Breaking Bard

Seismic Shift Productions—Tom Hendry Warehouse

I was ne’r a Shakespeare (or any corky literature) fan and English was one of mine worst subjects ‘i high place of learning. I was almost certain I wasn’t going to thus discover yet I came aroint thinking ’twere one of mine favourites this year! I certain the “improv” part wasn’t as random as a true improv play, yet it doesn’t take aroint from the fun or spontaneity. The play ends ‘i true Shakespearean tragic form, leaving me laughing from the depths of mine bowels.

Ray Yuen

Let’s Talk About Your Death

Allspice Theatre—Pyramid Cabaret

This show is a fun, goofy talk show setting hosted by Dr. Elliot Morris where we discuss our deaths. We are each handed an envelope when we arrive that holds the prediction of how each member of the audience will die. Guests are invited onto the talk show and questioned about this information. I enjoy being able to be silly sometimes about serious topics. I think this particular venue made it hard for our relatively small audience the night I saw it to really get into the show, since we were all spread out. So sit near the front! I was surprisingly brought to tears during an imagination exercise. Death is a part of our lives that is rarely talked about. So let’s get into it!

Calantha Jensen

LESBIHONEST

Pitchin’in Productions—The Cinematheque

Let’s be honest, here (see what I did there?) I went to see LESBIHONEST (Venue 7, Cinematheque) as a time-killer between other shows. It was a whim, really. I wasn’t too sure what to expect. What I got was a delightful and incredibly funny hour-long stand-up comedy routine from the charismatic and charming Laura Piccinin. I’m a straight male in my 50’s, and I at first wondered if this show would be for me, or geared towards a more specific audience. This show is actually for anybody (and everybody) who’s ever struggled to fit in anywhere, who ever questioned their identity, or fought to find their place in the world. Laura’s personal stories are laugh-out-loud funny and delivered with fantastic comedic timing. I found myself swept along with her monologue from beginning to end, and loved every minute of it. It’s not often that a performer can make me laugh almost non-stop for a full hour, but Laura succeeded. Do yourselves a favour and catch this show before the Fringe ends; you’ll be glad that you did.

Mike Seccombe

Break Time

Swingset—The Rachel Browne Theatre

Golly gee—where do I start? The preshow music featured Kate Bush’s Babushka, which is a spectacular
song. Then the show started and it all went downhill fast.

At first, I thought the plot moved towards the dysfunctional relationship (or reliance) humankind (or perhaps this one human) has developed with technology and more recently, AI. Then it takes a wild carom towards the character being lonely and asking AI how to break out of the abyss of a single man desperate to seek a relationship. From there it deteriorates into an inexplicable session with his pillow, presumably representing his love idol, Brie Larson.

For some reason, the show takes an intermission where he asks inane questions of the audience and
passes out equally inane prizes for correct or incorrect answers.

The second half moves back to the relationship between him and the AI, where I thought it would end in a dystopian future where AI replaces the need for human companionship—but then it takes another irrational twist before mercifully coming to and end.

As a singer, he has a usable voice but he needs a few vocal lessons to sound professional. Right now, he sounds like a karaoke act, good enough to listen to for fun but not good enough to perform.

This show needs a lot of work, but foremost, it needs a cogent plot—establish what your underlying
statement is, then develop it.

The sock puppet skit also needs work. It’s fine to be minimalist, but then your puppets should have two googly eyes and a mouth, that’s it. If you want to be more elaborate, just get real puppets—save the money from the loony prizes and invest in actual puppets. Plus, a simple cardboard box can be a wonderful puppet theatre.

There’s a foundation for a good show to be built here. Perhaps use ONE of the concepts I suggested
earlier in the rant, and build on that. Stick to that theme and don’t carom off on tangents. The Brie Larson bit is just creepy and needs to go.

Kudos to the actor for calling out the jackass by the exit sign who played with his phone the entire show. Sadly his skin was so thick he didn’t listen.

Ray Yuen

FOR SCIENCE!

Small Matters Productions—Tom Hendry Warehouse

This production by Small Matters production is a pretty big deal! Without giving too much away, it is a wonderful masterclass in audience participation…but never fear fellow Fringe experimenters The Professor (Christine Lesiak) and her Lab Assistant (Ian Walker) will make sure that everyone stays safe during all scientific trials.

I had seen Lesiak many Fringes ago with the production of “Fools for Love” and was not disappointed by the Edmonton/amiskwacîwâskahikan-based theatre troupe. While in line to get into the laboratory, I kept hearing many thrilled Fringers that were repeat participants in the exploration of comedy. Each experiment so is unique and truly an exceptional examination not only of comedy, but of humanity as well. Certainly, worth multiple visits to the lab as there is always more to learn.

Stephanie Natalya

Eleanor’s Story: Life After War

Ingrid Garner—Royal Albert Arms

I cannot recommend this show enough if you’re into history and storytelling. Ingrid tells the story of her grandmother Eleanor after World War 2, and it is gripping, stunningly performed, and has so much heart. The story is based on her grandmother’s book, Eleanor’s Story: An American Girl in Hitler’s Germany. The true story is presented in such a compelling way, with Ingrid masterfully playing every character in the cast, and creatively using minimal props, perfectly timed sound cues, and lights to create the scene. She is absolutely captivating on stage. For such heavy material, it was a beautiful show. I wept. Make sure you bring Kleenex and GO SEE THIS SHOW.

Calantha Jensen

Ma-Buhay! The Road To Rainbow Stage

Ma-Buhay! A New Musical—Tom Hendry Warehouse

This was complete amateur hour—and by that, I don’t mean the show. The show was a slick, well-oiled
machine. By amateur hour, I’m talking about the audience, which was a disgrace. I know there were a lot of friends and family out the support the actors but there are Fringe rules—there aren’t many, but it seems like every one of them was broken today.

Before I get into that, are the rules about late entry relaxed this year? It seems like every second show, someone arrives after the show already started. Today, someone entered 15 minutes after opening. The first thing they did after sitting down in front of me was turn on their phone and start video recording. I know for a fact they were not part of the company’s media team because my vantage was not a desirable one. After 15 solid minutes of flipping between video and texting, I told her to put her phone away, and thankfully she obliged. My voice carried far enough to catch the person in front of her doing the same thing, but not the 10 other people in the theatre.

Finally: if you bring young children to an adult show, be prepared for them to get bored. And when
they get bored enough to whine continuously, it’s time for you to leave. I was half a theatre away and I could hear the whining clear as day—I can imagine what the people proximal to them thought.

Now, onto the show. As I already said, it was well-presented, well-rehearsed and well-executed, but I feel that it’s somewhat out of place. To me, Fringe is a platform for performances that are so far off Broadway, they’re outside the “fringes” of New York. Being on Rainbow Stage is about as mainstream as it gets. I don’t want to see The Fringe Festival become a farm team and practice market for big theatre. I understand this is not the first time the Fringe stage has been used for as a workshop project, but this is not the trend I hope to see. This is a spot that a small company could have used to showcase their talent. Ma Buhay’s showcase is yet to come—on a much bigger stage.

Perhaps a better venue for this show would have been Folklorama. The premise was pitched as a
talent show but what’s unsaid is that it’s a show put on entirely by Filipino people, promoting and celebrating the culture and heritage, which is exactly the mandate of Folklorama.

Ray Yuen

Obsession: The Elizabeth Smart Musical

Goltsman-Ferris Productions—CCFM Pauline-Boutal Hall

This show is an historical piece on the life of Canadian author Elizabeth Smart. Told in a series of flashbacks as the elder Smart reminisces on her love affair with British poet George Barker. A tumultuous tale of a woman ahead of her time, falling in love and having several children with a married man whose work stole her heart. I was lucky to see an understudy show and they did an incredible job with very little rehearsal time! I found the pace of the show to be a bit disorienting and keeping track of where we were in time was tricky. Also saddened by another story of a woman being involved and giving so much to a man who couldn’t or wouldn’t reciprocate, to which I know far too many women can relate to. It left me pondering how and why we choose to remember the events of our lives the way we do.

Calantha Jensen

LESBIHONEST

Pitchin’in Productions—The Cinematheque

As a fellow member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, or as I prefer to affectionately call it “the alphabet soup umbrella”, Pitchin’in Productions paints an honest storytelling of one woman exploring and coming to terms with her sexuality. And yes, it includes all the fun (insert sarcasm here) of those honest conversations/scenarios that come with the messiness of “gay-dolescence”.

I appreciated Laura Piccinin’s cadence and authentic address of how coming out is not a single act, but it is an active and constant process. Piccinin takes one hour to condense 35 years of queer personal stories. The hardship of that journey was palpable during this show. She takes the time to tell one story that Fringers may personally identify with in their own way, or, and what I find is powerful, the comedy mixed with storytelling provides perspective to others. In a world where everyone is having difficulty connecting, and queer communities are under constant uphill battles, gaining that perspective is crucial.

Stephanie Natalya

Pull Yourself Together

hiljames movement—The Rachel Browne Theatre

This dance show felt like such a journey! With beautiful and funny choreography, the first half of the show had me laughing nearly to tears, and shifted to feel like we were working though something much heavier towards the end. I love the way that movement can tell a story, and all three performers are beautiful dancers. The ambiguity of these contemporary dance shows allows the audience to imagine how their lives can relate to the material presented and find meaning and symbolism. There’s some good material here that’s worth considering. What a fun show!

Calantha Jensen