Sapphire Butterfly Blue

MTYP’s Summer Studio—MTYP – Mainstage

Sapphire Butterfly Blue is a powerful production which plays at and is produced by Manitoba Theatre for Young People. It is set in 1692 at the onset of the Salem witch trials. With a cast of 16 talented young adults, the audience is taken on a journey of movement, music, chant, monologues, song and dance. The key role of Bridget Bishop, the first young woman being accused of being a witch, is portrayed by 12 women who weave the moments of questioning, angst, sadness and fear as she comes to terms with the accusation and sentence of being considered a witch. Moments where the women reflect on the various emotions she experiences are felt by the theatregoers through both soft spoken words and intense anger and fright. The women reach the heart of the viewer through introspection, dance and the inspiration of the butterfly. The 4 men who embodied the judges express their fervour with intensity in their voice, movement and faces. One moment in particular gives you chills with the combination of ferocity of the judges and the terror felt by Bishop. Sapphire Butterfly Blue is best described as a visual and auditory explosion of moments which represent how witchery may have manifested in this time period and the resulting repercussion of the assertion imposed on the women of this era. It keeps you engaged as you follow the story and perceive the mirage of sensory images performed by this collection of dramatic artists.

Shayla Patterson

The Barbarian Bombshells

The Barbarian Bombshells—Tom Hendry Warehouse

Ahh, the Fringe Festival. There’s nothing else like it. Amongst all of the traumatic tales of personal struggle, one-person journeys of exploration, deeply-ingrained stories of angst and anguish, one can always find something like The Barbarian Bombshells to relieve the tension. And what a relief this show is! Would you see anything like this as part of the MTC regular season? Hell, no! And thank the gods of the theatre for that! The Barbarian Bombshells deliver exactly what one would expect; a fun-filled rowdy hour of cavorting, chaos, and carnage, delivered with rowdy enthusiasm and loads of gleeful audience participation. The bombshells radiate charisma, and seem to be having at least as much fun onstage as their audience. There’s no plot to speak of, nor is one needed. The whole point of crazy shows like this is to dive in and have fun, drink in hand, and be prepared to make lots of noise and sing (or scream) along with the women. So sharpen your sword, put on your best leather jerkin, tug on your horned helmet and catch their remaining shows before it’s too late! By Crom, this is a good time!

Mike Seccombe

Stacey-Jean At Your Side!

SJeanS Productions—The Cinematheque

This was such a sweet show. We are welcomed by Stacey Jean, who works in a call center and loves crafts. She receives letters from folks who are reaching out to her for some guidance with a variety of difficult life circumstances. I felt quite moved by her sincere compassion and heartfelt advice as she does her best to respond to each concern. I feel like we all have moments we need to reach out when we’re struggling. This show is a reminder that some genuine human compassion and care can be all it takes for someone to feel seen. The world needs it. She also provided the contact information for a few help hotlines. 

Calantha Jensen

Old God

Splash Time—CCFM – Antoine Gaborieau Hall

I have been fortunate enough to travel to Fringe festivals across the country and around the world. Walking into a makeshift cabaret venue on the other side of town, I had made the relatively smaller trek to the CCFM. I went to witness a show that many artists had been raving about. I was expecting it to be good, but what I was given was something truly extraordinary. Old God is world class clowning; an unapologetic ripping apart of our hypocritical world in a delirious fit of hysterical, satirical, heretical idiocy. The intelligence and insight of this piece was blended perfectly with absolute absurdity and obscenity. Alec Jones-Trujillo kept the audience on its toes for the entire raucous hour with his joyful skewering. I haven’t laughed this hard at a show on the circuit in a long, long time. He deserves sell out shows and awards for the calibre of performance he brings to the stage. I may also have to cancel my Amazon subscription – for real this time.

Ashley Robyn

Art by Dave Pruden

Almost All Done—It is Friday noon and we have covered it all except 2 shows. So if you have seen ‘Countdown to Babylon’ or ‘Fringe Open Mic!’ send us a review so we can complete the set. The last paper issue hits the Jenny Boxes Friday afternoon. Our job is not quite done though as we still have to write and host an Awards Show.

The Fabulous Jenny Awards—Join us at our fully accessible and licensed venue Across the Board Game Cafe on Sunday night (July 30th) for our wrap party and awards show all rolled into one. Doors open at 9:30 pm and the show will start at 10 pm(ish). How does it work you ask? Well, we make up various categories based on (hopefully fun) random things and assign shows that fit that category (and have been mentioned in the Jenny) to them. Then we get the crowd to decide who should win as determined by crowd noise carefully analyzed by our human sound meters. The winner can make a short acceptance speech and receives one of the highly coveted hand sewn Jenny Awards. I hope to see you there!

Murray Hunter

Lastly, another opinion piece by Ray Yuen.

We’re Losing the War

It’s a war against phone use at public venues and we’ve been losing on every battlefront for many years. It doesn’t matter where you go: concerts, movies, theatre, sports games, even the ballet and symphony–all of them have people in the audience playing with their phones (or worse, video recording) rather than enjoying what’s in front of them.

For the longest time, it seemed that we held the battlelines at the Fringe (and I would argue at the opera too). The audiences at the Fringe have always been a different kind of patron that show more respect for the actors, the process, and their fellow viewers. Occasionally, you’d see a light in the audience, but that was a rarity—or it was until now.

This year, more than any, I’ve seen phones and lights from peoples’ laps speckled through the audience, and at almost every show. It seems people are choosing to ignore the instructions to turn off your phones before the performances. There is also the segment that doesn’t care. Yesterday, I saw two people, seated five chairs away from me, dim their phones just before the show started. Instead of turning them off, they figured that the dimmed background would be enough that no one noticed. I noticed—and it distracted me the entire time. They kept showing each other their phones and whispering. They were too far away for me to whisper to them to shut them off, but not too far from the radius of dozens of seats that saw the glow from their crotches and the whispers that accompanied it.

SHAME ON YOU—to the two blond ladies in the middle of the theatre at Channelle Munroe’s show. You were rude, inconsiderate, selfish and boorish. That goes for everyone else who pays attention to their phones rather than the show. You paid good money to be there—just watch what you came to watch.

I’m hoping that this year was an anomaly but I fear that it’s just the beginning of a new trend. We’ve been losing the war for a long time, but now it seems that we’re losing this battle too. If you’re in the theatre and the person next to you plays with their phone, don’t be afraid to ask them to turn it off. Don’t be rude and don’t start a fight, but just politely remind them that phones are not permitted during the show. If someone is really being a distraction, advise the staff. Everyone just wants to have a good time. The people on your phones—you are impeding on others’ enjoyment and good time.

Ray Yuen

Review Coordinator

Dear Jenny,

I have to admit that I was skeptical when the Fringe announced four venues in St. Boniface, two each at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain and Théâtre Cercle Molière. It turns out to have been a great move. The four venues are comfortable spaces for performances, and the two larger venues pose less risk of a show being sold out, meaning that you don’t have to worry so much about going all that way only to be disappointed.

You can plan a day of Fringing there, with several options for eating between shows, and if you don’t mind a bit of a hike, you can shop at Choclatier Constance Popp or many other stores that you might not have had a chance to visit before. There’s adequate free parking, and best of all, some of the best shows at this year’s Fringe.

Kevin Longfield

Blanket Fort Theatre

The Perfect Pants—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

Giggles is a young clown growing out of her most favorite things and she has to come up with a plan to deal with it. There’s juggling, balancing, silly songs and some magic. Lots of audience interaction and a relaxed theatre environment so you can get up and move if needed, or go to the bathroom and come back. (Wouldn’t it be weird if there weren’t any bathrooms? Then we would have to be like the Geese and poop everywhere!) We would love to see you.

Good Grief

Gangland Productions—MTC Up the Alley

James Gangl is many things, writer, stand-up comic, mime, but above all else a story teller. I was lucky enough to see him several years ago and was not disappointed this go around. If you think a show about the death of your dad can’t possibly be funny, Gangl is here to prove you wrong. Honest, raw, and relatable this story had me feeling every emotion. There is a trigger warning for good reason. Gangl shared memories from his past that are painful and heartbreaking. You really feel for the performer through all moments of the show. An incredibly gifted performer that we are lucky to have another show from this year. Powerful and moving, make sure you bring tissues.

Kaitlyn Kriss

Breaking Bard

Seismic Shift Productions—Tom Hendry Warehouse

Shakespeare wonks will tell you that his great tragedies have these themes running throughout: love, ambition, madness, revenge, jealousy, and betrayal. The Spontaneous Shakespeare Company use these motifs plus two suggestions from the audience, and craft an hour-long tragedy that the Bard would have a good snicker at. The cast of five also deftly employ the recognizable tropes – soliloquies, asides, comic relief, and vaguely humorous character names (Malaria? Polio?) – that prove that Shakespeare’s tragedies can be funny. (Maybe funnier than his comedies, but I digress.) For fans of the Bard, this is a faithful homage that will have them laughing in the aisles. Well worth the ticket price.

Karl Eckstrand

ImproVision: Mötley Canöe

ImproVision—Duke of Kent Legion

The folks at ImproVision sure do know how to throw a party. I was laughing from minute one. The enthusiasm the performers had was absolutely infectious even down one member due to illness. The skits were seamless and their natural chemistry shone through, leading to some incredible moments of comedic gold. Having been an ImproVision newbie I have no clue what it’s like with the full troupe but the two I did see made up for that fact with an pure sense of glee about what they were doing. My favourite part was definitely the sock puppet recap. That alone was worth any price of admission.

Kaitlyn Kriss