thecommentary.ca

The actor, director, teacher and producer Jennifer Copping discusses the new Mitch and Murray Production of Harm by the playwright Pheobe Eclair-Powell (20-29 March 2026 at Studio 16), with Joseph Planta.

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  

Jennifer Copping joins me now. She’s directing the new Mitch and Murray production of Harm, by the British playwright Pheobe Eclair-Powell. I’ll ask Ms. Copping about the play, which is having its North American premiere, a timely play that is described by its publisher as a “thrilling, twisted and razor-sharp comedy on the corrosive effects of social media and isolation.” The production features a solo performance by Kelli Ogmundson, who plays an estate agent who develops an unhealthy obsession with a social media influencer. I’ll ask Jennifer about working with her, and what audiences to Studio 16 at 1577 West 7th Avenue, can expect when they see the show between 20-29 March 2026. Visit www.mitchandmurrayproductions.com for tickets and information. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Jennifer Copping; Ms. Copping, good morning.

The post Jennifer Copping first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The professor and curator of Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision (at the Museum of Anthropology, 19 March 2026-03 January 2027) Luis Manuel González discusses the exhibit and more, with Joseph Planta.

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  

At the Museum of Anthropology, starting Thursday, 19 March 2026, and running through to 03 January 2027, is the world premiere exhibition of Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision. It’s an exhibit curated by Peruvian anthropology professor Luis Manuel González, who joins me now. I’ll ask him about teaching at the University of British Columbia, and going through the Museum’s collection of ancient Andean artifacts from ceramic, textile, bone, shell, and wood. There are items going back over 2,500 years. I’ll ask Luis about what this word from the Indigenous Andean language of Quechua, Tupananchiskama means, and what he hopes visitors to the Museum will get out of this exhibit. Visit the museum’s website for more information: www.moa.ubc.ca. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Luis Manuel González; Professor González, good morning.

The post Luis Manuel González first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The activist and former athlete Betty Baxter discusses her memoir Outspoken: A Journey from Olympic Athlete to Activist (Nightwood Editions, 2026), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Outspoken

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  

Betty Baxter joins me now. She’s just published a memoir, Outspoken: A Journey from Olympic Athlete to Activist. In the book she recounts her experiences growing up in a small town in Alberta, to finding sport, and going on to play volleyball representing Canada abroad, even playing in the 1976 Olympics. The book narrates the reality of sports then as now, and how there are inequities that still need addressing. In 1980, Baxter becomes the first woman to coach the Canadian women’s volleyball team. But in January 1982, at the age of twenty-nine, she was fired because of rumours about her sexual orientation. There was never a question of misconduct, which surrounded some of her male colleagues one should note. She talks about that and the devastating effect it had on her career, and even how she viewed sports themselves. I’ll ask Betty about why she wrote the book, and what she’s had to work through over the years. For a while, because of the firing, she couldn’t even set foot in a gymnasium, she felt so unmoored by the firing. I’ll ask Betty about leadership too, and about the 1990 Gay Games, which she played an important part in bringing to Vancouver. Betty Baxter also initiated the National Coaching School for Women, and founded Canadian Women & Sport. After her expulsion in 1982 as Canada’s national coach, she became an outspoken activist for 2SLGBTQIA+ community and human rights. In 1993, she was the first open lesbian to seek federal office in Vancouver Centre, and in 2011 she was elected to her local school board, serving two terms. This new book is published by Nightwood Editions. We spoke last week, with Betty joining me from Roberts Creek, British Columbia. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Betty Baxter; Betty, good morning.

The post Betty Baxter first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The celebrated ballet dancer and choreographer Guillaume Côté discusses his new show Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (which will be at the Vancouver Playhouse 18-21 March 2026), his career and more, with Joseph Planta.

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  

Guillaume Côté joins me now. The celebrated ballet dancer and choreographer will be coming to town 18-21 March 2026 with the BC premiere of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, which he’s choreographed and will star in. Created by Côté and director Robert Lepage, the full-length production explores the Shakespeare work’s themes of power, betrayal and inner turmoil through movement, evocative lighting, and minimal set design. And the reviews have been quite good wherever the show’s played. A number have pointed out the timeliness of the piece, and I’ll ask Guillaume about the relevance of Hamlet today. This is a production of Ex Machina and Côté Danse, at the Vancouver Playhouse. Guillaume Côté retired from the National Ballet of Canada in the spring of 2025, after being a principal dancer there since 2004, and joining the company in 1998. He was educated at Canada’s National Ballet School, and in his long career has been a guest performer at various companies around the world including Teatro alla Scala, English National Ballet, The Royal Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre, among many others. In 2021, he was named Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Québec. Visit www.dancehouse.ca for tickets and information. We spoke one week ago, with Guillaume in between performances of Hamlet at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Guillaume Côté; Monsieur Côté, good morning.

The post Guillaume Côté first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The writer and post-doctoral fellow Anita Slominska discusses her new book Other Endings: Organ Transplantation and the Burdens of Hope (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2026), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Other Endings

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  

There’s a fascinating and engaging book out now on organ donation, but other than statistics or research, which the book has, it also is the personal story of the author, and her sister Shauna Saunders who was listed for a liver transplant, the only curative treatment for her end-stage liver disease, but who died waiting for a donor organ in 2003 at the age of 29. Joining me now is Anita Slominska, who has written Other Endings: Organ Transplantation and the Burdens of Hope. It honours Shauna’s life by telling her story, and narrates the agonising wait for a liver, and the precipitous decline as none turned up. The book began as part of Anita’s post-graduate work in an interdisciplinary health studies program that researched organ donation. And it’s not just the statistics of how many organs are donated, but the ethics of organ donation, and the realities of how organs get donated. The fact that somebody has to die, or be dying, and often in gruesome circumstances, gets overlooked when we’re hearing of a “gift of life” or a “second chance” or even “rebirth” when a new organ is found. Anita looks at how often organ transplantation fails as well, and the reality that there are lots of people year after year who die waiting. It’s a compelling memoir; raw and intimate. Anita Slominska is a postdoctoral fellow at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre and the Institute of Health Sciences Education at McGill University. The book is published by McGill-Queen’s University Press. We spoke last week, with Anita joining me from Montreal. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Anita Slominska; Dr. Slominska, good morning.

The post Anita Slominska first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

Jean-Benoît Dumais, General Manager of the Independent Booksellers of Quebec joins Joseph Planta to discuss the new e-commerce service Booksellers.ca.

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  

There’s a new way to buy books in Canada, www.Booksellers.ca. The e-commerce service allows Canadian consumers a chance to avoid multinational conglomerates like Amazon when buying books. And it’s not just tactile books, but e-books as well. Independent booksellers across Canada have pooled resources to create the website, which allows us to look up books we want to purchase, and how many might be available either at local stores or other stores across the country. That gives us the chance to weigh whether we’ll buy close to home, or that independent bookstore in the province next door or on the other side of the country. And with a collective agreement with Canada Post, free shipping can be had for orders over $49. Joining me now is Jean-Benoît Dumais. He’s the General Manager of the Independent Booksellers of Quebec, which has had the Quebec version of this site, www.leslibraires.ca up and running for fifteen years now. I’ll ask him about its success and why they’ve expanded across the country. We’ll reflect on the importance of the local independent booksellers, and the consumer’s desire to buy Canadian. This all comes at a critical time, and it’s a welcome addition to our options of buying books online. We spoke last week with Jean-Benoît joining me from Quebec City. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Jean-Benoît Dumais; Monseuir Dumais, good morning.

The post Jean-Benoît Dumais first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The dancer and festival director of the 19th Annual Coastal Dance Festival Margaret Grenier discusses what to expect this week (03-08 March 2026) at the Anvil Centre and the Museum of Anthropology, with Joseph Planta.

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  

The 19th Annual Coastal Dance Festival starts tomorrow (03 March 2026), which in stories, song and dance, honours the Indigenous cultures along the Northwest Coast, as well as across Canada and around the world. Joining me now is Margaret Grenier, who is the festival director, and a member of the award-winning group Dancers of Damelahamid, who will be performing a mountain goat transformation mask dance. I’ll ask Margaret about the festival, and the performance she’ll be part of, and the other highlights Tuesday (03 March 2026) at New Westminster’s Anvil Centre, and 04-08 March 2026 at UBC’s Museum of Anthropology. Among other highlights include a preview of Tasha Faye Evans’s full-length work Cedar Woman, as well as the Sámi singers Sara Marielle Gaup Beaska and Lawra Somby, who’ll present their traditional Sámi culture from Norway. The festival will also feature a film screening of the documentary So Surreal: Behind The Masks, a film by Neil Diamond and Joanne Robertson. Margaret Grenier has created and run the festival for 19 years now, and she continues the legacy of her mother, the late Elder Margaret Harris, who played an important role in the resurgence of traditional cultural practices among different Indigenous groups across the Northwest Coast. Visit www.damelahamid.ca for tickets and the full program. We taped this interview last week. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Margaret Grenier; Ms. Grenier, good morning.  

The post Margaret Grenier first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The musical theatre writer Adam Gwon discusses the new Original Cast Recording of his musical All The World’s A Stage (Joy Machine Records, 2026), with Joseph Planta.

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  

As I tell Adam Gwon, in the conversation that follows, it was the song “Fine” from his musical Ordinary Days that I likely first came across his work. It must have been one of the many performances that one can see on YouTube that introduced me to his music and lyrics. It’s an oft-covered song because it’s funny and it tells a story, like a lot of Mr. Gwon’s songs. Last spring, All the World’s A Stage had a run off-Broadway. It had been commissioned by Keen Company. Today, the full album of the Original Cast Recording is released by Joy Machine Records, and features songs from the show that the New York Times described as “disarmingly powerful,” and as “charming, specific and appealing.” I’ll ask Adam about the show that he also wrote the book for, that earned Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Lyrics, and Outstanding Orchestrations. The show is set in small-town America in the 1990s, where a gay high school teacher has to maneuver carefully depending on the wherever he finds himself at the moment. His carefully comparmentalised life starts to unravel, and the desire to make connections and yet be true to oneself in polarised times, makes the show timely and universal. Here’s part of one of the numbers in the show, “Saturday Night in a Small Auditorium,” that not only gives us a sense of Mr. Gwon’s work, but the scene that is set as the show begins. Adam Gwon is the acclaimed musical theatre writer whose works include Ordinary Days, The Boy Detective Fails, Cloudlands, Bernice Bobs Her Hair, Cakeoff, String, Scotland, PA, and Witnesses. Visit www.adamgwon.com for more. We spoke earlier this week with Adam joining me from New York City. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Adam Gwon; Mr. Gwon, good morning.

The post Adam Gwon first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The academic, poet and writer Adrian De Leon discusses his new book Balikbayan: A Revenant History of The Filipino Homeland (University of Washington Press, 2026), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Balikbayan

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  

One of the more fascinating books of the year, is the newest one from the academic Adrian De Leon, Balikbayan: A Revenant History of The Filipino Homeland. The title says a lot, but not all. The word ‘Balikbayan’ means to go back to one’s homeland. The word can also be used to describe the Filipino return migrant, and that’s taken different forms from the Illustrados, who were 19th century Filipinos who left to be educated in Spain or other parts of Europe, to the migrant worker who leaves the Philippines to work abroad, while sending remittances back. And the homeland they leave gets shaped and influenced by the various colonisers that arrive in the country, from the Spanish to the Americans, to the Japanese, and the Americans again. And today, while the Filipino living elsewhere looks at their roots as a place to visit, support, or stare at, the idea of homeland is reshaped again through those same eyes that left it willingly or unwillingly, like say those who were born elsewhere thanks to their parents migrating away. The book is highly readable even though it was largely written for an academic audience, because Adrian, who joins me now, thinks critically about the waves of migration away, as well as the political and economic development in the Philippines that are affected or even inspired by that migration. The life and work of Jose Rizal is also looked at critically, as De Leon revisits and reassess his place in the Philippine consciousness. Adrian De Leon is an award-winning writer, poet, critic, public historian, and an Assistant Professor of History, and co-chair of Sulo: The Philippine Studies Initiative at New York University. His previous books include Bundok: A Hinterland History of Filipino America (University of North Carolina Press, 2024), and barangay: an offshore poem (Buckrider Books, 2021). This new book is published by University of Washington Press. The website for more is at www.adriandeleon.ca. We spoke one week ago with Adrian joining me from New York City. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Adrian De Leon; Professor De Leon, good morning.  

The post Adrian De Leon first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The writer and broadcaster Steve Burgess discusses his new book Cheapskate in Lotusland: The Philosophy and Practice of Living Well on a Small Budget (Douglas & McIntyre, 2026), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Cheapskate in Lotusland

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.  

Steve Burgess joins me again. He’s written a terrific new book, Cheapskate in Lotusland: The Philosophy and Practice of Living Well on a Small Budget. It looks at how we all view money and how we spend it. Some of us are spendthrifts, while admitting to wanting to be thriftier. Our habits are changing because of the inflation around us, but not quickly enough. Certainly not as fast as Steve, who seems to be ahead of a lot of this. He does some research in the book as to consumerism and our reaction to it. He’s looked at the price of things like food, and how manufacturers as well as the grocery outlets throughout the country make their money off of us.  Steve has lived well in his over three decades in Vancouver, without making a lot. And the book provides marvelous insight into how he’s lived, and sometimes it’s amusing, but there’s a lot of wisdom too. The hope as one reads the book is that readers will glean some practical advice that just might give us a little more financial security; and we certainly could use some nowadays. Steve Burgess is a writer and broadcaster, who has received two Canadian National Magazine Awards. He is a contributing editor at The Tyee, and an award-winning documentary director. His previous books include Reservations: The Pleasures and Perils of Travel, which was longlisted for the Leacock Medal, and Who Killed Mom? His work has appeared in such publications as Reader’s Digest, Maclean’s, and The Globe and Mail. This new book is published by Douglas & McIntyre. We spoke nearly two weeks ago. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Steve Burgess; Mr. Burgess, good morning.  

The post Steve Burgess first appeared on thecommentary.ca.