“Giving yourself over to The Black Rider is like consenting to rough sex. It may bruise you, but you will like it. ...extreme – and seductive. Let them take you.”
-Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight, 2008

“Kevin Corey leads an outstanding ensemble... so tightly designed and so fiercely energetic, you'll hardly notice that the play doesn't stop for intermission. So gorgeously designed, you'll not know which way to look.”
-Michael Harris, The Globe and Mail (3 ½ stars), 2008

“…Exhilarating cast. Extraordinary music effortlessly performed by six very talented actors / singers / dancers / gymnasts.  A dynamic evening’s entertainment.”
-Denys Lynde, CTR (Canadian Theatre Review) 2006

“BLACK RIDER A PUNISHING BEAUTY.  It was so bloody intense that I could barely take notes.  November Theatre’s production of The Black Rider is so extreme, so macabre, so fucking vivid that for about the first 20 minutes I felt in danger of sensory and emotional overload.  It’s director Ron Jenkins’ no-holds-barred, relentlessly thorough realization of the text that puts The Black Rider among the most memorable shows I’ve ever seen. … a punishing, exhilarating bang.”
-Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight, Vancouver 2005

“REVIEWER GETS BLOWN AWAY BY THE BLACK RIDER. The Black Rider is shaping up to be one of the big events of the current theatre season. November Theatre’s celebrated staging of this outlandish musical-comedy nightmare is shot through with a hellish gaiety. This is postmodernism at its most playful. Musicals don’t get more intriguing than this.”
-Martin Morrow, Fast Forward, Calgary 2004

“Nothing short of remarkable; you can't miss this visually stunning, perversely funny and wickedly Gothic musical. you'll contemplate a Faustian deal of your own to see this 90 minute operetta one more time.”
-Bartley Kives, Winnipeg Free Press 2000

“I don't have enough superlatives to describe my admiration for this demonic confection.  If you have to, make a pact with the devil to see this dark dazzle. It's worth the cost of submission.”
-Robert Enright, CBC Radio and TV 2000

“Darkly seductive.”
-Alexandra Gill, The Globe and Mail 1998

“…one of the most exciting shows that came to town. The Black Rider was so stylishly Mephistophelean, so darkly funny that I went twice - a rare occurrence.”
-Jo Ledingham, Vancouver Courier (Best of 2005)

“HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A TOM WAITS MUSICAL. Look up, way up. Edmonton's November Theatre has raised the bar so high with this show, that every company in town is going to be scrambling to keep up. …director Ron Jenkins pulls the show's strings-and, oh, what lovely strings. Surprise follows surprise. …songs that are dark, darkly funny or ironically sentimental… Not easy to describe, The Black Rider is much more than The Rocky Horror Picture Show, owing something to cabaret, Faust, Kurt Weill and German Expressionism. It's completely fascinating, stylish and Mephistophelean. See it if you can; tickets are going like a bat outta hell.”
-Jo Ledingham, Vancouver Courier 2005

“A big, bold, stylish Ron Jenkins production…  with heightened acting and ingenious markers... hugely entertaining.  The six-actor cast is zestful, sharp, and sharply choreographed.”
–Liz Nicholls, Edmonton Journal, 2004

“Very simply, it is fabulous—one of the most innovative, exciting, and entertaining shows to visit here in many a full moon. …relentlessly brilliant theatricality. Ron Jenkins’s direction is endlessly inventive and his design team constantly fills the stage with visual and aural spectacle. Marie Nychka’s choreography is terrific. My senses were just buzzing throughout this show, and the grin never left my face. The performances range from wonderful to superb. The Black Rider sets the bar very high for the rest of the PuSh Festival. It reminds us just how dynamic, original, even mind-blowing live theatre can be. Rumour is that the show is already sold out for its short run. But even if you have to scalp a ticket, try to see this amazing piece of theatre.”
-Jerry Wasserman, Vancouver Plays 2005

“THE BLACK RIDER IS SPOOKTACULAR.  The Black Rider is out there somewhere on the edges of modern theatre.  [A] terrific piece of avant-garde entertainment from [November Theatre]… Jenkins effectively uses elements of circus freak show, German Weimar Cabaret and expressionist theatre pushing his performers to the limits – both vocally and physically. This is theatre to the extreme, with lots of street cred.  Engaging, visually creative and delivered with great conviction, The Black Rider is extraordinary, cool and bizarre.”
-Colin MacLean, Edmonton Sun 2005

“Vividly realized; The Black Rider is shot through with moments of fiendish hilarity and invention. It's wildly entertaining; steeped in rich language and a visual wonderland of colour and shadow that looks like something David Lynch might dream. Breathtaking and bold, at turns funny and sad, this is a must see”
-Kevin Williamson, Edmonton Sun, 2000

“The cast is jaw-droppingly proficient in every respect... I urge you to go”
-Steven Schelling, Westender, Vancouver 2008

“It reminds us just how dynamic, original, even mind-blowing live theatre can be. One of the coolest, strangest and best shows to come through here in many a blood-red moon. A mind-blowing must-see.”
-Jerry Wasserman, The Province (#1 pick of the week 3 weeks in row) 2008

“Best Chance To Blow Your Mind. It was so intense that it fried my emotional and sensory circuits. It's one of the best shows I've ever seen... The acting in this mounting is so refined that it would please Satan himself”
-Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight 2008

“Insane creativity… this November Theatre production [is] so wildly intense that when I saw the show at the PuSh festival in 2005, I almost couldn’t stand it. Target Audience: Anybody who’s up for the theatrical equivalent of an evening of tequila shooters.”
-Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight, Vancouver (Critics’ Pick – Fall Preview) 2007

“Wildly original... sheer visual brilliance... a hypnotic treat. Get yourself hooked.”
-Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun 2008

“DEVILISHLY DEEP... rivetting...”
-Stuart Derdeyn, The Province 2008

“darkly comic, fantastically entertaining, genre-defying hybrid.”
-Jo Ledingham, Vancouver Courier 2008

“A tour de force”
-John Jane, Review Vancouver 2008

“...the play has captured my imagination... downright explosive. The play had me enthralled and bewildered for the full, 100 wide-eyed and clenched-fisted minutes of it. The inventive genius of The Black Rider is in its expressionist telling; it was surely the thing that knocked me out of my seat, astonished... nothing short of impressive.”
-Deanne Beattie, The Peak 2008

“A fantastical piece of musical theatre. Fantastical and fantastic!”
-Chris Treasik, CBC Radio, St. John’s 2006

“The most technically impressive of the visiting shows [was] The Black Rider.  The pyrotechnics of its presentation were stunning.”
-Gordon Jones, The Telegram (Best of 2006), St. John’s

 

“You cannot even consider missing The Black Rider, unless you want to miss images, episodes, techniques and music that will remain permanently in your theatrical memory bank.”
-Gordon Jones, The Telegram, St. John’s 2005

“TEN STANDOUTS FROM A SOLID YEAR ON STAGE:
1. The Black Rider. Edmonton’s November Theatre set the bar very high for the rest of the year, opening the PuSh Festival with this macabre little musical about a young couple and the devil. Based on a German folk tale with script by William S. Burroughs, music by Tom Waits and endlessly imaginative theatricality.”
-Jerry Wasserman, The Province, Vancouver (Best of 2005)

“TOP FIVE MOMENTS TO REMEMBER FROM THE WORLD OF THE ARTS:
3. The Black Rider.  Edmonton’s November Theatre kicked off the PuSh Festival with William S. Burroughs, Tom Waits and Robert Wilson’s wild cabaret ride through a dark German folk tale.”
-Stuart Derdeyn, The Province, Vancouver (Best of 2005)

“HOLD ON TIGHT FOR A DEVIL OF A RIDE.  The most compelling, sharp-edged piece of theatre I've seen at the festival.  A knockout in conception and execution.”
-Liz Nicholls, Edmonton Journal, 2000

“I have been to hell and back and enjoyed every minute of the ride. This disturbing operetta may be the Fringe's only 'must see'. Devil be damned, The Black Rider be praised.”
-Antonio Sacre, Theatre Reviews Ltd., New York 1999

“The buzz on this show is so loud, my ears are still ringing, only this lives up to the hype. It is at once dark and hysterical, grand and personal a musical that makes up it's own rules. It is no wonder that The Black Rider has thus far been the top draw at Fringe NYC. When it's gone, it will be far too soon.”
-Peter Shaughnessy, Backstage.com, New York 1999

“Sharp, frightening and enthralling.  Pure black magic.”
-Dave Johnston, Vue Weekly 2000

“Executed Flawlessly.  I just can’t get enough of The Black Rider.  …cutting-edge cabaret-style musical (deftly directed by Ron Jenkins)… wonderfully rich text penned by absolute geniuses and performed by an ensemble boasting endless theatrical and musical control.  …highly stylized musical loaded with Brechtian overtones and flawlessly surreal directional interpretation edging into the carnivalesque.  It’s a freak show that lurks under all our skins.”
-Gilbert A Bouchard, See Magazine, Edmonton 2004

“A stylistic cryptogram that would make Guy Maddin smile.”
-Josef Braun, Vue Weekly, Edmonton 2004

“It’s a wild, wild ride… a very slick production.  It’s very, very well done.  It's like a dark circus.  It's a pretty wild thing.  The Devil’s Rubato Band do a marvelous job.  Terrific group of musicians.  Lovely, lovely songs that people will enjoy a great deal.”
-Bill Robertson, CBC Radio 2004

“BLACK RIDER A RARE TREAT.  There’s no need to read the fine print here: The Black Rider is sure to entertain theatre fans looking for something a little different.  Actually, a lot different.  It’s rare to see a play this adventurous on stage in Saskatoon.  The timing was perfect… the characters vividly drawn… brilliantly rendered.  Indeed, a cartoon spirit inhabits this production; despite its dark leanings, it’s often quite funny.  Ron Jenkins uses an anything-goes approach to create some amazing moments.  Only a multi-talented cast could pull this off, and there’s certainly one here.”
-Cam Fuller, The Star Phoenix, Saskatoon 2004

“MIND BLOWING... BRILLIANT PRODUCTION… I was blown away.  Vancouver may not have seen anything this original and so fully realized since Robert Lepage… a cross of Cabaret, The Threepenny Opera and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Musically, November Theatre achieves miracles with Corinne Kessel’s three-piece band.  When have so few achieved so much?”
-Martin Millerchip, North Shore News, Vancouver 2005

“The Threepenny Opera on acid, or Diane Arbus meets Moulin Rouge.”
-Jerry Wasserman, The Georgia Straight, Vancouver 2005

“THE BLACK RIDER IS A DEVILISHLY CLEVER SHOW. Grotesquerie doesn’t get much stranger than The Black Rider, a fascinating example of interdisciplinary insanity. This musical treat took off and soared.  Musical director, Corinne Kessel leads a remarkable trio in giving the Waits score its full due as a mix of accessible melody and Kurt Weill-style impressionism.  The whole show blends the benign and bizarre, stitching pretty tunes to dark words.  …a powerful piece… the first must-see event of 2005.”
-Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun 2005

“One of the Top 10 productions of the year.”
-Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun (Best of 2005)

“Cast members bring plenty of finely tuned energy, timing and winning pizzazz to their multiple singing roles.  Part grotesque operetta and part stylized circus-cabaret.  …remarkably lucid and entertaining black comedy.”
-Bob Clark, Calgary Herald 2004

“THE BLACK RIDER CASTS A DARK CLOUD OF AWESOME.  A chilling, thrilling and popcorn-spilling theatre production… a spine-tingling hour… densely bizarre play.  Every cast-member is terrific…  Overall, The Black Rider, is an entertaining and highly original play, oozing with just the right levels of dark humour, toe tapping tunes and minimalist imagery.  The small cast of six accomplish more than many productions ten-times its size.”
-Jesse Locke, The Reflector, Calgary 2004

“BLACK RIDER HAS DEVIL’S WIMSY… unexpected brilliance.  In this suave and maniacally untamed operetta, expressive meets expressionist, macabre meets mime and the mischievous lyricism of Tom Waits meets the bitter criticisms of William Burroughs.  Moments of hilarity and exceptional creativity hit hard and constantly throughout, making this romp through a wonderland soaked in highly entertaining colours.  It's a play not about to go away just because it's bedtime. Rocking the house with unexpected power, The Black Rider is straight from the night.”
-Paul Jarvey, The Gauntlet, Calgary 2004

“A surreal, spell-bounding and unforgettable play…”
-Yolande Cole, Beat Route, Calgary 2004

“Yet again we had a gay old time with the devil and the denizens of a dark and mysterious forest. Bizarre, discordant, fascinating, this Tom Waits/William S. Burroughs celebrates all things Beat, all things expressionistic and all those delightfully dark impulses nice people never admit to. Who needs Marianne Faithful when you can watch Michael Scholar Jr.’s take on Pegleg?”
-Eva Marie Clarke, See Magazine (Best of 2004)

“One of my favourite productions: Black Rider”
-Colin MacLean, Edmonton Sun (Best of 2004)

“The Black Rider by Edmonton’s November Theatre was my personal fave, thanks both to its terrific Tom Waits score and its vibrant production.”
-Martin Morrow, Fast Forward, Calgary (Best of 2004)

“Bleak, beautiful, melodious/cacophonous… On the whole the cast is brilliant… overall magic.”
-Alan Hindle, Only Magazine, Vancouver 2005

“#1 pick on top 10 things to do this week”
-Christine Cowen, TV Week, Vancouver 2005

“November Theatre delivered the piece with leering precision.  The show’s music component was killer.  The ‘Devil’s Rubato Band’ gave a fearsome workout that would have had Mr. Waits himself growling with glee.”
-Penelope Mulligan, Discorder, Vancouver 2005

“IT’S BLACK, BEAUTIFUL. …beautifully directed… a triumph… Think of a bizarre-world cross between Cabaret and The Threepenny Opera. …a wonderfully decadent atmosphere. The cast is uniformly strong. A terrific musical trio adds immeasurably to the proceedings. …a strange Brechtian romp.”
-Adrian Chamberlain, Times Colonist, Victoria 2005

“The Black Rider has yet to miss its mark.”
-John Threlfall, Monday Magazine, Victoria 2005

“A Coo-coo clock on acid.”
-Andrea Dupuis, The Martlet, Victoria 2005

“...amazingly strong performances… a lesson on ingenuity and resourcefulness that I haven't witnessed since William Head prison's production of The Elephant Man.”

-Jesse Ladret, Brand X Media, Victoria 2005

On Over a Dozen Year End Top Ten Lists

-CBC Radio (Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, St. John’s, Saskatoon, Vancouver)
-Edmonton Journal
-Vue Weekly
-Vancouver Sun

“TEN STANDOUTS FROM A SOLID YEAR ON STAGE:
1. The Black Rider. Edmonton’s November Theatre set the bar very high for the rest of the year, opening the PuSh Festival with this macabre little musical…”

-Jerry Wasserman, The Province (Best of 2005), Vancouver

“…one of the most exciting shows that came to town. The Black Rider was so stylishly Mephistophelean, so darkly funny that I went twice - a rare occurrence.”

-Jo Ledingham, Vancouver Courier (Best of 2005)

“The most technically impressive of the visiting shows (was) The Black Rider. The pyrotechnics of its presentation were stunning.”

-Gordon Jones, The Telegram (Best of 2006), St. John’s

“The Black Rider by Edmonton’s November Theatre was my personal fave, thanks both to its terrific Tom Waits score and its vibrant production.”

-Martin Morrow, Fast Forward, Calgary (Best of 2004)

“TOP FIVE MOMENTS TO REMEMBER FROM THE WORLD OF THE ARTS:
3. The Black Rider. Edmonton’s November Theatre kicked off the PuSh Festival with William S. Burroughs, Tom Waits and Robert Wilson’s wild cabaret ride through a dark German folk tale.”

-Stuart Derdeyn, The Province, Vancouver (Best of 2005)

“Yet again we had a gay old time with the devil and the denizens of a dark and mysterious forest. Bizarre, discordant, fascinating, this Tom Waits/William S. Burroughs celebrates all things Beat, all things expressionistic and all those delightfully dark impulses nice people never admit to. Who needs Marianne Faithful when you can watch Michael Scholar Jr.’s take on Pegleg?”

-Eva Marie Clarke, See Magazine (Best of 2004)

“One of my favourite productions: The Black Rider.”

-Colin MacLean, Edmonton Sun (Best of 2004)