Nancy Palk & Diego Matamoros in Winter Solstice | Photo by Dahlia Katz

A deft satire, Winter Solstice sneaks up on you. It wants you to feel safe before it reveals its true nature, much like the dubious figure of Rudolph (Diego Matamoros), who gently slithers into the lives of a middle-class family on Christmas Eve. In this Canadian English-language premiere (a translation by David Tushingham) of Roland Schimmelpfennig’s finely-tuned, troubling play (presented by Necessary Angel Theatre Company in association with Canadian Stage and Birdland Theatre), we laugh and shake our heads at family dysfunction and strained manners before realizing, too late, that we’ve let fascism into our collective home. Continue Reading