Got physically assaulted by a group of teens/young adults because I shushed them, and then asked…read moremanagement to tell them to keep it down. Absolutely the worst experience I've ever had, and I would rate 0 stars if I could. This theatre used to be a wonderful place to spend an evening. When I mentioned it to the manager they just said that this happens on Tuesday nights, and that they get rowdy. They did at least compensate my ticket. Please hire enough staff and security that things like this won't continue to happen. It should not be a big ask to be able to go to the movies and enjoy the film I paid for without people talking through the whole experience and then getting something thrown at me hard enough to bruise.

Not all cities have a theatre as centrally located as Halifax's, so being able to walk or easily…read morecommute to it is a big bonus over not having to go out to the 'burbs. It's got all the basics, although if you're looking for IMAX or those fancy/expensive bells and whistles and food vendors, you'll have to go elsewhere.

What's that - you've never heard of Carbon Arc? Well, I can't say I'm all that surprised. This…read moreindependent, weekly film festival of sorts is about as close to a secret society as you can get in Halifax. How so? I'll explain. First, the secret hideout. The Khyber Club is that building you've walked by countless times on Barrington Street but never really knew what happened inside. Be brave, push past that front door, and start climbing up the historic stairs and you'll find the home of Carbon Arc. Second, the 'right place, right time' factor. It might not be exactly 'Skulls' material, but here's the one rule you need to know in order to earn entry to Carbon Arc: Thursday nights are screening nights. You'll have to keep your ear to the ground (Twitter and Facebook make this easier than it sounds) to hear what you'll find there from night to night, but it certainly won't be your average night at Empire. Third, the in-crowd. Simply put, there isn't one. There was not one distinguishable demographic that held true throughout the entire crowd when I visited and that seemed to work just fine. Some artsy, some mainstream, some old, some young, some even in costume - they were all welcomed the same by a Carbon Arc volunteer's preamble to the show. Need more? Fine. Films are screened on an entire wall with great clarity as you sit in poor man's stadium seating, crafted by the volunteer organization themselves. You can nab popcorn, candy and even beer if you bring cash. Stay alert to catch wind of a flick that's up your alley, or at least close enough to your alley to be worth a shot, and enter the world of Carbon Arc. The city needs more of this.

Carbon Arc at the Khyber has only been running since July 2010, but it has…read morealready attracted a lot of attention because of the fantastic films it has been screening. It's also special because it occupies the former Wormwood's space--an independent theater I always wished I could have experienced. Alas, I was 13 and thought Armegeddon was the best movie ever. Carbon Arc is a permanent theatre space run completely by volunteers. Their goal is to have the space used as much as possible--right now they're holding screening every Thursday. A great thing about Carbon Arc screenings is that someone attached to the film, whether it's a crew member or simply a devotee, will speak before the movie starts and give you something to think about while watching. Director Sook-Yin Lee introduced her film, Year of the Carnivore, while Carbon Arc volunteer Allan Collins introduced David Cronenberg's The Brood--a film he edited. For a film fan, this place feels like home, and I look forward to attending many more of their weekly screenings.

Movies outdoors on the Halifax waterfront? Fantastic idea!…read more I especially love when they have singalongs!

This is what makes summertime in Halifax great…read more Watching movies with your pals under the stars with the harbour at your back. It makes me feel all romantic about this sometimes frustrating city. This summer, the fine folks at the Atlantic Film Festival have outdone themselves. The alFresco filmFesto programme will be... The Summer of Murray. Bill. Murray. Six glorious nights of Bill Murray. My friends, this is going to be a magical summer. One can only assume that Bill Murray will smile down upon us and bless our fair hamlet with his wisdom, humour, and grace. And mad golf skills. I cannot wait.

Yesterday was my first time seeing a performance at the 'Bus Stop Theatre' and I got much more than…read moreI paid and bargained for! Not having heard of this theatre before or the company playing last night, I was sort of expecting a few Dal theatre grads to be running a show out of a converted rec room. (I apparently have abysmally low expectation for things i've never heard of) Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised when we walked into the 'Bus Stop Theatre' to see 'East of Berlin' last night. Located between local MP Megan Leslie's office and Seadogs Sauna, you might pass by the 'Bus Stop Theatre' without even realizing what it is. This little theatre can best be described as clean and modern. No frills, aside from tea lights but a great venue nonetheless. I would have LOVED more comfortable chairs. 90 minutes with no intermission, sitting on old metal chairs didn't prove too comfortable. Overall, a great little venue!

This is a great theatre/performance space in Halifax. I've seen a variety of shows here - from…read moreestablished theatre troupes to amateur crews, as well as musical performances and eclectic talent shows. I've also had the luxury of performing here; presenting a racy monologue as part of a feminist talent show, as well as playing a Darfur benefit in a kitchy 90s band. The space is great but can be a little challenging to light and also figure out the best setups for maximum visibility, but nonetheless, it's pretty good. I like the layout of the place as a whole. Upon entering, there's a bar and often some pretty great art on display in the main foyer. The bathrooms, which are easily accessible, have little lights above the doors to signal when they're in use - a nice touch indeed. If you have the chance to see a performance at this space, I advice that you cease the opportunity. I like this area of town and this theatre space makes it all the more pleasant. Head in and check out some local talent on the ASAP.

Went as apart of a large group, didn't know what to expect…read more I imagined small round tables, candle light, smoky room and lots of role playing. What I got instead was a pleasurable 2.5 hour supper and entertained as well! When first entering the location, you can take the elevator to the 3rd floor or take the stairs on the right. You enter the lounge area with full bar and self coat check. At 6:45 the players come out and are within the crowd to do the housekeeping and setting of the theater part. Parties are led into the other room and seated. As part of the large group we were sat at long tables. In front of us were the menus & huge loaf of bread for 6 people. The theater part was in the corner, easy visible due to the seating layout. The 5 players were also our servers, so they went over the table, took our names and our full order. At the table we had the menu. Honestly, they had lots of choices. I saw afterwards that the menu is posted on their website. I had the seafood chowder, Cajun Sausage stuffed chicken breast & Baked Apple Crisp. Everybody in our table chose different items and were pleased with the meal. The players played about 9-10 songs from the rolling stones as part of the theater part in between servings us. Tickets are ~42$ per person and does not include tips, but adding a few extra bucks for the players is worth it as they really try to remember your name and stay in character when serving the dishes. Staff gets an A++ If you want try something different and not be forced to participate, this is a good spot to try. The website has all the info you need.

To be clear, dinner theatre isn't really my jam. I love food so much that I typically don't need…read moreadditional entertainment to make an evening count - so long as the meal's a standout, I'd actually prefer being able to focus on eating it with maaaaaybe a little conversation with friends on the side. Maybe. Still, Grafton Dinner Theatre puts on a nice night on the town for when you're in the mood for this sort of thing. It's a couple of hours long with constant song, dance, or kitschy jokes for a crowd that simply eats it all up -read: older people from Cape Breton. Yeah. I went there. The space itself is weirdly divey. It's all very dark so you can't take much in besides the very small corner stage and long communal tables are set up to accommodate the maximum number of people possible. It's not so good for an intimate evening but perfect for a large group that has ideally had a few drinks beforehand. Pretty unremarkable food on the vegetarian front, but that's not too surprising.

Tonight marks the end of a glorious month - the first season of alfreSnow filmFesto! This winter…read moretwist on outdoor movie festival, alFreso filmFesto, saw the screening of four classic Hitchcock films on the big screen in Neptune Theatre's studio. Murderous Monday, Hitchcock 'o Clock, whatever you call it, it was awesome! With a suggested donation of $8, this was a cheap night out on the town with a super cool scene of people. Not only do you get to watch the film in comfortable balcony seating, you also received a Hitchcock 101 based on each flick from a prominent member of the local film industry. This was my favourite part for sure. Even if you knew nothing about the movie (which, let's face it, I never did), you got great context not just for the story, but for the actors, the film's style, impact, and current blockbusters that drew from it for inspiration. I'm very happy to have been able to take in the "Dial M for Murder" and "Strangers on a Train," (headed there tonight!) and loved the genre so much that I rented one of the others that I missed ("Rope") on iTunes. Thanks to Neptune and the Atlantic Film Festival for putting on this stellar crash course in Hitchcock. Can't wait for more this summer and hopefully again in winter 2013!

To Catch a Thief is one of my favorite movies, but I haven't seen many other of Hitchcock's work so…read moreI was happy to catch a few of the films. I was able to see Dial M for Murder, I Confess and Strangers on a Train. I love ole Al's stylistic shots. A lot of his humor still holds up, though there are some times when the laughter is unintended. The admission price was reasonable and I enjoyed the preamble from the Film Fest crew. 7:00 pm was a good time to hold the films, just enough time to get downtown and have a cocktail and some pre-movie snacks with fellow movie goers. Hope this happens again soon!

Great place' Always find great entertainment at Neptune…read more Have been there a few times and it's always been a good experience.

The mamma Mia musical was really beautiful and the professional actors did a amazing job I hope…read moreI'll come back in November for Wizard of oz

I had such a horrible experience as promoter in Spatz Theatre recently…read more Rented Spatz theatre around dozen times for events I promoted in 2018-2019. Spatz Theatre was managed by Sara who always did a great job. I had a show scheduled for March 2020 that was postponed due Covid restrictions. I was so excited finally to reschedule my show for March 21 2022, day when NS was going to lift some Covid Restrictions. Around 2 weeks ago i got an email from Cathy, who replaced Sara as manager, informing me that Spatz Theatre and school board decided to cancel my event, because " they are not ready to host full capacity event yet" even i told them all patrons going to wear masks at the show so that would help to avoid some risk. They also told me that even if they would reschedule my event all tickets should be refunded first because they want to change a box office provider. That really disappointed me because unnecessary refunds always are stressful for a promoter and ticket holders. 2 weeks before an actual event i had to look for another venue and change so many things: advertising, contract, setting a new box office for event , etc. Luckily Rebecca Cohn Auditorium was available for the same date and they had no issue to host a big event even they are located in educational facility as well. Just couple hours before refunds to ticket holders i found out that Spatz and Ticket Halifax want to hold CC fees and box office fees and do not refund it to ticket holders, even cancellation of event was completely not their fault. I literally had to fight with Cathy about it and made them refund my ticket holders in full amount. After posting announcement about changing venue on event page and refunds started to get processed i was receiving a lot of messages asking about directions to buy tickets on presale even it supposed to be sent in email with cancellation explanation that supposed to be sent before refunds would be made and then few more times after that, to be sure all patrons was noticed about changes. I asked Ticket Halifax representative Lindsay to fix that issue but they denied it and didn't do anything to help me and my show ticket holders. Just now i received a copy of email from Ticket Halifax from one of my ticket holders and I found that text of letter was not one that i approved. They changed it and removed an explanation why Spatz Theatre cancelled this event. Not only actions of Spatz Theatre and Ticket Halifax caused stress and financial loss for me and ticket holders but they also lied to me. I don't think that's behaviour appropriate for people who manage the theatre. It's not ok to treat your loyal customers like that! Extremely disappointed.

The Spatz Theatre is the new venue built into Citadel High just outside of the downtown core. Every…read morepart of is it so new that it still has that 'new theatre smell' if such a thing exists! I made it in the other night for a limited run of RENT. While I won't make this review all about the show (which I LOVED by the way), it was a great space for that sort of a production and I'm thrilled that Spatz opened their doors to a new theatre troupe ready to make a splash. Seats are comfortable, acoustics seem fine (I know nothing about that stuff), and there's plenty of room both around you when seated, and in the auditorium in general (there's even a balcony). Downsides? Well, it's a little weird to enter through a high school especially when waiting for the doors to open in a cafeteria type space. It was all a little too Degrassi for my liking.