Cancel cruise and swing back into wife’s arms

Theatre goes goblin mode

Although they star in an upcoming local production of the Scottish Play, goblin thespians Wug, Kragva and Moog left it to director Rebecca Northan to handle publicity and interviews.

Were they also scared to utter the real title — saying “Macbeth” inside a theatre is believed to be bad luck — aloud?

“The goblins don’t know anything about our superstitions,” says Northan, an actor-writer-improv artist who last season performed and directed Murder-on-the-Lake, an immersive murder-mystery, for the Shaw Festival.

Northan, who co-created Goblin:Macbeth with Bruce Horak and Ellis Lalonde, can’t speak for her folkloric co-workers, but says the Halloweenish trio were inspired to mount the show after being impressed by Shakespeare’s firm grasp on the realm of fantasy.

Campaign blunder: Klein features wrong city in election video

A paid ad from mayoral candidate Kevin Klein on his commitment to Winnipeg has been pulled after commenters noticed one small error: the footage used in the ad was actually of Edmonton.

Winnipeg soldiers help search and rescue efforts in Wainwright

Eleven military search and rescue technicians from Winnipeg were deployed to Wainwright, Alta., following the fire that killed four soldiers and injured 39 others during a live-fire training exercise Saturday.

It was the largest mobilization of SAR techs, elite primary-care paramedics in the Royal Canadian Air Force, in recent memory, a military spokesperson told the Free Press.

Every SAR tech available from 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, located at 17 Wing Winnipeg — even those off duty — were sent to CFB Wainwright.

The technicians, who are trained to jump from aircraft into extreme environments, parachuted onto the scene from a CC-130H Hercules airplane to provide care for those injured in the fast-moving grass fire that had engulfed a training area.

Flourishing improv fest ready to make the ‘Peg laugh

When the first Winnipeg Improv Festival happened in 2000, its organizers had no idea what they were doing, or what the festival should look like.

After 25 years of making things up, they’ve mostly got it figured out, says co-artistic director Stephen Sim, who programs the festival with improv artist Caity Curtis.

Featuring a combination of local performers plucked from the Winnipeg alt-comedy universe and a roster of national and international guests, the Winnipeg Improv Festival traverses borders by mashing together new troupes to workshop, develop and present ephemeral, once-in-a-lifetime work to audiences at the Gas Station Arts Centre.

Sim doesn’t remember too many specifics about the first festival — he hardly slept and was in no state to take notes — but by the time the second edition came around, it became apparent that what made things felt “real” was the participation of improvisers from outside the city.

Accused used fuel-filled bottle to set blaze that killed two, court hears

Alex Courchene failed once to set a North End church ablaze, then returned a day later and tried again, starting a fire that killed two people living in an upstairs apartment suite, a jury was told Monday.