The lights in the Avon Theatre dim and the noise from more than a thousand students becomes silence. A man enters the stage and makes himself comfortable in the wingback chair meagerly lit by a single spot light.

Actor Tom McCamus plays the swing role of author J.M. Barrie and the evil Captain Hook in Peter Pan during his tenth season at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. The tale he and an exemplary cast weave exhibits the magic Stratford performances are...

The Cord spends time at Guelph's legendary annual music festival

For 27 years, one weekend in July has been set aside for hippies and non-hippies alike to gather together near Guelph for the Hillside Festival.

Held at the Guelph Lake island, Hillside has become one of the most notable and heavily anticipated festivals of the...

Graphics Editor Wade Thompson reflects on this year's Emmy nominations

I’m not quite sure that any single TV watcher out there can attest to this year’s Emmy nominations being “correct”, but I count myself among the many that can at least exclaim that this year’s contenders seem to be rather “safe”.

If you take a...

Billed with fellow Vancouver act This Is Franco, British Columbia talent hits Ontario

The Circus Room played host to Vancouver-based Kilmore Place on July 14 as part of a tour to promote their new album entitled ...What Happened?

Opening band This is Franco got it started and ripped through their set playing dynamic alternative pop rock. Lead singer...

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Jospeh Gorden-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine

Release Date: July 16, 2010

4/4

Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight, returns to the realm of the summer blockbuster with his latest film Inception. Inception is a sci-fi suspense thriller with a brilliant cast and intricate plotline. The storyline is strangely imaginative, yet leaves the audience on the edge of their seats, waiting for the next mind-blowing twist and...

Directed by: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud and Sergio Pablos

Starring: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russel Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher

Release Date: July 9, 2010

3/4

After two successful animated box-office films, Steve Carell hits the big screen again as the voice of Gru in this summer’s Despicable Me. But don’t expect to see another archetypal kid’s film – the odd-looking characters, quirky comments, hilarious voices and added touch of 3D viewing...

Elusive street artist Banksy delves into the world of documentary film and produces compelling results

Directed by Banksy

Release Date: May 2010 (limited)

4/4

Those familiar with the work of notorious graffiti artist Banksy would be correct in assuming that a film by him would be just as unconventional and mockingly elusive as his other work.

Indeed, Exit Through the...

Numerous concert videos from the Guelph music festival

Check out the following videos of performances by Jason Collet, Japandroids, Shad and Stars from the Hillside Festival in Guelph, Ontario.

The Cord was on the festival grounds all weekend. See the story in print and online on Wednesday morning.

Saturday July 24

Laurier alumnus Shad among those nominated

The Polaris Music Prize shortlisted nominees were announced yesterday, July 6.

The shortlist was compiled by a jury of over 200 Canadian journalists, including Canadian media mogul Alan Cross and CBC favourite Jian Ghomeshi.

The competition has now been narrowed down from the 40 artists...

Drake’s debut album is the first of many climaxes in a career that seems too crazy to believe. Less than a year and a half ago Drake—government name, Aubrey Drake Graham—was known for his role on the Canadian high school drama Degrassi: The Next Generation.

This week Drake released his first album and the hype is completely eclipsing that of Eminem’s Recovery. In overshadowing Marshall Mathers, one of the most important rap phenomena of the new millennium, the conclusion is...

From June 10 - 13 music fans came from far and wide to experience one of the fastest growing music festivals in North America and to see acts like Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z and Dave Matthews

For the ninth year in a row, an expansive farm in Manchester, Tennessee was converted into one of the biggest parties in the United States.

More than 80,000 people swarmed the Bonnaroo grounds to hear music, watch films and listen to the stand-up comedy of...

The Trotsky

Directed by: Jacob Tierny

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Michael Murphy

Release Date: 14 May 2010

Jacob Tierney’s The Trotsky is a comedy filled with everything you could expect from a teen movie, but it’s smart.

The film perfectly portrays what every high school student would want to be a part of if they had a revolutionary as a peer who could inspire the masses.

Jay Baruchel (How to Train Your Dragon, Knocked Up) effectively executes the role...

On June 2, over 100 anxious Star Trek fans piled into Kitchener’s Centre in the Square for an exciting musical performance, as the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony wooed the crowed with the familiar tunes of Star Trek from “Star Trek: The Music”.

The show was hosted by veteran Star Trek actors John de Lancie and Robert Picardo. Picardo began the performance by delivering the famous introductory monologue from the Star Trek TV program. De Lancie and Picardo’s witty commentary delivered historical Star...

Justin Rutledge rocked out June 1 at Starlight to promote his brand new album The Early Widows.

Before Rutledge took to the stage, Toronto band the Beauties got things started with their unique brand of indie rock, getting the crowd loosened up and moving in their seats. The Beauties rolled through nine songs off their debut album including “Fashion Blues”, “Wasting Time” and “Baby Outta Jail”. Delivering a slick and polished performance, the band played their diverse blend of country,...