Vancouver: Clever and fast-paced, Today is All Your Birthdays, created and performed by Uncalled For is a satisfying absurdest mash-up of ideas, some gleaned from pop-culture and others freshly minted in obscure crevices of the creator's minds.
Brainy, Zany and Funny better than Moe, Larry and Curly
When I was almost a teenager, my older cousin Jacquie took me to The Pirate Movie. I loved it! She even made me a taped copy of her copy of the album with all the music from the movie, which I listened to over and over again. (I may even still have it somewhere). Years later, I figured out that The Pirate Movie was a spoof of Gilbert and Sullivan's famous operetta The Pirates of Penzance.
I remember theatre school. It was fun. And I remember the jokes about what B.F.A. really stands for – Bachelor of Fuck All. Basically, a really useless university degree that will not prepare you for any known career. I would bet any money that our intrepid heroes Peter and Chris heard these jokes too... they're recent theatre grads themselves (hell, I even know one of their professors from UVIC).
*Under the Mango Tree* tells a heartfelt story of immigration and loss. As both performer and playwright, Veenesh Dubois paints a lush portrait of the tropical village where young Timal grows up yearning for her father, who has moved to Canada in order to support his child and aging parents from afar.
At first, I thought that vocal warm-up exercises are NOT the way to start any show. Eventually, I realized that I was in good hands with this script by Chris Craddock and a solid performance by Anna Wyman. Then, I was able to sit back and enjoy the ride.
What happens when someone from Saskatchewan goes to TO
Vancouver: Virtual 1. Simulated, or carried on by means of a computer or computer network. 2. Existing in effect though not in fact 3. A product of the imagination.
Solitaire: 1. Any of a number of games played by one person. 2. A gem, such as a diamond, that is set alone.
John Pippus is a brave man. He's taken his musical career and parlayed it into a one-man show. Trouble is, I think I'd rather be watching him perform a straight-up music concert rather than witnessing this play.
Christ Church Cathedral; a smooth black Celtic harp; a sexy hot curvaceous chick in black Goth wear; gray haired old lady in the front row; Jesus on the cross; punk rocker sitting in the third row; sounds of musical passion and love; words of profanity and poetry; edgy unique performance - this melange of contradictions is what the Fringe Festival is all about for me.
Billed as a multi-cultural comedy about a book launch that doesn’t go exactly as planned, this production did make me laugh, but left me less cheered than troubled.
The Presumptuous Ducks: a one person, one duck experience
