The Buzz – Reviews

Cooking 4 Kids with Undead Newlyweds

Undead Newlyweds—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

A fun bit of children’s comedy from an outdoor Cube stage staple. The parents of some die-hard fans in the audience assured Jenny that, unlike some performers who can be found on both stages, the Undead Newlyweds offer something that is not merely a reworking of their other show. Their act also takes advantage of the indoor stage with a complimentary setting to their excellent costume and makeup design. The show looks great, is well-paced, and is somewhat innovative with the traditional audience-participation that is largely expected at Kids Venue. I suspect that school-aged children will appreciate that a little more is asked of their attention than to look at something shiny that is being juggled, which is a common trope at this venue which the Undead Newlyweds do not fall into.

Ashley Frantik

Airborn(e)

Alien Dreams Production—CCFM Salle Pauline-Boutal

The fun of the Fringe is finding surprise gems like this. I Loved it! And so did the audience. If you are tired of lineups and want to be assured of getting in, this venue is huge (and freezing!). Of particular note, three tweens in the audience seemed particularly pleased and laughed heartily throughout. So if you have a bored kid at home, too old for the Kids Fringe, this PG show is the perfect solution.

I was super impressed with the talents of the two actors Jacques Leger and Karam Daoud. They play off each other flawlessly and excel in playing numerous clever characters that are well defined, developed, and extremely amusing. I particularly loved the insane villain and their crazy plots. Another highlight was the unseen airline announcer; who voiced exactly the frustrating truth about air travel we all feel with brutal honesty, and airlines who don’t give a hoot about their customers. This is very cleverly written, perfectly executed and I highly recommend! Wonderful!

Lisa Campbell

Report. Distort. Retort.

Alembic Theatre Creations—The Rachel Browne Theatre

Every season, as a Jenny Reviewer, people come to me and ask what the best shows are. I always answer the same way: “read the Jenny!” Most of the masses look for the ultra-popular outings that they can find through the ubiquitous stars (or fishes) ratings in mainstream media. Then you get the hardcore Fringers who want me to tell them about the hidden gems. “I don’t care about the five-fish shows; tell me about the good ones that are just below the surface of the ocean.”Last year, one of my favourite under-appreciated shows was put on by Jade Janzen, for their brutal honesty and bravery in how it feels to get along in this book-shelved world. Janzen returns this year with Report.Distort.Retort and I highly anticipated what would come this year.

Happy to see more of the wonderfully fluid dancing, especially when you expect tall, lanky people to be clunky and awkward. There’s also more edgy commentary and of course, the requisite playing with the beautiful mop of hair. Most importantly, I saw more of the raw emotion that comes from some who’s seen the lifelong challenges that Jenzen has.

Here’s a diamond-in-the-rough folks—go get it.

Ray Yuen

Stroke of Luck 2

Circus and Storytelling—The Rachel Browne Theatre

A revision of last year’s stroke of luck, exploring local circus performer Vincent champagne’s stroke and recovery back to performing. This time, we explore the role his girlfriend Salem Haber played in his life, his mindset, and the crucial support she provided to allow him to even begin the work to heal. Spanning their entire replacement, and the travails they faced in order to get here today, Salem joins Vincent this time in telling the story, and performing the circus tricks that a stroke stole from Vincent. Truly heartfelt and personal, the delivery was marred by some lack of polish, a few lines posing trouble and causing stumbles. It is ultimately an inspiring tale, just one a bit rough around the edges.

Josh Fidelak

CIRCUS!

Mr. Circus Productions—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

The visually appealing set pieces and use of lighting in this Kids Venue show sets a lovely stage in a way that is sometimes overlooked in a street performance style show. That the performer literally sets the stage at the top, however, isn’t interesting enough to justify skipping a pre-set. The show was a little slow to start and was reminiscent of how this busker likely draws a crowd for an outdoor performance, which is an unnecessary technique for an indoor theatre. Some of his young audience got a little fidgety waiting for things to get going.

A large, audience-participation parade chaotically disrupted the show once it did kick off, and perhaps could be re-imagined to be more engaging, and worth breaking the flow. Trying to include all the children in the performance was an admirable goal, but didn’t seem to work out as well as intended.

Overall, kids will enjoy the standard offering of circus tricks, including opportunities to be called up to help hand off props and an ever-popular exhibition of machete juggling.

Ashley Frantik

My Grandmother’s Eyepatch

Clowns Can Dance—MTC Up the Alley

Heartfelt memorial for a beloved Grandmother or an opportunity to show off your awesome talents to your family? The character of Julia VanderVeen chooses the later. The performer Julia VanderVeen shows off her awesome talents to the crowd in a wild ride of physical comedy, singing and dialogue.

I don’t want to ruin any of the constantly surprising parts of the show, but I will say I thought I had an idea what might happen with one of the key props on stage. I was right, but then she went to a level no one could have expected, leaving everyone laughing and stunned.

Obligatory audience participation warning.

Murray Hunter

A Woman’s Guide to Peeing Outside

Holly M Brinkman—MTC Up the Alley

The title really seemed clever and a fun premise. The program promised laughter and tears. Definitely laughter, certainly no tears. Holly Brinkman from Victoria has the acting chops, is smooth and comfortable on stage; and relates well to her audience. The problem for me was there was really no substance. The play wasn’t hilarious, neither thought-provoking. It’s quickly forgotten, which is a shame as I know she’s capable of more. I get the feeling this was put together in haste. Women leaving the show were incredulous, as was I, that she had suggested a one piece outfit for ease of peeing! We were all commenting that a dress was far superior. If you’re going to do a play on the subject, you should be giving good advice. Not a bad effort nor a stellar one.

Lisa Campbell

New Wave Your Behaviour

Hamilton 7—John Hirsch Mainstage

Hailing from Hamilton, we join Tor Lukasik-Foss in exploring his mental illness, and learning to grow and heal through the new wave characterizations he creates for his psyche. Deeply engrossing and heartfelt, the storytelling is extremely strong, with fantastic vocal character and utilization of the stage. Interspersed with catchy new wave music numbers (which are available for digital streaming, if that sort of thing is your bag), Tor managed to get the whole crowd singing along with his final number, a real feat and great example of the power of the show.

Josh Fidelak

Fly Through Time with Leapin’ Louie

Leapin’ Louie Comedy Productions—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

Wildlife biology meets rodeo circus in this stunt-based children’s show that examines the natural and human history of flight. Leapin’ Louie has a great rapport with the kids from the get-go and gently guides them through his audience-participation routines and lightly educational content without pandering.

As Lichtenstein also practices his craft at the outdoor stage at The Cube, he is a natural at breezing past unpredictable hiccups that were only notable to this grown-up reviewer, as an indeterminate malfunction meant skipping ‘birds’ on the timeline. Given the theme of the show, this should have been conspicuous. That the target audience was too delighted by the large-scale soaring props and fascinating images of real-life critters to notice the omission speaks volumes about this performer’s ability to work his young crowd.

Ashley Frantik

Nuit

Trip the Light Theatre Collective—The Rachel Browne Theatre

A friend of mine recently said they didn’t see Fringe shows because they heard it is all stuff that no one gets. I can see this as one of those shows that some people “would not get.” To me, it was quite transparent, but even if you don’t get it, who cares? Just have a good time! The songs are catchy, and the skits are entertaining. I expected a lot more interpretive dance but that’s part of Fringe: you don’t always get what you imagine, but so long as you enjoy what’s there, what more can you ask?

Ray Yuen