A sophomore foray into fantasy
Winnipeg-based writer and former Manitoban contributor Alex Passey has just released Shadow of the Desert Sun. Published in September, this “sword and sorcery fantasy” is Passey’s second novel to date.
Arts & Culture
Touching, ‘littleworlds’ — 2.5 stars
Littleworlds, the second album by Michael Falk’s solo project Touching, has grand aspirations. Falk points to dramatic, anthemic rock bands like Frightened Rabbit and Manchester Orchestra, freak folk auteur Richard Dawson and trip-hop legends Massive Attack as primary influences. A wide range of touchpoints, but oddly apt, in a sense.
The new face at the Cinematheque
Olivia Norquay, local horror aficionado and host of the feminist horror radio show BIKINI DRIVE-IN, is the most recent addition to the programming staff at the Winnipeg Film Group’s illustrious arthouse theatre, the Cinematheque. Since her hiring in April, Norquay has made her presence felt with a number of great showings and live post-screening discussions with her and BIKINI DRIVE-IN co-host Jill Groening.
Looking forward and looking back
After a theatre drought going on nigh two years, Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE) has opened its doors to smaller, vaccinated audiences for the world premiere of The War Being Waged, written and co-directed by Manitoban playwright Darla Contois.
Donna Besel — ‘The Unravelling: Incest and the Destruction of a Family’
In The Unravelling: Incest and the Destruction of a Family, Besel documents the stresses — physical, emotional and financial — on her life from 1992 to 1995 as she navigates the trials of bringing her father to justice for the sexual and violent crimes he committed against his wife and children.
Astrocolor, ‘Paradise’ — 3.5 stars
Astrocolor has their mind set on one thing in their new album, Paradise: a relaxing beachside vacation. Though hailing from the not-exactly-tropical city of Victoria, B.C., they nevertheless channel all the island life energy they can muster. Press photos show the appropriately middle-aged band in pastel button-downs, slim-fit khakis, tasteful Ray-Bans and boat shoes with no socks, enjoying the sunlight and laughing with drinks in their hands.
Donna Besel’s brave memoir years in the making
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to accentuate inequalities in the so-called “developed” world, women’s stories have taken the spotlight. From the inequalities of the workplace to those of household labour and parenting, these stories bring to light the lack of employer and governmental assistance in these matters.
Alum receives award for mixed media sculpture
Recent school of art graduate Tayler Buss has been announced as the Manitoban winner of the 19th annual BMO 1st Art! Competition for her mixed media sculpture “Rearview.”
Safely bringing la joie de vivre to Manitobans this winter
Amidst these uncertain times, Winnipeggers can look forward to a boost of joy in the coming weeks because Festival du Voyageur is back for another…
’Toban tracks
The best love songs are not romantic — instead, they say something about romance. Sometimes they are about friends or parents or children or pets…