Arts

On the eve of Halloween, a small and anxious audience waited quietly on the landing of an old mahogany staircase. The lights of Laurier House dimmed — and the play began.

“We were really interested in the idea of doing a ghost story in a haunted house on Halloween,” said actor Kris Joseph, as he and fellow cast member Kate Smith prepared for their performance in an upstairs bathroom that doubled as a dressing room.

Hereafter
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Warner Bros. Pictures

Some say Clint Eastwood has reached the end of his game, that it’s time for the great director to step aside and hand over the camera. After seeing Eastwood’s newest film, Hereafter, I can only say I agree 100 per cent.

Eric Enno Tamm’s first trip to China wasn’t a typical sightseeing getaway, to discover the Great Wall or see the Forbidden City.

Instead, his first look at the country came from the west, from the famed Silk Road city of Kashgar and well into a 2006 trip that saw him traverse Central Asia in the name of a Finnish baron, Gustof Mannerheim.

I don’t ask much from men; just that they be Dan Mangan.

The Vancouverite brought his charm to the First Baptist Church in Ottawa Oct. 30.

Mangan is coming off quite a year. His 2009 record, Nice, Nice, Very Nice, was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize, and also won independent album of the year, songwriter of the year and roots solo recording of the year at the Western Canadian Music Awards.

Edited by Daniel Link