On this episode, host Andrew Graves and VERY special guest Ari Lehman (the very first Jason Vorhees) speculative whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or sit and watch Lawrence Olivier’s classy horror flick Hamlet (1948). Together they muse on life death and the existential, and of course Friday the 1…

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Evita” at San Francisco Playhouse through September 7, 2024. The post Review: “Evita” at San Francisco Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and star of A Field in England (2013), Richard Glover, discuss that very film. Stuffing their gobs with mushrooms and going places they probably shouldn’t, the pair of them get to grips with Ben Wheatley, method acting, psychedelics, oh and the secret of the universe. You have been warned.…

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Lifespan of a Fact” at Aurora Theatre Company through July 21, 2024. The post Review: “The Lifespan of a Fact” at Aurora Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Mother Road” by Octavio Solis, at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre through July 21, 2024. The post Review: “Mother Road” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves, and guest John Harrison, get lost on the African veldt as they are pursued by tribesman who have few good intentions. The Naked Prey (1965), written, directed and starring Cornel Wilde, while not technically a horror film, does contain some of the most chilling death scenes ever put on camera, and it retains an …

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the touring production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company,” at BroadwaySF Orpheum Theater through June 23, 2024. The post Review: “Company” at BroadwaySF Orpheum appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and guest James Whittington, discuss the many fine attributes of NYX TV. The free to air channel, one the finest in terms of horror content, prides itself on offering a glorious and eclectic schedule of old favourites, foreign delicacies and more obscure delights. Together, the pair discuss past and upcoming NYX …

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Lehman Trilogy,” directed by Sam Mendes, at ACT Toni Rembe Theater through June 23, 2024. The post Review: “The Lehman Trilogy” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Galileo, A Rock Musical” at Berkeley Rep‘s Roda Theatre through June 23, 2024. The post Review: “Galileo” at Berkeley Rep Roda Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Torch Song” at Marin Theatre through June 2, 2024. The post Review: “Torch Song” at Marin Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, directed by Jeffrey Lo, at San Francisco Playhouse through June 15, 2024 The post Review: “The Glass Menagerie” at San Francisco Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and guest Barbie Wilde (Hellbound: Hellraiser II) spend a tense hour or so trying to pass the runes on to some other poor fool to free themselves from the claws of the oncoming nightmare. Night of the Demon (1957), directed by Jacques Tourneur and based on the short story by M.R. James, presents a dark tale of bl…

On the second of our Tea For Terror Specials, your host Andrew Graves and returning guest Dan Taylor, go back to bygone days to explore those childhood TV and movie traumas. Together they discuss creepy–arsed nostalgia pieces like Worzel Gummidge, Threads, Public Information films, The Nutty Professor (1963) and The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)…

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Blue Door” by Tanya Barfield, at Aurora Theatre Company through May 19th (streaming May 12th – 19th). The post Review: “Blue Door” at Aurora Theatre Company appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “A Strange Loop” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre through May 12, 2024. The post Review: “A Strange Loop” at ACT Toni Rembe Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and guest Jez Conolly, fins themselves ‘upgraded’ by the mysterious company to end up rubbing shoulders with a deeply troubled Rock Hudson’. Together they explore John Frankenhiemer’s existential horror, Seconds (1966), a weird, disturbing and utterly brilliant American chiller. Devastatingly bleak and completely…

KPFA Theater Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Tiger Style!” by Mike Lew, at TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through April 28, 2024. The post Review: “Tiger Style!” at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and guest Tim Dry (Xtro, Return of the Jedi) hover between life and death to explore the nightmarish world presented in Jacob’s Ladder (1990). Directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Tim Robbins, this odd psychological thriller is as strange as it is disturbing “…according to this, you’re already dead” You have been…

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Kristina Wong Sweatshop Overlord” at ACT Strand Theatre through May 5, 2024. The post Review: “Kristina Wong Sweatshop Overlord” at ACT Strand Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The 39 Steps” at San Francisco Playhouse through April 20, 2024. The post Review: “The 39 Steps” at San Francisco Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, the very first ‘Special’, host Andrew Graves and returning guest Darrell Buxton, take a long hard look at the life and films of Mr Murder himself Tod Slaughter. Before the rise of Hammer, Cushing and Lee etc. we had this quintessentially unrepentant rogue, arguably Britain’s first screen monster. His movies – usually cinematic adap…

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “The Far Country” by Lloyd Suh, at Berkeley Rep‘s Peets Theatre through April 14, 2024. The post Review: “The Far Country” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Queen” by Madhuri Shekar, at TheaterWorks Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto through March 31, 2024. The post Review: “Queen” at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and guest Emma Dark move into a new neighbourhood and immediately find themselves at odds with the paranoid residents. Together, they take solace by re-watching The ‘Burbs (1989), Joe Dante’s superb satire on American suburbia.By TeaForTerror

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews ‘Manahatta” at Aurora Theatre Company through March 10, 2024. The post Review: “Manahatta” at Aurora Theatre Company appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and guest Barbie Wilde (Hellbound: Hellraiser II) find themselves staying in an out of the way motel, where the manager seems to have an unhealthy fixation with dead birds and holes in bathroom walls. Join them as they avoid the shower and pick apart Hitchcock’s unquestionable classic Psycho (1960)…

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “My Home on the Moon” by Minna Lee at San Francisco Playhouse through February 24, 2024. The post Review: “My Home on the Moon” at San Francisco Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves once again comes face to face with NYX Channel rep, James Whittington. Together they discuss comedy horror, 80s movies and Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988).By TeaForTerror

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Cult of Love” at Berkeley Rep‘s Roda Theatre through March 3, 2024. The post Review: “Cult of Love” at Berkeley Rep Roda Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

KPFA Theatre Critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “MJ The Musical” at BroadwaySF‘s Orpheum Theater through February 25, 2024. The post Review: “MJ The Musical” at BroadwaySF Orpheum Theater appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Babes In Ho-lland” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stages, extended to February 10, 2024. The post Review: “Babes In Ho-lland” at Shotgun Players appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “How I Learned What I Learned” by August Wilson, at TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through February 3, 2024. The post Review: “How I Learned What I Learned” at TheatreWorks appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and guest Erika Bean try not to get killed after they accidentally watch a dodgy video copy of this week’s film of choice, Hideo Nakata’s Ring (1998). This spooky Japanese horror from the closing moments of the 20th century, still casts its shadow of hordes of American imitators and stands tall among the very bes…

KPFA Theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews the Broadway-bound revival of “The Wiz” at BroadwaySF Golden Gate Theatre through Feb. 11, 2024 The post Review: “The Wiz” at BroadwaySF Golden Gate Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and guest Robert Shearman inadvisably go out playing in the muddy hell of a working farm of the mid 1970s, where children routinely fall foul of rat poison, falling iron gates and cow shit stinking slurry pits. Together they explore the nasty world of the British public information film Apaches (1977). Bleak, unp…

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Just For Us” with Alex Edelman, at Berkeley Rep’s Peets Theatre through January 21, 2024. The post Review: “Just For Us” at Berkeley Rep Peets Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and Aaron Carruthers take an inadvisable trip to a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Beset by deadites, freezing cold temperatures and spattered with homemade blood, they try to make some sense of Sam Raimi’s spooky debut feature The Evil Dead (1981). What could possibly go wrong?…

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky discusses the year in theatre in the Bay Area in 2023, plus a top ten list and two honorable mentions. Text of the podcast. In the Bay Area, Live theatre companies continued in 2023 to adapt to the post-Covid world. While movie audience sizes seems to be returning to pre-pandemic numbers. live theater remains mo…

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and screen actor Simon Bamford (Butterball in Hellraiser/Hellbound: Hellraiser II) find themselves trapped in an old farmhouse. Its boiling hot, they’re surrounded by rotting corpses and the only thing on the menu is them. Despite their imminent peril, they still find the time to examine Tobe Hooper’s masterful h…

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and returning guest James Whittington (NYX, Legend, The Horror Channel) put on their Santa hats, load their sacks with various instruments of butchery and head off into Christmas Eve to examine Bob Clark’s seminal festive horror Black Christmas (1974). Often cited as being a major influence on the later slasher m…

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and Exploitation Retrospect head honcho Dan Taylor break into the lab to conduct some questionable experiments in order to resurrect the mid-80s American splatter movie Re-Animator (1985). This Stuart Gordon directed cult classic torn from the pages of H.P. Lovecraft, is a neon-lit, violent horror show which is b…

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and Jez Conolly find themselves struggling with the world’s worst case of deja vu as they get caught in the time-looped nightmare of Dead of Night (1945). This post-war Ealing Studio’s horror, provided the template for the anthology movie and pre-dated the gothic stylings of Hammer by a good 10 years. Weird, cree…

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Harry Clarke” at Berkeley Rep Roda Theatre through December 23, 2023. The post Review: “Harry Clarke” at Berkeley Rep Roda Theatre appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Guys & Dolls” at San Francisco Playhouse through January 13, 2023. The post Review: “Guys & Dolls” at SF Playhouse appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and John Harrison get all freaked out by David E Durston’s acid trip-rabies-horror, I Drink Your Blood (1970). Undoubtedly influenced by Night of the Living Dead (1968) but pre-dating Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left (1972), the movie is an uneven yet entertaining mix of violence, rabies and bad acting lac…

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “1984,” an adaptation of the George Orwell novel by Michael Gene Sullivan, directed by Barbara Damashek, at Aurora Theatre Company through December 10, 2023. The post Review: “1984” at Aurora Theatre Company appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and We Belong Dead editor Darrell Buxton go way back in time to unravel a tale of madness, manipulation and amputation in Tod Browning’s weird circus-set silent horror The Unknown (1927). They discuss flesh, fiends, Joan Crawford, and of course legendary screen shapeshifter, Lon Chaney.…

KPFA theatre critic Richard Wolinsky reviews “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage through December 30, 2023. The post Review: “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” at Shotgun Players Ashby Stage appeared first on KPFA.By KPFA

On this episode, host Andrew Graves and Jon Towlson, author of 40 Cult Movies don their best gas masks and tramp off to the Peak District to unpack kitchen sink horror Dead Man’s Shoes. Directed by Shane Meadows (This is England, A Room for Romeo Brass) and starring Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon, Hot Fuzz), it’s a dark and brooding serial ki…