Radical, November 2004]
• Yes, My Fuehrer and Far Away [Theatre St. Thomas, November 2004]
• Chairmaker [Theatre New Brunswick, October 2004]
• Rougher Magic [NotaBle Acts Theatre Company, September-October 2004]
• The Bald Soprano [Hampton High School / Theatre St. Thomas, September 2004]
• Traces [Empreintes] [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, August 2004]
• Taking it to the Street [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, August 2004]
• Acting Out: An Evening of One-Act Plays [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, July-August 2004]
• Inspiration Point [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, July-August 2004]
• Romeo and Juliet [Shakespeare's Globe, July 2004]

• Wingfield on Ice [Theatre New Brunwick, May 2004]
• Endgame [Lorenzo Society, Nasty Shadows Theatre Co., April 2004]
• Chicago [TNB Theatre School, April 2004] [Not a full review]
• 78: four one-act plays by Fredericton playwrights [Theatre St. Thomas April 2004]
• The Blue Orphan [Catalyst Theatre, March 2004]
• Proof [Saint John Theatre Company, March 2004]
• Vinci [Theatre New Brunswick, March 2004]
• Mother Courage and Her Children [UNB Theatre / English 2170, March-April 2004]
• Loot [UNB Theatre, March 2004]
• We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! [UNB Theatre, Stage Left and Chin Flick Productions, February 2004]
• Nunsense [Fredericton Musical Theatre, February 2004][Not a full review]
• Romeo and Juliet [Theatre Saint Thomas, February 2004]
• The Tempest [St. Thomas Early Drama in Production Course, February 2004]
• Arcadia [UNB Theatre, February 2004]
• Dear Santa [Theatre New Brunswick, November-December 2003]
• Museum [UNB Theatre, November 2003]
• A Stable Base [Theatre Saint Thomas / Punching Ptarmigan Productions, November 2003]
• Cherry Docs [Bunnies in the Headlights Theatre Company, October-November 2003]
• Halo [Two Planks and a Passion Theatre, October 2003]
• The Hobbit [Theatre New Brunswick, October 2003]
• Free / Fall [Theatre Free Radical / Theatre St. Thomas, October 2003]
• Never Swim Alone [Hampton High School / Theatre St. Thomas, September 2003
• Happy City [Theatre Free Radical, September 2003]
• The Martello Tower Hamlet [Shakespeare By the Sea, August 2003]
• "It takes a village to raise a theatre: the NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival" [written for Fred, the Fredericton weekly paper, August 2003]
• Free / Fall [Notable Acts Summer Theatre Festival, August 3, 2003]
• Acting Out: An Evening of One-Act Plays [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, July-August 2003
• Plastic [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, July-August 2003
• Tighten the Traces [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, July-August 2003
• Taking it to the Street [NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival, July-August 2003
• "A New Direction for TNB." Fred No. 2 (July 10-17 2003), 7.

• Hello, Dolly [TNB Theatre School, May 2003]
• Jasper Station [Theatre New Brunswick, April 2003]
• Twelfth Night, or, What you Will [UNB Theatre / English 2170, April 2003]
• Big Love [Theatre St. Thomas, March 2003]
• Art [Theatre New Brunswick, February 2003]
• 7 Stories [UNB Theatre, February 2003]
• Berlin to Broadway: A Musical Journey with Kurt Weill [Theatre St. Thomas, February 2003]
• Wit [Great Canadian Theatre Company, February 2003][reviewed by Kate Hunt]
• The Donnellys Part I: Sticks and Stones [UNB Theatre, January - February 2003]
• The Visit [UNB Theatre, November 2002]
• The Secret Garden [Theatre New Brunswick, November 2002]
• Happy City [Theatre Free Radical / Notable Acts Theatre Festival, August / September 2002]
• Fathers and Sons [Theatre St. Thomas / Notable Acts Theatre Festival, August 2002]
• Hay Fever [Shaw Festival, August 2002]

• Pentecost [UNB Theatre, April 2002; review lost]
• The Caucasian Chalk Circle [Theatre St. Thomas, February 2002]
• Macbeth [UNB Theatre, January-February 2002]
• The Prisoner of Second Avenue [Theatre New Brunswick, January 2002]
• Anne [Theatre New Brunswick, November 2001]
• Icaria [Number Eleven Theatre, November 2001]
• Picasso at the Lapin Agile [Theatre New Brunswick, October 2001]
• The Skin of Our Teeth [UNB Theatre, November 2001]
• Manifesto [UNB Theatre, August-September 2001]
• True West [Theatre St. Thomas, August-September 2001]

• The Hobbit [Atlantic Theatre Festival, July 2001]
• I Must Be Talking to My Friends [Celtic Twilight Productions, June 2001]
• Wingfield Unbound [Theatre New Brunswick, April 2001]
• The Drawer Boy [Theatre New Brunswick, March 2001]
• Criminal Genius [UNB Theatre, March 2001]
• Mother Courage and Her Children [American Repertory Theatre, Boston, 8 March 2001]
• What the Butler Saw [UNB Theatre, February 2001]
• Moo [UNB Theatre, January-February 2001]
• Our Country's Good [Theatre St. Thomas, January 2001]
• Betty's Summer Vacation [UNB Theatre, January 2001]
• The Attic, the Pearls and Three Fine Girls [Theatre New Brunswick, January 2001]
• Ethan Claymore [Theatre New Brunswick, November 2000]
• Songs for a New World [Theatre New Brunswick, October 2000]
• Mad Forest [UNB Theatre, November 2000]
• Brilliant Traces [Theatre St. Thomas, August / September 2000]

• Private Lives [Atlantic Theatre Festival, August 2000]
• Amadeus [Atlantic Theatre Festival, August 2000]
• Macbeth [Atlantic Theatre Festival, August 2000]
• The Doctor's Dilemma [Shaw Festival, June 2000]
• Easy Virtue [Shaw Festival, June 2000]
• I Do! I Do! [Theatre New Brunswick, April 2000]
• The Passion of Narcisse Mondoux [Theatre New Brunswick, March 2000]
• Loot [American Repertory Theatre, Boston, March 2000]
• Full Circle [American Repertory Theatre, Boston, March 2000]
• Drinking Alone [Theatre New Brunswick, January 2000]
• A Christmas Carol [Theatre New Brunswick, November 1999]
• Death: The Musical [Neptune Theatre, Halifax, October 1999][Reviewed by Jennifer Hunt]
• The Woman in Black [Theatre New Brunswick, October 1999]
• Won't Pay, Won't Pay [American Repertory Theatre, Boston, October 1999]
• Pericles, Prince of Tyre [UNB Theatre, March-April 2000]
• Oh, What a Lovely War [Theatre St. Thomas, March 2000]
• 7 Menus [Theatre St. Thomas, July 1999]

• The Last Tasmanian [Theatre New Brunswick, April 1999]
• Skylight [Theatre New Brunswick, March 1999]
• The Life of Galileo [Washington Shakespeare Company, 20 February 1999]
• The Foursome [Theatre New Brunswick, January 1999]
• The Foursome [Theatre New Brunswick, February 1999] [Revised for the Evening Times-Globe]
• Peter Pan [Theatre New Brunswick, November 1998]
• The Emperor of Atlantis [The Terezin Studio Project, November 1998]
• Ordo Virtutum [Sequentia, Boston Early Music Festival, 6 November 1998 ]
• Driving Miss Daisy [Theatre New Brunswick, October 1998]
• Othello [Atlantic Theatre Festival, September 1998]
• Pygmalion [Atlantic Theatre Festival, September 1998]
• The Kitchen [Theatre St. Thomas, March 1999]
• Dancing at Lughnasa [Theatre St. Thomas, November 1998]
• Little Shop of Horrors [Front Row Productions, August 1998]

• Sleuth [Theatre New Brunswick, April 1998]
• Nobody Dies on Friday [American Repertory Theatre, Boston, April 1998]
• The Wild Guys [Theatre New Brunswick, March 1998]
• Beauty and the Beast [Theatre New Brunswick, November 1997]
• Off & On [Theatre New Brunswick, October 1997]
• Krapp's Last Tape [Theatre St. Thomas, April 1998]
• Lovers [Theatre St. Thomas, February 1998]
• The Cocktail Party [UNB Theatre, January 1998]

• Billy Bishop Goes to War [Theatre New Brunswick, April 1997]
• The Americans are Coming [Theatre New Brunswick, March 1997]
• Misery [Theatre New Brunswick, January 1997]
• Kringle's Window [Theatre New Brunswick, November 1996]
• Trojan Women [Theatre St. Thomas, November1996]
• Office Hours [Theatre New Brunswick, October 1996]

• A Midsummer Night's Dream [Royal Shakespeare Company, New York, April 1996]
• Life Is A Dream [Pearl Theatre Company, New York, April 1996]
• Lend Me a Tenor [Theatre New Brunswick, April 1996]
• Rock and Roll [Theatre New Brunswick, March 1996]
• The Seagull [Milwaukee Repertory, March 1996]
• The Gin Game [Theatre New Brunswick, January 1996]
• Steel Magnolias [Theatre New Brunswick, October 1995]
• Working [Theatre St. Thomas, March 1996]

• The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe [Theatre New Brunswick, April 1995]
• The Importance of Being Earnest [Theatre New Brunswick, March 1995]
• Macbeth [Saint John Theatre Company, March 1995]
• If We Are Women [Theatre New Brunswick, January 1995]
• A Christmas Carol [Theatre New Brunswick, December 1994]
• Yard Sale [Theatre New Brunswick, October 1994]

• Shirley Valentine [Theatre New Brunswick, April 1994]
• Safe Haven [Theatre New Brunswick, March 1994]
• A Streetcar Named Desire [Theatre New Brunswick, January 1994]