I've always loved hearing family stories. I love scouring family albums and getting engrossed in the little histories we make for ourselves. The Ballad of Herbie Cox offers a full lesson in the making of a family and serves as an affirmation of the identities of husband and wife team Victoria Chui and Roland Cox.
Dance, Physical Theatre, New Work, All Ages http://www.myspace.com/co.sumofitsparts
The night I saw No Tweed Too Tight the CBC was also having a gala event for Fashion's Night Out. On one side of the building the line snaked around the block - on the other six of us lined up and huddled into the shade to avoid the sun. All told, about 12 people made it out for the inaugural show at the new CBC Fringe venue and the first run of Monster Theatre's No Tweed Too Tight, which is a shame, because I bet we had just as much fun as the people next door, without having to...
Comedy, Physical Theatre, New Work http://www.monstertheatre.com/
Take the quirkiness of Zooey Deschanel, the pep of Kristen Chenowith and the eagerness of Glee's Rachel Berry and put them all together in a parking garage and you get Ingrid Nilson. Welcome To My Wake sees Nilson try to bond with the audience over her need to check off a few experiences from her bucket list, inspired by the tragic loss of a good friend.
Every Friday night should start with 45 minutes of Hip Hop Shakespeare; I have spent the hour since seeing this show humming and lalala’ing with a huge smile on my face. For all those thespians out there who don’t think this is for them I double dare you to go along anyway.
A family-friendly 10.45pm show is always a worry. But worry not The Histories for one reason or another is no more as in “not featured in this year’s fringe festival” unbeknownst to the audience until we took our seats, in its place Will Shakespeare’s Improv Musical.
“When she finds someone in the tide, her universe is forever changed…”
I was very excited to go and see this show as it is in a new venue on Granville Island Alder Bay Bridge. This is the bridge behind the False Creek Community centre on the far side of the children’s playground, I am telling you this so you know where to go when you get your ticket from the box office, there are no signs or indication it is there until you find it, in my case a few minutes after the show had started (and a couple...
Drama, Physical Theatre, New Work http://andtheotherlegtheatre.wordpress.com/
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.
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.
Two chairs, a music stand and two old timey microphones, Ne Me Quitte Pas is a simple revue of a selection of Edith Piaf and Jaques Brel greatest hits. The two singers, Melanie Gall and Brehmer Duthie, are currently touring separate shows, and have come together in a shared passion for the French chanteur and chanteuse.
Musical Theatre, Cabaret, All Ages http://www.piafandbrel.com/
God is a Scottish Drag Queen. This is something that those of us with Scottish backgrounds have known for secretly for a long time. The title might conjure up images of a young Allan Cummings in knee high boots and flashing eyes lashes.
