I remember as a girl of fourteen feeling my heart crack through my chest. This wasn’t a panic attack (I’ve had those). I believed my heart was literally bursting out of my chest, like the creature in “Alien,” and I rolled on my stomach to keep it in. I also believed I’d moved a clock with my mind.

The Neurodivergent Brilliance of William Shakespeare

Dolphin Theatre’s production of Agatha Christie's Black Coffee is an excellent antidote to the mid-winter blues. Directed by Glenda Pearce; her vast experience and meticulous attention to detail in both set design and costume has created a visual feast for the audience, transporting them effortlessly into the 1928 world of intrigue and suspense. Dolphin Theatre has a reputation for great sets and costuming but they have surpassed their own high standards with this production. Additional to this is the original music underscore - this really helps to keep the pace and emotional colour of the play. Bravo to Jake La Jeunesse for composing these original works.

Review: BLACK COFFEE at Dolphin, Onehunga

Island Shakespeare Festival Gives has released photos of its production of King Lear!. This production of King Lear, directed by Terri McMahon, is an exploration of the human condition, and an unmissable experience for audiences seeking the unyielding power of classical drama. As the play hurtles towards its shattering conclusion, the audience is left to ponder weighty questions about the nature of power, loyalty, and the enduring resilience of the human spirit.

Photos: KING LEAR At Island Shakespeare Festival

EPAC brings the timely Kander and Ebb musical, Cabaret to their summer stage. Directed by Ben Galosi, this production puts an original spin on the story. Using the philosophy that less is more, the action takes place on a bare stage backed by three curtained entrances. The space morphs easily and effectively into train stations, nightclubs, and Berlin apartments.

Review: CABARET at EPAC

Chicago, IL

Babes With Blades Theatre Company's (BWBTC) 2024 season concludes with William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, October 16 - November 23 at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway, directed by Lauren Katz with fight direction by Ensemble Member Jillian Leff. Previews are Wednesday, Oct, 16 – Friday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. with the press opening Saturday, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. with select performances will be available for streaming. Tickets are $28 - $35 and are now available at BabesWithBlades.org.

Babes With Blades Announces Cast and Creative Team For Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

If you’re looking for a spine-tingling adventure, these haunted hotels promise ghostly encounters and eerie experiences. Do you dare to stay the night?. Famous for inspiring Stephen King’s “The Shining,” The Stanley Hotel is said to be haunted by former guests and staff. Ghost tours are a must.

Spine-Chilling Stays: America’s Most Haunted Hotels

Lately, the most read books on Goodreads have stayed pretty similar from week to week. That’s why it’s surprising to see a new title in the #1 spot, and a self-published book at that! Play Along by Liz Tomforde was #7 last week, but it has jumped all the way to #1 this week. Interestingly, it was the #1 most read book in South Africa last week, so they were ahead of the curve there. The rest of the books in the top five are familiar titles, but a few have also slipped out of the top five after many weeks, like The Women by Kristin Hannah, which is now at #7. The A Court of Thorns and Roses and Empyrean (Fourth Wing) series are still in the top ten, but not the top five anymore.

The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week

Scituate, MA

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Camilo Díaz

(MA) Meet Rosie, an adorable little potato pup who is searching for a family to call her own. This senior Chihuahua lady came into rescue with an untreated urinary tract infection. The reason for her being in rescue was not given, but it is a good thing she was as they were able to begin treatment right away. Once finished with her treatment, the only thing remaining on Rosie's to-do list is to find a family. Though, as soon as that is checked off the list may fill up with tummy rub requests. But that is just a risk you will have to take!

Meet This Tiny Unique Chihuahua Looking For Love

Virginia State

Writers represent independent, third-party users who have joined our contributor program and self-verified their accounts. Writers are expected, like all users, to adhere to our Community Standards.

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Cheryl E Preston

Wendy's birthday was spent away from her loved ones. Virginia Wendy Williams fans, the latest update is not encouraging. The former talk show host turned 60 on July 18 without any of her loved ones around. According to Yahoo, family members remain "out of bounds" and have no access to Wendy as she battles dementia and progressive aphasia.

The family of talk show diva Wendy Williams were unable to celebrate her 60th birthday by her side

TheConversationCanada

This week, in a devastating story about Alice Munro’s complicity in the sexual abuse of her youngest daughter, we discovered how Munro, a Nobel Prize-winning author acclaimed for her uniquely Gothic interpretation of women’s lives, actually lived her feminism. 

In a first-person essay in the Toronto Star, Munro’s daughter Andrea Skinner details the years-long sexual abuse by her stepfather, Gerald Fremlin, beginning when she was nine years old. In an earlier essay, Skinner wrote: “The sexual abuse of a child is a rape of the mind, in which any fledgling tools for healing are stolen.”

Although Skinner told her father, Jim...

The Gothic horror of Alice Munro: A reckoning with the darkness behind a feminist icon

Herbie J Pilato

Actor Philip McKeon died at only 55 years old in 2019 following a long illness. He was best known as Tommy, the young son of Linda Lavin's waitress/aspiring actress role on TV's long-running sitcom, Alice. The show, which originally aired on CBS from 1976 to 1985, was a small-screen adaptation of Martin Scorsese's big-screen movie, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. In that acclaimed film, released in 1974, and the subsequent TV pilot episode, Alfred Lutter III played Tommy. Philip McKeon took over the role after that.

A Look Back at the Life of TV's 'Alice' Actor Philip McKeon: 5 Years After His Tragic Death

[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2 episodes 3 and 4.]. House of the Dragon is no stranger to the supernatural. Not only does the HBO fantasy drama series boast plenty of low-key magic — not to mention, y’know, dragons — but it’s also the prequel to Game of Thrones, a show loaded with snow zombies and smoke monster babies. Clearly, this is a universe where otherworldly forces are at play. Even so, Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) unsettling stopover at Harrenhal in season 2 arguably marks House of the Dragon’s most overtly supernatural subplot to date.

House of the Dragon finally gives a tour of Harrenhal, Westeros’ most haunted castle

Mississippi State

Laura Jane Grace & the Mississippi Medicals — the brand new rock quartet fronted by Grace and featuring Matt Patton of Drive-By Truckers (bass), Mikey Erg of The Ergs (drums) and Paris Campbell Grace (vocals, percussion) — will release the band’s debut EP, Give An Inch on Friday, September 6.

Laura Jane Grace Details Debut EP With The Mississippi Medicals, New Single Available Now

South Carolina State

Explore Beaufort SC

The mantis shrimp is one tough customer. Beautiful and deadly are two words you don’t typically use to describe shrimp, but the mantis shrimp is definitely in a class of its own; earning a reputation as the ‘savage boxer of the sea’ and one of the most fearsome creatures in the ocean. And, they're right at home here in South Carolina.

Savage Boxer of the Sea: The Deadly Beauty of Mantis Shrimp

The Independent

Edna O’Brien, the prolific Irish author known for her portrayal of women’s lives against repressive expectations in Irish society, has died at the age of 93.Her death was announced by her publisher, Faber, who said she died peacefully on Saturday (27 July), “after a long illness”. They added that their thoughts were “with her family and friends, in particular her sons Marcus and Carlo”.“A defiant and courageous spirit, Edna constantly strove to break new artistic ground, to write truthfully, from a place of deep feeling. The vitality of her prose was a mirror of her zest for life: she was...

Edna O’Brien death: Acclaimed Irish novelist dies aged 93

Massachusetts State

Dianna Carney

Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a foster-based rescue in Massachusetts, recently introduced a six-year-old French bulldog named Joannie who is looking for her forever home. The local animal rescue explains: “Joannie was found as a stray extremely emaciated and less than half her current weight now. She was missing fur on her body, face and ears. She has been nursed back to health and is doing wonderfully. While her age and exact history is unknown, it is clear she has mothered more than enough litters in her short lifetime.”

Meet Joannie: The "Extreme Snuggler" French Bulldog Looking For Love

Minnesota State

DayTripper

The hit History Channel series "American Pickers" is gearing up for an exciting return to Minnesota this fall. The show's production team has announced plans to film episodes throughout the state in September 2024, offering locals a chance to showcase their unique collections and share their stories with a national audience.

"American Pickers" Set to Unearth Minnesota's Hidden Treasures

TheDailyBeast

The Decameron has all the makings of a great sleeper hit: unexpected source material, abundant quirky humor, and sneakily moving performances. Netflix’s limited series also boasts the bone structure of Gosford Park or Knives Out: a motley crew of nobles and servants converge at a luxurious country villa outside Florence during an outbreak of the Black Death in the mid-1300s. A uniquely medieval type of sexy, silly, risky hijinks ensue, and in accordance with the laws governing cheeky historical fantasias, it’s all cued to gleefully anachronistic needle drops.The Decameron is very, very, very loosely based on—what else?—The Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio’s...

How ‘The Decameron’ Became the Summer’s Weirdest Hit Show

Irish author Colin Barrett has made the 2024 Booker Prize longlist for his debut novel “Wild Houses.”. "With two collections behind him, Barrett is well established as a master both of the short story and the sentence; his debut novel confirms and extends all his promise," the Booker Prize panel of five judges said.

Irish author makes Booker Prize longlist for "darkly comic" debut novel

The Department of Motor Vehicles is arguably the great equalizer, a place no one particularly wants to go, yet we all have to put in our time there, no matter our race, ethnicity, gender, political affiliation or socioeconomic status. At various points in our lives, we all go to the DMV and wait. And wait. Thus, it occurred to Don Reed it might be the perfect setting for his solo show about what brings us all together. In his show, aptly and succinctly named The DMV, Reed employs his unique blend of uproarious comedy, trenchant observation and some seriously smooth dance moves to explore the lives of eight very different individuals who just happen to be waiting in line at the DMV.

Interview: Don Reed of THE DMV at The Marsh Berkeley

NewsBreak

Review: ROUGH MAGIC, Shakespeare's Globe.

At Rough Magic prepare to enter Shakespeare’s wondrous world to become a Guardian of Destiny. The audience interaction is aimed at children in the audience, who...

Review: ROUGH MAGIC, Shakespeare's Globe.

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