Runaway Princess, a hopeful tale of heroin, hooking and happiness

Runaway princess—MTC Up the Alley

If you’re a fan of the classic Fringe style autobiographical storytelling one hander, this is a great example and definitely earns the 75 minute run time. Absolutely demonstrating the polish that comes with years of performance of a deeply personally meaningful play, it’s completely understandable why it had an almost sold out show at 11am on a Friday. If stories of drugs, addiction, abuse and prostitution sound like something you’d like to hear instead of causing you distress (the content warning baked into the pitch), I absolutely recommend checking this one out. Maybe buy a ticket in advance.

Josh Fidelak

The Spice of Life

Leithelle Productions —CCFM Salle Pauline-Boutal

A satire of one of the longest running forms of television entertainment, the American soap opera, The Spice of Life had no shortage of tropes to pull from. And pull it did. In the presumably picturesque Savory City, everyone is sleeping with everyone, chronology is irrelevant, and moguls have no shortage of schemes and leverage. The cast was expansive, allowing for endless familial ties and giving the feel of walking into a serial halfway through when the writers have started to write themselves into a corner. Soap operas aren’t my thing, so I wasn’t expecting to get much out of the gags, but the camp inherent to the genre carried a lot of them. That being said, the commitment to the bit was lacking from some performances; it would have been nice to see a run with absolutely no fear of overacting. After all, that’s not possible in this genre. This, combined with missed cues from both performers and tech, made for a bumpy experience that would do well with ironing out.

Arden Pruden

Shunga Alert

Theatre Group GUMBO—The Rachel Browne Theatre

Of the thousands of shows I’ve seen in my lifetime, this one stands as one of the silliest and most absurd outings yet! That also means that it’s loaded with wackiness, kookiness and fun. It was a bit hard to follow at times because so much was so ludicrous and I wasn’t sure if I heard correctly. Other times, the cacophony of din made it difficult to catch what happened. Even missing some of the plot coherence and cogency, there were plenty of laughs and good times to keep you engaged.

Ray Yuen

Daniel in Love (For One Night Only)!

Prairie Coast Productions—Son of Warehouse

In an endearing auto-biographical solo performance, Daniel unpacks (and packs away) the performative front he relied upon in his college years to endure the demands of modern life and (sometimes, maybe) loved ones. He soberly re-examines the alcohol-infused version of himself that relentlessly pursued peer admiration and immature concepts of romance in lieu of authentic self-expression.

The musical interludes that are meant to punctuate the actor’s exploration of familial examples of where the more enduring qualities of love might be found are mostly just long enough to negatively bring down the energy of this otherwise competent and heartfelt piece. Daniel is very relatable but perhaps not as clear as to where and how the love in his life guided him to a better place, and how that transformation serves him better today, beyond the obvious conclusion that alcohol is a poor substitute for personality.

Ashley Frantik

The Dirty Bucket Comedy Show

No Cheat Codes Productions—Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame

I would say that the comedians were funny and it was a great show, but honestly I was flustered about the show going a whole 15 minutes past the scheduled end time which made me miss my next show, completely throwing off my plans. I don’t want to spend a show checking my phone for the time. Plus most of these comedians I have seen at many shows in Winnipeg before. Although the bucket keeps it “fresh” by adding an improv element, the suggestions weren’t all great and I would’ve rather just seen them do their material in their normal setting. It just wasn’t good for Fringe.

Gita Brooks

Brighter Dark Theatre

House of Gold—The Output

House of Gold is an original ensemble comedy about the spoiled adult children of late country legend John Gold. They’re all messed up, and they have no problem projecting that angst onto his grandson Jimmy, who is suspiciously identical to his grandfather. Packed with zingers, one-liners, cultural commentary, hilarious family dynamics, and one original song, House of Gold will keep you on the edge of your seat for its full runtime as we explore what it means to be a clone of a legendary musician.

Martin Dockery: TRUTH

Concrete Drops Theatre—Tom Hendry Warehouse

Mr.Dockery is back with his kinetic high energy story telling show about TRUTH. Martin shares the quandary he was in during Covid. Living on the tip of New York island, with a new born and his spouse Vanessa, who demanded he get out of the house. Martin’s a tad on edge being locked up for 15 months. HE knew no one in the neighbourhood, yet he craved adoration!

Upon opening up to some neighbourly folks, they provided an interesting gift for his new born. I’ll let Martin tell the rest of that story as he only can. So do yourself a favour and let Martin bend your ear…scream into your ear…his Covid antics. You don’t have to bring any lemon squares, MAGA hats optional.

Kevin Campbell

Tango, It Takes Two

PointeTango—John Hirsch Mainstage

Another stunningly beautiful performance by Erin Scott-Kafadar and Alexander Richardson. This year they have really added to the production by including video on the giant screen behind them. It starts by showing scenes from Buenos Aires and then the Tangos begin. The first 5 or 6 routines feature different tangos while Erin is dancing in ballet pointe shoes.

Their dancing is incredible, the amazing footwork, artistic leg movements, and powerful lifts as they flow almost as one across the stage. It is also very sensual. There are a couple solo numbers, before they rejoin after costume changes to match some of the vignettes of them in Buenos Aires that play on the big screen between routines. Truly spectacular.

Murray Hunter

The Great Gatsby

Illustrium Creations—Red River College Polytechnic

The classic, compressed down into an hour and reimagined with modern sensibilities and interpretations made explicit.

Some early Fringe jitters and verbal missteps definitely created confusion, with lines missed and occasionally under-enunciated. As well, some of the presentation decisions were a bit muddled (The way that characters getting shot was represented being the one that sticks out the most in my mind).

All in all, if the idea of a modernized version of the Great Gatsby on stage appeals to you, the flaws definitely do not overshadow the core of what’s being presented.

Josh Fidelak

All Hail Mrs. Satan

Still Your Friend—Creative Manitoba

Adam Bailey is in great form, as always, keeping up with his specialty in fast paced historical fiction. Following Victoria Woodhull’s life from a kaleidoscope of different perspectives and jumping throughout her life, from feminist activist to stockbroker to magnetic healer to presidential nominee, Adam keeps the energy up and ties together the threads into a coherent and engaging picture of this woman’s life.

Great for fans of historical storytelling and the uninitiated as well, this is definitely a wonderful way to start engaging with the work of a long term Fringe staple.

Josh Fidelak