Jigsaw: existentialist feel-good fun

Jigsaw is a blend of feel-good fun, smart humour, and quiet sincerity, and its young performers work hard to bring its nuances to life. Billed as “a youth-produced cabaret” that draws inspiration from the 1920s, The Hero's Journey, and our modern desires,” it is a series of inter-connected vignettes that follow two loosely-sketched characters (played by Maya-Roisin Slater and Paisley Nahanee) on a psychological and theatrical journey through the world of 1920s stage-performance. The scenes are conntected thematically, but each is also a self-contained drama and characters shift and transform from scene to scene.

Though it wanders into serious territory,...

Jigsaw

September 9th, 2011 · By Kirstie McCallum

Read the full review...

Episode 14 - Happy 2nd Birthday Plank Magazine!

Our heroes chatter about the history of Plank Magazine and basically blabber about whatever pops into their brains. It snuck up on us but Plank is just over two years old and a cranky magazine at that.

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Attention Fringe Artists (and audience members): time is running out

We’re getting close to the wire on decision time for who will win this year’s illustrious Talk of the Fringe Award, sponsored by PLANK Magazine and voted on by our intrepid team of reviewers.

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Andrew Templeton

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The Chicken Prepares

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Victoria Fringe stronger than ever

Paul McKinnon

Jem Rolls and Rob Gee at Victoria Fringe Wrap Party

Victoria's Fringe Festival 2009 was a huge success that was almost overshadowed by some very bad news.

Just days into the festival word came down that funds from the Provincial Government for next year's Fringe will be slashed. And Intrepid Theatre (the producers of the Festival) will be left holding the proverbial bag. This cast a pall over the festival, and yet despite (or, perhaps,because) of the news Victorians rallied around the Fringe like never before, coming out in record numbers to enjoy and support live theatre.

It didn't hurt that this was also a stellar year on the programming front. Sell-out shows for both internationally acclaimed productions and local talent. And lots of stuff to choose from. Musicals. Dance Productions. Solo shows. Spoken Word. Comedy. There was something for everyone. And everyone, it seems, wanted to see a show.

I spoke with a fellow Fringer at last night's Wrap Party who summed things up by saying maybe the budget cuts are a wake-up call that if we want to see high quality theatre in Victoria we're just going to have to support it a little more. And it seems that that's exactly what we're finally willing to do.

It's great to see so many people bring so many great shows to Victoria, but, to me, what's even more exciting is seeing Victorians support all our local talent. And that's not just at Fringe Fest anymore. From Atomic Vaudeville to the new Blue Bridge Theatre, from Phillips Comedy Night to Tongues of Fire, Victoria's theatre scene is alive and kicking.

Long may it run.

Note: In a gesture of generosity and solidarity the biggest local hit of this year's Fringe, "The War of 1812", will be holding one last performance Monday night. All proceeds will go to Intrepid Theatre, to help them put on next year's Fringe. 8pm @ Saint Anne's Academy- 835 Humboldt Street.

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The Kevin Files: Fringe Produer Reeling from Funding Cuts

Andrew Templeton

The Victoria-based Intrepid Theatre, producers of the Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival and the Uno Fest, released the following press release this morning:

At 4:12pm yesterday, Intrepid Theatre, producers of the Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival, now in its 23rd year, received word from the Province of BC that it had been denied their application for $35,000 in Direct Access Gaming funds. The loss of these funds leaves a significant hole in Intrepid's budgets that amounts to a third of the company’s programming and will lead to the first significant deficit the company has faced in over a decade.

"We're reeling from this news. We applied to Gaming in March and expected to be approved and have those funds in our accounts in June," says Intrepid Theatre General Manager. "The irony is that the Fringe posted the busiest days of advance ticket sales in it's 23 year history on today's opening day."

This news follows the February budget which forecasts over 40% cuts to the BC Arts Council in 2010/11 and 2011/12 as well as the announcement of the HST and its application to theatre tickets.

"The loss of funding means the loss of programming," states Intrepid Artistic Director Janet Munsil, "This cut represents nearly a third of our programming budget and something will need to go." Intrepid Theatre produces the annual Uno Fest, a international presenting series of alternative theatre and the annual Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival. Intrepid also runs the Metro Studio and Intrepid Theatre Club, two small venues for alternative performance in downtown Victoria.

Gaming funds were frozen with no notice to arts and culture groups earlier this year while the program underwent an internal review. Earlier this week the Government released news that priorities for Direct Access had changed and that "a limited number of arts & culture activities" would receive support.

"Despite the ominous reports from the BC Government, we held every hope that we would receive at least a portion of the funds we requested. After all, we have received these funds for over a decade," says Case.

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