The Buzz – Reviews – 2016

Shakespeare Crackpot

Doctor Keir Co.—Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall (UofW)

Keir Cutler is back with a thought provoking monologue, this time taking on the bard himself (or should I say the illusion of the bard). This show was not what I was expecting. I did not expect to listen to a thought provoking conspiracy monologue asking the question “did Shakespeare write his own plays?” While the play does dwell on this for most of the show, the focus slowly shifts to examining our higher education system and if it really is turning us into critical thinkers. It was fascinating material that brought up a lot of good points. Cutler’s passion for his work and hilarious facial expressions make this play engaging and funny. While all this is very good there were a few points I felt myself starting to drift off in thought. This is tough to avoid in a monologue show, especially one that is an hour long. In the end I left asking myself questions I never thought I would. As a whole, Culter’s show achieved what good theatre is supposed to do. It challenged and made me reflect on ideals I once considered solid. If you go into this play with an open mind to the other side of the coin Cutler presents, then you will leave as exactly what he wants, a critical thinker.

Kaitlyn Kriss

The Seminar with Madge and Taffy

Glitter Gizzard—The Rachel Browne Theatre

The cheeky show starts off with a dream jar and you’re not quite sure what you’re in for—all you know is that the characters are a little wacky. Since the jar holds the dreams of the audience, I expect a bit of improv and perhaps some fortune-telling.

I won’t spoil anything for you but quickly, your dreams dissipate and you journey with the girls to hell. They depict hell in an unexpected medium and entertain you throughout with this cutesy adventure. I still giggle when I think of the shrimps.

This is a fun show and highly recommended if you’re in the mood for a light and whimsical joyride.

Ray Yuen

Paradise Lost

Rabbit in a Hat Productions—School of Contemporary Dancers

This is a 45-minute one-man show from Paul Van Dyck of Toronto. It had elevated, complex language throughout, and while that itself can be appreciated, it made this play a little hard to follow. Was some of the script taken directly from John Milton? The two basic parts of this story are well-known. The first is Satan’s defiance of God and his consequent exile from heaven with his other fallen angels. The second is Satan’s meddling with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, leading to their own Fall. Of course, Milton took a few lines from the Bible and greatly elaborated upon them, creating his monumentally long work.

In the first part of this production, recounting Satan’s fall, Dyck often speaks into an old-style microphone on a stand, like some sort of demagogue from the first half of last century. Sometimes voice modification is used to achieve a truly demonic-sounding voice, and it made me think of the leaders who promise the world but end up doing unspeakable damage to it instead. In the second part, Dyck uses two puppets to represent Adam and Eve, and voices both parts, as well as the demon who talks to Eve.

This production also uses excerpts, mostly instrumental, from a large selection of Rolling Stones songs as occasional musical accompaniment. Sometimes Dyck performs with his shirt on, sometimes with it off, and the significance of this wardrobe change was lost on me. Greater familiarity with the fine points of the source material definitely would have increased my appreciation of this show.

Konrad Antony

The Merry Men

Outsider Company—Asper Centre for Theatre and Film

Sherwood forest has come alive thanks to the misfits from outsider company. This quirky play paints Robin Hood, a not so great leader, and his band of caring empathetic wannabe thieves as they attempt to steal from Prince John and overthrow him. The small cast of four presents a modernized medieval tale with out of period jokes and whole heck of a lot of puns. This is definitely a safe bet for families wanting to attend the Fringe. While families may like it there were quite a few issues. The biggest one that stood out to me was in a scene where a stage hand walks out during a conversation between actors and hangs a line of clothes. Maybe it was intentional, but due to how some of the other set changes were handled I’m going to assume they forgot to place the most integral prop to that scene. It completely took myself out of the scene and looked very unpolished. The ending also fell really flat. I understand that they wanted to wrap up all of the character arcs, but the dialogue was sloppy and rushed. I left the theatre wishing that the order of scenes had been different or that another scene was added to tie everything together better. In short, the play was funny, with a few good one liners, but poor scenes changes and a disappointing ending left me feeling a little underwhelmed.

Kaitlyn Kriss

Peter ‘n’ Chris present: Here Lies Chris

PKF Productions—PTE – Mainstage

In this show Peter “accidentally” shoots his friend Chris and then decides to travel throughout the multiverse to find another Chris to replace him. In this process, we meet several different Chrises, most of whom are unacceptable to Peter for one reason or another. Some of these universes are visited with a single line of spoken dialogue and others make up large chunks of the show.

One universe provided probably the funniest prolonged scene I have ever seen in a Fringe show. Here Peter meets a self-proclaimed “cool” Chris, who wears a baseball cap backwards, won’t stop playing with his phone, and is extremely argumentative. Like an extended aside from the main show, Peter and this Chris move throughout the audience, bickering with each other, spitting out, “Can I talk to you over here?!” repeatedly, and getting other people involved in their verbal sparring. It felt like a real argument that was interrupting the main show, and it was hilarious to watch.

In a further universe, Peter meets another Chris, who tries to be funny but fails badly, making lame jokes, and so is deemed absolutely intolerable by him. Peter knows he must continue his quest. Finally he meets a suitable replacement Chris, but must deal with another Peter from that universe. This leads to another very entertaining part, as Peter plays both Peters at first, but Chris, feeling left out, argues that he should play one of the Peters. Finally we learn the real reason for the animosity between Peter and Chris that is manifested right across the multiverse. Not only is it emotionally charged moment, it feels like it might actually be based in reality for the performers – as opposed to the characters of – Peter and Chris.

Konrad Antony

Charlatan!

Travis Bernhardt —The Cinematheque

Charlatan is a perfect title for this show. The premise revolves around a Kreskin-like (I wonder how many people will know that reference?) ability to read audience members. You fill out a card as you enter and that’s the origin of the antics to come. My guard goes up immediately since the card asks for your full name.

If you’re a believer in all things mystical, you’ll sit through this trial with oohs and ahhs. If you’re a skeptic like me, you know that someone’s behind the scenes Facebooking your personal information. This whole act feels creepy to me.

Heed this as a warning: if you have no belief in the supernatural or the spiritual, you’re going to hate this show—just avoid it.

Ray Yuen

GET LOST jem rolls

big word performance poetry—The King’s Head Pub

I have seen and loved every performance by Fringe favorite, Jem Rolls. He is known for his loud, angry, insightful ranting, often without a mic. He shared his views of the world and society, and mostly, they both pissed him right off.

This is a new Jem. No rants, and with a mic and a whole new mellowed view of life. I always knew what to expect at his shows but was so delighted to see the same huge talent with a new outlook. The world no longer peeves him; it enchants him. The testy, irritated man has been replaced by a man who embraces the unknown, the unexpected. He shares the joy of getting lost in his extensive travels to more than 43 countries. He is a master of the spoken word, an experience not to be missed and an intelligent and astute world traveler.

I wanted to grab my passport and get lost!

Lisa Campbell

David Eliot Presents EVOLUTION – A Journey Through Magic

Eliot Entertainment—The Rachel Browne Theatre

If you live anywhere in the industrialised world, you’ve seen your share of card tricks and rope tricks. Whenever you watch a magic act, you expect one or two card tricks as a warmup before getting to the good stuff. So what’s the good stuff? Novel tricks, visual tricks, entertaining tricks: anything different and new.

Sadly, half of Eliot’s show relies on cards and another quarter relies on ropes. In fact, he only presents three tricks that are not rope or card-related, and one of them failed miserably while one other was only half successful. One out of three successful tricks = massive failure.

Even with the card and rope tricks, there’s more talk than magic. You sit tediously, spending more time listening to how he uses the trick and only a scant few minutes watching the actual trick.

I haven’t seen such a complete flop of a show in all my years of Fringing.

Ray Yuen

The Writing on the Stall

Fill The (W)hole—Dragon Arts Collective

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this show. As a man, my experience with washroom graffiti limits to curses, hate messages and the obligatory pictures of genitals. I had no idea that women’s washrooms housed graffiti as well, and absolutely no idea that their graffiti has meaning!

At the pensive level, this show takes me back to my Women’s Studies, gender differences courses. At the social level, I very much enjoy the inside view into what happens behind the door with the skirt. From either perspective, this enlightening show keeps me rapt the whole time. I can only guess but from a women’s perspective, I wonder if there are moments of remembrance and déjà vu?

The choreography needs a tune-up but otherwise, the dance scenes are entertaining but it’s the skits that excel in this excellent production. Warning, you need to climb 60 steps to get to this venue and there’s no air conditioning. A hand fan wouldn’t be a bad idea if it’s a hot day and you’re conditioning isn’t great.

Ray Yuen

The Elephant Girls

Parry Riposte Productions—MTC Up the Alley

This one woman show is the fascinating story of an all girl gang in London after WWI. The story is told by Maggie Hale, the enforcer of the group, as she reveals the gang’s exploits to an unseen person at a pub, later in her life. Margo MacDonald, who also wrote the play, draws you right in and holds you the whole way. A great feat of storytelling.

Murray Hunter