My cheeks still hurt from all the laughter and enjoyment I received as Miss Hiccup (Japanese clown Shoshniz) went about her day on opening night. The pace of the show was fast, with lots of physical comedy, dance, impressive vocal power...*hiccup*...and of course Miss Hiccup, hiccuping all the way through.
After being whisked away from Max's Deli & Bakery the audience found themselves in a regular apartment in a regular neighbourhood about a block away. We all sat down, with our backs to a wall looking into the living room and then quietly watched as this husband and wife let us enter into their non-regular world.
Teaching Shakespeare - not a selling title, surely - claims more than 150 performances, which, for all I know, is a Fringe record. The actor (presumably Keir Cutler, credited as 'playwright') lectures to us, as a university Shakespeare class. He is devoted to Shakespeare; his approach is a random, free-association one. He speaks briefly of Titus, Hamlet, a sonnet, of verse forms, biogrpahy and the significance of what is not said. This is more sophisticated than The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged (at the Arts a few years ago); less fun than Shakespeare in Love. He is the instructor as...
Leaving the Waterfront Theatre after Gemma Wilcox’s one-woman show, Shadows in Bloom, leaves you with the distinct feeling that good theatre does exist and can be a glory and a privilege to behold- that and the words, “Daaaamn gurl!” on your lips. Wilcox gives this show her all as performer, writer and co-director along with Shana Cordon. There is something close to 20 different characters and Wilcox convincingly plays every single one helped only by lighting cues, a few tracks of music and a piano bench, and may I mention miniscule sweat stains. It’s almost inhuman what she does.
Miracle in Rwanda is a dramatic triumph that will leave you hanging on actor Leslie Lewis Sword’s every word.
The one-woman show, directed and co-created by Edward Vilga, tells the true story of bestselling author of “Left to Tell” Immaculee Llibagiza, a Rwandan Tutsi who was hidden during a months-long genocidal massacre that claimed one million lives. She takes refuge with seven others in an impossibly cramped space while the Hutu militia hunts for them.
But this is not just a story of survival. It is about a religious awakening and overcoming the limits of human beings to forgive.
First off, this play ain’t funny. The dialogue is more poetic than authentic. But the actors manage to pull off difficult performances that demand raw emotion painfully restrained. There’s good stuff here.
Oh The Humanity! by Will Eno and produced by Staircase Xi Productions is an earnest piece – or I should say, five earnest pieces, played with enthusiasm and polish by the actors, Maryanne Renzetti and Brad Duffy. They’ve got tough gigs; the monologue-ish dialogue (even when the two are in the same scene), and lack of action or overt conflict make it a tough role for the players....
Fringe performances are all about the hook: what combination of zaney humour, postmodern langauge-play, and sexual innuendo will lure an audience in to your show? 52 Pick Up is an example of some of the best of what the Fringe has to offer: clever and witty, it nonethless hinges on strong acting. And while there is an element of chance in the structure, it still presents a satisfying narrative arc. The play begins with performers Sam Elmore and Gemma Wilcox scattering a deck of cards across the stage. On each card is the name of a scene that illustrates a...
If there's a "Local-girl-makes-good" Cinderella story at this year's Fringe it's Missie Peters' Public Confessions of a Public Servant. Peters managed to pack the Victoria Event Centre on a Tuesday night, only her third show of the festival. Confessions is also her first Fringe perrformance.
Jayson McDonald just might be the busiest man at this year's Fringe.
He's performing in two shows: Celebrity Cult, an hour long two-hander and Gun Powder, his solo show. Last night he performed them back to back. That can't be easy - but he sure made it look that way.
Jayson has brought Gun Powder to Victoria before as part of last spring's Uno Fest where it was a big hit. It's a welcome return - McDonald is a perennial Fringe favorite, starring in noteworthy solo shows Giant Invisible Robot, Boat Load and Fall Fair. That's an impressive resumé....
