While monologuist TJ Dawe has been called a ‘Fringe God’, performance poet Jem Rolls could easily be canonized as the Patron Saint of the Canadian Fringe circuit. His rapid-fire delivery and word play calisthenics have become rituals for his devoted audience and for these loyal attendees, no introduction is necessary. The show itself varies year to year, sometimes a series of unconnected poems and occasionally a long thematic piece.
Over here, over there, no over here, now over there. Using plug-in lights on the stage, a few props and their bodies, the cast of Grey Matter flick through the memories of an old woman suffering with Alzheimer’s as experienced by her granddaughter.
Seriously, if you are looking for subtlety or sophistication give this one a miss. However, if you want to throw yourself into a world in which many young adults live then you might want to have a look.
Yes, Corrin Raymond ends this piece with a Prologue. It's appropriate, as it does feel like a beginning since Corrin has just taken his audience with him on a magical mystery tour of literature.
“Slumming” is a new work by Barbara Ellison; Ellison also directs. The show introduces us to the complex lives of recently fallen from grace, middle-class Grace, played by Terri Anne Taylor, and a young sex worker Brittany, played by Stevie Jackson. The program notes tell us the play had its genesis in the Downtown East Side (DTES) as Ellison observes a sex worker at work from the rehearsal hall at the Firehall.
Half an hour before the show started, the Firehall was already packed with an upbeat vibe. Everybody was ready to start this year's Vancouver Fringe Festival with a high note. Did this show deliver tonight?...yes it did!
Comedy, Musical Theatre, Queer, New Work- http://www.riverviewhighthemusical.com
So – here is my Fringe prediction. James Gangl will win your heart with his charming, funny and oddly innocent ways. If I was single, I'd be looking this man up for a good time. (In fact, I may just do so anyway... sorry honey.)
One of the 14 onsite shows at Granville Island, Pirates? features a lively cast of seven performers from Quimera Collective. Their program includes helpful instructions on how to fold the paper into a sailor hat... which should tell you a great deal about the tenor of this performance which takes place at the Kids Tugboat near the Kids Market.
Produced by a company called Me, Myself and I, this show is precisely as advertised in its fairly brief show description. A one-woman show with four characters, we meet multiple generations of women in one family who have some divergent issues with their respective chests.
Comedy, Drama, New Work - http://www.gailmackenzie.com/
