The Jewish Nomad: Ilana Zackon scans the Canadian theatre scene for the final weeks of 2022
As the snow begins to fall, it’s time to start planning for cozy indoor events. Let’s be real: Canadian winters can be harsh and brutal, depending on where you live. In Montreal, I’m certainly gonna need as much indoor time as I can! And what better way to spend your time than supporting local theatre. […]
The Jewish Nomad: ‘Therapy was a Mistake’ is Penina Simon’s way of using the stage to portray four characters struggling to find their place
Penina Simon graduated from Concordia University’s theatre program in June 2022—and is already hitting the ground running in her hometown of Montreal. Therapy was a Mistake, her new solo show, finds her playing four distinct women who are all struggling to figure out their place in this world. The play description states that audiences will […]
The Jewish Nomad: Talking to Alice Abracen about the Holocaust history that kicked her playwriting career into gear with ‘The Covenant’
Montreal playwright Alice Abracen is a name to look out for. She’s a graduate of Harvard University, as well as the National Theatre School of Canada’s playwriting program. One of those plays is The Covenant, winner of the 2017 Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition, which was followed by a staged reading that summer at the Segal […]
The Jewish Nomad: Two stars of ‘Indecent’ talk about a play that’s about the power of the stage
I remember first seeing the play Indecent at the Segal Centre of Performing Arts in Montreal in 2019. It was an excellent production—which also pushed the envelope. It tells the true story of Polish-Jewish playwright Sholem Asch, whose controversial work God of Vengeance was about a Jewish brothel owner’s daughter who falls in love with […]
Behind the screens of the Jewish history of Citytv as the legendary Toronto television station turns 50 on Sept. 28
The trajectory of television was altered forever on Sept. 28, 1972, when Citytv signed on in Toronto on the UHF dial—against some rather stiff competition. But the scrappy approach to programming will be forever remembered, thanks to many names the management didn’t want changed. For this occasion, we got in touch with a few. (This […]
The Jewish Nomad: A documentary sequel starring the Love Rabbi explores Jewish matchmaking in a dangerous time
What does modern Jewish dating look like during a pandemic? Meet. Pray. Love. Return of the Love Rabbi is a new documentary that aims to answer that question. Ahead of its Saturday night premiere on CBC Television, an advanced screening took place last week at the Rohr Chabad of NDG—which happens to be the Montreal […]
The Jewish Nomad: ‘Cherry Docs’ is a classic Canadian play about neo-Nazi hate that a Montreal theatre company has given an update
During my years at CEGEP in Montreal (between high school and university—kind of like college but it’s free), I took a class where we analyzed plays that were adapted into films. One of those plays was Cherry Docs, written by Canadian playwright David Gow. The script concerns liberal Jewish lawyer who’s court-appointed to represent a […]
Montreal’s Segal Theatre presents plays that range from the provocative to the irreverent this season
A provocative new play that explores the impact of antisemitism in France across generations will be staged at Montreal’s Segal Centre for Performing Arts this season. Prayer for the French Republic by the American Joshua Harmon had its world premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club earlier this year, garnering glowing reviews. The New York Times […]
The Jewish Nomad: A chat with Yona Strauss before she breaks even more ground as a feature film producer from Toronto
How does someone end up becoming an experienced producer of movies by age 27? Yona Strauss knows, because her work has drawn accolades at multiple festivals, as part of a rapid professional rise from shorts to features in five years. What her work has in common so far is a focus on younger women like […]
The Jewish Nomad: YidLife Crisis are going back to where they came from in ‘A Closer Luc’
By now, you may have heard of the Montreal yiddishist comedians known as YidLife Crisis. After all, Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman have been written about once or twice this year at The CJN, not to mention the article they wrote themselves near the end of the weekly newspaper’s life. So, with the backstory already […]
