Archive for Reviews

By David Greenham for The Arts Fuse. Updated December 23, 2024. Once again, Revels has pulled together a varied and diverse cast of amateurs and professionals to amplify a valuable lesson: it’s important to stop and take stock of our lives during the longest night of the year…

By Jeanne Denizard, The Sleepless Critic. Updated December 22, 2024. Island waves and a Celtic touch navigate two interpretations of a classic folk tale. Directed with ruminating holiday cheer by Debra Wise and versatile music direction by Elijah Botkin, the 54th annual Midwinter Revels presents The Selkie Girl and the Seal Woman:  A…

By Charlotte Snow for New England Theater Mirror. Updated December 19, 2024. ‘The Selkie Girl And The Seal Woman’. Directed by Deborah Wise. Music Directed by Elijah Botkin, Dramaturgy by Nicole Gallahad, Choreography by Neusa Barros Aravjo & Jackie O’Reilly, Tradition Bearing by Candida Rose Baptista & Almina…

By Jeffery Gantz, Globe correspondent. Updated December 14, 2024. “Midwinter Revels” hadn’t touched down in Ireland in more than three decades, so this year’s return to the Emerald Isle is more than welcome. The show, “The Selkie Girl and the Seal Woman,” takes place in an imagined pub…

By Terry Byrne, Globe correspondent. Updated December 12, 2024. “The Revels,” says director Debra Wise, “is the ultimate collage.” This year’s 54th production, “The Selkie Girl and the Seal Woman” is the result of months of listening, learning, collecting, and curating, culminating in a gathering of nearly 60 singers, musicians,…

David Patterson. Updated November 1, 2024. An “immersive stage mass” continues this year on an international tour with 22 new performances in 10 cities including Boston from October 31st through November 2nd. Early Halloween evening The Cathedral Church of St. Paul Boston opened its doors transformed into a clandestine…

By Matt Marino. Updated November 1, 2024. Ask your average person what they know about the English Renaissance, and they will probably answer that they ate turkey legs and jousted a lot.  For serious history scholars, they will tell tales of the Bard of Avalon, Shakespeare.  The Virgin…

By BMInt Staff. Updated October 26, 2024. The Gesualdo Six and Abendmusik will collaborate with creator Bill Barclay in a theatrical seance by candlelight, communing with some of the most ravishing music ever written, at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Boston on October 31st to November 2nd. Co-commissioned by St. Martin-in-the-Fields…

By Jeffrey Gantz, Globe correspondant. Updated December 18, 2023, 3:04 PM CAMBRIDGE — The Feast of Fools arose in medieval Europe as a Christmastide ritual in which a mock bishop or pope was elected and low and high officials changed places. The inspiration came perhaps from the birth…

By Michael Hoban. Updated December 20, 2023 Midwinter Revels: The Feast of Fools: A Medieval Celebration of the Solstice – Written and Directed by Patrick Swanson and Debra Wise.; Musical Direction by Elijah Botkin; Choreography by Susan Dibble; Set Design by Jeremy Barnett; Sound Design by Bill Winn;…