Arjun Pande News

When today's headlines about Russia involve potential political meddling, corruption, and cover-up, it's nice to know that some things don't change and that you can laugh about them.

First and foremost, this is not a typo. The current show from Washington Ensemble Theatre is titled Teh Internet is Serious Business no matter how many times spell check tries to auto correct it for me. And with a title like that you might assume that this will just be a series of computer jokes like having incarnations of grumpy cat or sarcastic Willy Wonka Memes live trolling during the show and while all of that happens, what also happens is a fascinating look at a key part of internet history as well as a highly inventive show with some innovative staging.

This fall Washington Ensemble Theatre will stage Teh Internet Is Serious Business, the first of three plays in the company's 2017/18 season that will put toxic masculinity under a microscope. Teh Internet Is Serious Business is a captivating and irreverent tale about the hacktivist group Lulzsec, a byproduct of Anonymous, and its rise to global online power. Written by Welsh playwright Tim Price and directed by celebrated Seattle director Wayne Rawley (writer and director of the critically acclaimed Live! From the Last Night of My Life), performances begin on September 15 and run through October 2, 2017 at 12th Avenue Arts (1620 12th Avenue). Tickets range from $15 - $25 and are on sale now at www.washingtonensemble.org.

I do love it, Dear Readers, when a show manages to thrill without the aid of elaborate sets or gimmicks. Where you can just immerse yourself in the words and performances. Such is the case with "Guards at the Taj" currently playing at ACT. That's not to say that the minimal set design from Brandon Estrella didn't work, it did. And there is one kind of unexpected prop that beautifully took over the stage at one point. But by then, we were so riveted by the stirring performances of the two actors in the show, even an elephant could have walked on stage I would have been focused on them.

I remember my first exposure to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, "Treasure Island". It wasn't the book but rather an animated version they showed occasionally during Saturday morning cartoons and although I haven't seen that one in years I remember loving it for its thrilling swashbuckling adventure and rich characters including a bad guy who wasn't all that bad even though he was a bloodthirsty pirate. Well I'm happy to say all those feelings from childhood came rushing back the other night as I watched Book-It Repertory Theatre's current adaptation. I mean, swarthy pirates, sword fights, and buried treasure. How can you go wrong?

Book-It Repertory Theatre continues its 27th season with the gripping classic Treasure Island. Full of enthralling characters and one of literature's most beloved villains, Treasure Island explores the complex relationship between the morally ambiguous Long John Silver and the young Jim Hawkins. Throughout this thrilling tale, Hawkins learns hard lessons of balancing the lure of adventure with the desire for stability and confronting the dilemma of liking a person, but not their behavior. The most popular pirate story ever written in English, Treasure Island is sure to delight audiences this holiday season!

I've never been a fan of performance art as it tends to lose its message amidst the blur of being odd. I mean I'll never forget the piece I saw where a woman gave birth to herself only to be followed by a group of men beating her with pillows. Having said that, Washington Ensemble Theatre's current production of Alice Birch's play "Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again." is not completely performance art but there were a few moments where the outrageousness of the performance got in the way of the message. But we'll get to that in a minute.

It's been 200 years since Jane Austen's incorrigible matchmaker "Emma" first came on the scene in print and since has spawned film versions, adaptations and has never been out of print since its release. And while the current adaptation from Book-It Repertory Theatre keeps the mischievousness and attitudes alive, at times if feels a little too static making this romp drone on a bit.

It's one of Shakespeare's more raucous comedies so in order to do it right it's best to just let it happen and not get in its way too much. Luckily director Jane Nichols and the folks at Seattle Shakespeare Company understand that about "The Comedy of Errors" but that didn't stop them from adding in some glorious bits of slapstick and physical comedy to this already funny tale, elevating it to hilarious.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, a fast and funny farce filled with mixed up mayhem, leads off Seattle Shakespeare Company's 25th Anniversary Season. Directed by Jane Nichols, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS will play at the Leo K. Theatre at Seattle Repertory Theatre, tonight, September 17-October 11, 2015.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, a fast and funny farce filled with mixed up mayhem, leads off Seattle Shakespeare Company's 25th Anniversary Season. Directed by Jane Nichols, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS will play at the Leo K. Theatre at Seattle Repertory Theatre, September 17-October 11, 2015.