All gong and no dinner. A lot of Fringe shows suffer from this condition - a decent premise but miserable execution. You see, a show about a black woman becoming the Queen of England seems like a sure Fringe bet. Especially if you toss in a solid performer (Valerie Mason-John) with phenomenal British elocution wearing a silly blonde wig and hot pink prom dress. But no - Brown Girl in the Ring is a full-on disaster.
Our erstwhile queen starts the show with a series of pointed proclamations for her Canadian subjects - then proceeds to descend into what I...
7 (x1) Samurai is a comedy one man show is based on Akira Kurosawa's epic film Seven Samurai. You may also know this story from the 1960 western classic The Magnificent Seven.
The performers in The Dali Hours are the Maple Salsa, from Alberta, who list two previous creations. Their program is full of words: "We reflect on time and childhood. Many are familiar with Salvador Dali as a painter, but few with his endeavours as a philosopher and intellectual. We have based this piece in Dali's ideas of taking over the notion of time, bend it, expand it. We were brought back to the only stage of our lives when time was our best friend." Their production is not: the only words are "over here" twice, some total distortion of simultaneous...
Director Kathy Parsons pulled out her clipboard, put on her plastic glasses and wanted to know what I did in order to escape. My answer was incorporated into show.
Moments later the audience was put into the play in the fire escape. A photographer attempted to take a picture of a bride before the ceremony, but she ran up the steps and we followed. The bride literally had cold feet - she wore moccasins. The photographer listened to her quandary. “Divorce is always an option,” he suggested. She wanted to escape, (I’m not going to give the story away.)
The program brochure led me to expect at least a duologue when in fact this is another male monologue. The brochure credits Jeff McMahan only as writer of The Boy who had a Mother, when also presumably he is the performer and probably self-directed.
Our world is filled with underdogs, black sheep, wanna-be's and plain old dumb asses.
We have met them or at some point into our lives have found ourselves to be one. If you are one, don't worry, I'm not going to make fun of you. These stereotypes are the basis and common thread which brings the randomness that is A Girl Name Doug together.
Jon Paterson in Daniel MacIvor’s award winning play House is mesmerizing and explosive. I left the theatre feeling like I needed a good stiff drink or a neck rub … preferably both.
In The Lost Supper (My Dinner With Jacques), Frenchman Jacques Lalonde and his team of actors and cooks, revolutionize the traditional dinner party bringing you a night of food and entertainment where anything goes!
If you’re looking for theatre with an intriguing storyline, rising tension, an exciting climax and a deep, profound message, then DO NOT attend this show. In fact, Jacques works hard at ensuring that there is absolutely no storyline at all, claiming – and rightfully so – that “Food is the star of this show!” Chef, Rod Matheson, has designed a mouth-watering menu and all dishes are...
It was very pleasant to sit under the awning in Caroline’s backyard (where blankets are provided) to enjoy Green/Roof, this most inventive use of neighbourhood space as theatre. The bushes shake as a stealthy, die-hard-positive guerrilla gardener, played convincingly by Caroline Sniatynski, clamours over the chainlink fence, on a mission to transform this neglected garden with green life. However, she is not alone; unknown to her, a woman is secured above to the chimney by a long cable, armed with binoculars, obsessed with the minutiae of neighbourhood developments. It wasn’t entirely clear whether this woman was a squatter on the...
