HBO Canada is premiering a new half-hour series, Sensitive Skin, on Sunday, July 20, 2014 starring Kim Cattrall (Golden Globe® Award winner and Emmy® Award nominee) as Davina, and Don McKellar (Tony Award® winner) as her husband Al.
The pair play a couple that has been married for 30 years and who recently moved from their comfortable family home in a wealthy suburb into a modern condo in bustling downtown Toronto. There they make a conscious effort to keep relevant, and begin again.
Davina soon finds that all their efforts do nothing to address the emptiness she feels inside while Al happily embraces the change; he has always followed Davina’s lead. Her questionable choices lead her to a better understanding of who she is at this point in her life, but at the cost of the one thing that was keeping her sane: her marriage.
HBO Canada subscribers get to watch all six episodes consecutively when the “binge watch” worthy series premieres on Sunday. I had the chance to catch up with Kim and Don in Vancouver this week to find out a bit more about this passion project:
Sensitive SKin on HBO Canada
Sensitive Skin is based on a British series of the same name and Kim first met BBC 2’s head of comedy, Jon Plowman (Absolutely Fabulous, The Office) while she was doing a play (David Mamet’s The Cryptogram) in London’s West End. The initial meeting was to discuss doing a series and he then put her in touch with Hugo Blick, who produced Sensitive Skin in the UK.
“I watched all six episodes, it was my first binge experience and I loved it,” Kim told me while we all sat around a table in MARKET by Jean-Georges at the Shangri-La on Alberni Street. She shopped the series around, got it in development at HBO in America, but it wasn’t until she met Don McKellar, who also directs all six episodes, that the series began to take shape in Canada.
“I felt so instinctually from the very beginning that [Don] and I would work well together.” ~ Kim Cattrall
“We met and a friend suggested we take it to Rhombus where Don has worked exclusively. We talked about how Don would be fantastic as Al, to play my husband, and I also thought they he would really make a great director.” The pair then brought on Bob Martin as a collaborator who adapted all of the scripts, and also has a role in the series. “We were like the three Musketeers working together,” said Kim as Don added, “And that was it, we were off!”
The series began shooting in Toronto last fall and as it wasn’t shot in sequence, it gave cast and crew the feeling of working on a feature film, which to Kim makes this Sunday feel like their opening weekend.
As for HBO Canada releasing all of the episodes at once Don said it will be a very different television experience. “Normally when you do a TV series and you start airing it, it takes a long time to get any response from people. We’re going to have people who have seen them all and who will talk about the ending by Monday.”
Both enjoyed working on the series and described the passion of all involved, especially since they were working with a shoestring budget. “It was great because we had control, and people wanted to do it, and people had their input,” said Don.
“It’s very funny, and it’s very clever, and I think the writing and the adapting is brilliantly done. Don took from the original show and just opened it up.”
~ Kim Cattrall
Although the show is set and filmed in Toronto, the same geographical issues can be applied to anywhere, especially Vancouver, and the underlying theme of making changes in life and growing older are universal. Whatever the audience’s takeaways might be, Kim said that first and foremost she wants you to be entertained.
“What I found as an actor to be really gratifying is to find aspects of myself and what I’m dealing with and really incorporate them in a very personal, in some ways – I didn’t realize this at the time but – profound ways for me. Those scenes where she’s examining herself are very personal moments, private moments. It was great to exercise those through my work in that way.”
Don agreed, “That’s when you know that your work – for me at least – that’s when you know your work has some meaning. When you feel invested personally or exposed, even when people don’t know how much of course or they’re not aware of it.”
Follow Sensitive Skin and HBO Canada on Twitter for the latest updates and to share your thoughts when you hunker down for a marathon screening session this weekend. Tune into HBO Canada or you can also watch via TMN GO, Shaw Go Movie Central app, Bell TV app, Telus Optik on the go, and on demand platforms.
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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Review — This is not a paid post. Views are my own. Our tour was compliments of Harbour Air as a part of a charter with the BC Shellfish Festival. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
There’s the feeling of adventure you get while taking a floatplane flight. Skipping along the water before taking off and flying just high enough to top the Lions Gate Bridge or the tallest timber in Stanley Park. Waching the pilot’s careful movements, taking photos of a propeller spins so quickly it’s nearly impossible for the iPhone to capture it, and landing alongside boats in a bay with a friendly harbour seal popping up to greet you.
John and I participated in a flight around the Comox Glacier with Harbour Air earlier this season when we were in the area for the BC Shellfish Festival and I have to say, a scenic tour has never been so fun. Climbing to 6,000ft, from the tips of the Salish Sea’s waves to the snow-capped peaks that surround the Comox Glacier. One minute you’re looking out the window at clearcut pastures and lakes, and the next there’s a giant pillar of rock just off the tip of the wing. We definitely had our cameras our for this unique ride:
Harbour Air offers several scenic tours around Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, Nanaimo, and Sechelt. The Comox Glacier Tour is not on the regular schedule but it can be requested. The tour was just 20 minutes long but it was absolutely thrilling to experience.
It’s been 10 years since the first Harry Potter film was released and 17 since the first book hit store shelves in the United Kingdom. However the made-up game of quidditch (well, Muggle Quidditch) is gaining momentum, especially in Vancouver. Local leading social media dashboard company HootSuite has a quidditch team, as does tech company Mobify, Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, and other organizations around town.
There’s even a National Organization of Quidditch in Canada. “Our brooms don’t fly and our Golden Snitch is in fact just a person with a tennis ball attached to the back of their shorts, but the magic is real.”
Follow the International Quidditch Association Global Games on Twitter for more information and find the full 2014 Global Games Quidditch schedule online.
Theatre Under the Stars (“TUTS”) returns to the historic Malkin Bowl at Stanley Park for a new summer season of musicals. In one of the most beautiful venues in the city, you can enjoy two shows this season under the cool canopy in Stanley Park.
Legally Blonde: The Musical and SHREK: The Musical are on now (alternating nights) until August 23, 2014 and thanks to TUTS, I have a pair of tickets to give away to each, starting with Legally Blonde.
Pretty-in-pink princess Elle Woods can handle anything. When her boyfriend, Warner, breaks her heart and dumps her, she decides to follow him to Harvard Law School and win him back. With some help from her new-found friends and her chihuahua Bruiser, she learns that it’s so much better to be smart than pretty. Full of irresistible song and dance, this blonde-tastic musical was the hit of 2013!
Going to TUTS is unlike any other theatre experience in Vancouver. Mainly, there’s no roof – you’re outside at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. This allows for offerings like a grilled salmon dinner or the option to bring your own picnic. I attended my first TUTS performance last summer and put together the following tips for maximum enjoyment:
While the sun is shining and temperatures are high, it does cool off quite a bit at night. You can bring blankets in or light jacket like a hoodie for after the show.
You can also pick up some seat cushions on site (by donation) for comfort as the seats are just plastic patio furniture.
You are in the middle of a sloped grassy field in the park so an application of bug spray is recommended.
Dress is casual, I even saw some sweatpants last night, but I’d say jeans are fine.
Just past the entrance there is a “TUTS Museum” with programs, posters, and costumers from decades of TUTS at Malkin Bowl. It’s worth browsing around to get a sense of the history of this Vancouver institution.
Jocelyn Gauthier is Elle Woods. Photo Credit: Tim Matheson
Win Tickets to Legally Blonde: The Musical
Here’s how you can enter to win a pair of tickets to see Legally Blonde: The Musical this season from TUTS and Miss604:
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RT to enter to win tickets to #LegallyBlonde @tutsvancouver from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/z92I1
I will draw one winner next Monday, July 21, 2014 at 12:00pm. Follow Theatre Under the Stars (“TUTS”) on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
The Surrey Night Market joins the lineup of open-air, summertime markets loaded with local merchants, food vendors, and live entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights.
When: Open as of July 5th, until August 30th. Fridays and Saturdays from 6:00pm to 11:00pm.
Admission: $2 for adults, children (under the height of 48″) are free when accompanied by their families.
Location: Across from the Agriplex Complex, within the Cloverdale Exhibition Grounds, at 17726 62 Avenue, Surrey. Free parking is available.
The first weekend of the Surrey Night Market saw an impressive attendance of about 7,500 people, which caused organizers to provide additional parking, ticket booths, and other amenities to accommodate crowds.
According to the website, the following types of food can all be sampled from Surrey Night Market vendors: “Western, Chinese, Nepalese, Mediterranean, Philippines, Vietnamese, Fijian, African, Pakistani, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, Latin American, Korean, First Nations, Greek, and Indian cuisines and dishes, Burgers, Hotdogs, Sandwiches, Subs, Deli Sandwiches, Soups, Fish & Chips, Salads, Wraps, Poutine, Fries, Chicken Tikkas & Pakoras, Veg Pakoras, Fish Pakoras, BBQ, Ribs, Samosas, Curries, Sweets, Jalebies, Chaat, Alloo Tikki, Gol Gappe, Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Waffles, Kulfi, Puri, Kulche, Dosse, Idli, Sambar, Uttapam, Tea, Lassi, Pop Corn, Mini-Donuts, Cup Cakes, Baker’s products, Coffee, Smoothies, Slurpies, Shakes, Lemonade, Fresh Juice, Fresh Fruit and others.”
The performance schedule is posted on the website in advance (currently last weekend’s calendar is posted). Follow the Surrey Night Market on Facebook and Twitter for more information, news, and updates.
Legally Blonde: The Musical and SHREK: The Musical are on now (alternating nights) until August 23, 2014 and thanks to TUTS, I have a pair of tickets to give away to each, starting with Legally Blonde.
