Spiral Dive Episode One

Spiral Dive: part one of three...

Episode One? These damn kids from Edmonton are bound to disappoint many a Fringer with a polished, engaging, skillfully acted, and sharply written show that only unveils the first third of their epic World War 2 trilogy.

The story centers on Jack, a rural Canadian kid who, after being bitten by the flying bug at an early age, enlists in the RCAF just in time to fight in the skies over Europe. It’s an experience that sees him grow both as a pilot and a man, forcing him to confront the death of friends, face his own mortality, and accept his role as a glorified assassin.

The three talented performers dish out dozens of fully fleshed-out characters, and manage to convincingly and exhilaratingly convey the experience of high altitude dogfights with nothing more than a skeletal do-it-yourself cockpit mockup and some simple paper mache models.

Writer/Director Kenneth Brown deserves credit for some dynamic staging, as well as for a script that paints the flying experience with poetic elegance and nails the mood of the period without resorting to cliches. Next year’s instalment cannot arrive soon enough.

_Spiral Dive: Episode One continues until 11th July as part of this year's Toronto Fringe Festival. You can find out more information_ "here":http://www.fringetoronto.com/fringe09/indoorBYOV_listings.html#S

_Or you could check out TheatRepublic's rather cool_ "website":http://www.theatrepublic.ca/

By Justin Haigh