Another Very Serious Night with Barney Morin

River Road Productions—The Studio at Le Théâtre Cercle Molière

A variety-type show with some hits and some misses. There are some people out there who laugh at everything; I wonder if they’re generally entertained or if they just have a natural propensity to laugh, even if they don’t find funny? As a comedian, those are the people you want in your audience. Their laughs alone cause infection infiltration to the remainder of the audience and suddenly, you feel obligated to laugh, even if you don’t find it funny. There were a lot of laughers in the audience tonight, which impelled and propelled the merriment. I found some of the material genuinely comical but some were just mildly amusing. Still, I laughed.

As far as the singing goes, well—when your singing make Neil Young and Bob Dylan sound like their have voices of angels, you shouldn’t rely on that aspect of your show too much.

Finally, Morin, here is some good advice that’s going to save you some grief and possibly a lawsuit: when you run your skit on the oldest person in the audience—you should look at the person. The lady with the white hair that you targeted today? You should probably leave her alone, especially when she waved you off twice. A guy like me with a shaved head and some white in the beard? That look means I’m comfortable with their age, and I was ready to put my hand up as oldest in the crowd. The person with the comb-over? Leave them alone! Calling on people is sometimes fun but I don’t think you should call on people for age, especially when they already indicated they do not want to be. Pick me instead Monte—I can take it.

Ray Yuen

Fake ‘n’ Bake

Oh Hello Productions!—John Hirsch Mainstage

It is definitely not easy talking about one’s battle with addictions and chorus of ‘inner critics’, and to share that talk with an audience of strangers takes a lot of moxie. To do it in a way that gets the message across and be entertaining, that takes talent, and Ellie Heath definitely makes the grade in that department.

A very inspirational performance that is quite moving.

Murray Hunter

The Perfect Pants

Blanket Fort Theatre—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

Giggles the clown is here to answer the question, what do you do when your favourite pair of pants becomes too small. Perfectly embodying the creativity and innocence of a small child, giggles goes on a camping adventure to prevent such a crime from ever happening again. I figured this would be a cute clown show, what I didn’t expect were some amazing circus acts! Very cute, aimed at the much younger crowd. An excellent choice for a little ones first Fringe.

Kaitlyn Kriss

Booger Red

Jim Loucks—The Output at Video Pool Media Arts Centre

What a warm and wonderful treat from Jim Loucks of California. Warm is so many ways. The love shared in this son’s relating of the story of his father’s and his own life, the personality of the performer and the heat of the venue. What a trooper to perform under the additional heat of stage lights!

This was so worth it! I was intrigued from the beginning; wanting to know the origins of the unusual name of booger- different meaning in the south, thankfully. What a beautiful surprise to find out this man isn’t just a brilliant actor but an amazing singer as well. I wasn’t the only one delighted. The audience wouldn’t stop applauding. Please see! Just be prepared if it is a hot day.

Lisa Campbell

Adventure of the Little Rooster

The Grand Salto Theatre—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

This plotline reminds me of The Cat Came Back but instead, the star is a rooster, flanked by a flock of ducks and a brood of chickens. You can’t have a conflict without an antagonist, which here happens to be an evil cabbage.

The story is fun but it’s the adventure that really draws the kids’ attention. The “water adventure” has the kids looking with awe, and the “fire adventure” has me wanting to see more Hungarian dance and hear more Hungarian folk music. It’s a kids’ show but it can be enjoyed by adults as well.

Ray Yuen

Field Zoology 101

Shawn O’Hara—Planetarium

Time to get educated with Professor Gooseberry as he takes you through a prepared (albeit outdated and biased) lecture of how to be a field zoologist. The laughs were non-stop in this hilarious show. Think Anchorman but the community college version of Ron Burgundy. The dead pan humour is perfect to a tee from Shawn O’Hara in this one man show. My favourite part was honestly his ad-libbing based off audience suggestions and cue cards where he was able to display a shocking amount of animal knowledge! Definitely a highlight of my Fringe!

Kaitlyn Kriss

The Family Crow: A Murder Mystery

The Pucking Fuppet Co.—PTE – Colin Jackson Studi

A puppet show doesn’t get any simpler than this: one person, one puppet and a mystery.

Proulx’s cawstume was cool but it was the crow the stole the show. Prepare to spend the entire span of the outing shaking your head and rolling your eyes as you endure the rapid-fire streak of dad-joke like puns. I cawn’t remember how many times I laughed but I croaned a lot. The cawdience really appreciated it as most of the room stood on their talons while clapping their wings.

Ray Yuen

Wolfhaven Presents: King, Warrior, Magician, Lover

Wolfhaven Productions—Planetarium

Told in the style of an old odyssey story of old, Wolfhaven recounts the epic tale of how he become King. This play reminded me of so many of the fantasy stories I loved reading growing up. It told of battles and adventures and falling in love. Unfortunately the story teller didn’t live up to the sweeping nature of his story. His tone was very monotonous, his pacing was very slow, and he stumbled over quite a few words and details of his own story. It also didn’t help that he ran overtime by 8 minutes because he went so slow. Definitely not the show for me.

Kaitlyn Kriss

James & Jamesy: Easy as Pie

James & Jamesy—PTE – Mainstage

They may be dressed as clowns and the antics may be zany and goofy, but underneath all the flash, this is a simple psychological exploration. The show opens with a typical clown routine, culminating in the usual pie in the face. Somewhere along the line, James developed PTSD and the remainder of the show explores his psyche for a cure. After all, what clown is worth their shoes if they can’t take a pie in the face?

Ray Yuen

African Folktales with Erik de Waal

YAP Theatre—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

What a magical show this was. Erik is a master story teller who transports you back to being five years old watching theatre for the first time. This year, he retells 2 charming folk tales for audiences young and old alike. Even though this is a Kids Fringe show, I found myself fully invested and sucked in by Erik’s voice and charming sense of humour. Portraying all the characters himself, Erik’s stories are like a warm hug for your soul. A beautiful show, this a great way for anyone to spend an hour.

Kaitlyn Kriss