| Puck in the Five-hole |
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The ACME Theatre Company-CCC
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Puck in the five-hole is a story about hockey,
the history of hockey, the funny things in
hockey and a very entertaining show.
To miss this show would be a big naughty
and you won't get anything nice from Santa.
Yes, there is language but that's hockey.
Every Hockey story that ever made front page
news is here,
The show is done well, by four very talented
actors. One of the many gems in this great
festival.
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| Tony Frost
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| Puck in the Five-Hole |
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The ACME Theatre Company—CCC
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Cheer if you love Canada. Cheer if you love hockey. If you just cheered twice, see Puck in the Five-Hole by The ACME Theatre Company.
There are a couple of rough spots in the show, but by and large, it rocks along at a great clip and is plenty of fun. Plenty of language, but that’s hockey too! Keep rockin’ Acme!
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| Jon Alexander
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| Punk Rock Revisited |
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Ferrari McSpeedy Theatrical Prod.— Cinemateque |
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Punk??? Rock??? Friends?? There was a laugh (I don’t remember when) but it was because it was soooo stupid!
Apologies to TJ Dawe and Mike Rinaldi for removing their flyer from the Beer Tent table but it was the only clean piece of paper I could find (to write a review on).
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| Tim Hogue
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| pyg |
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By Any Other Name Prods.- Son of Warehouse |
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Rose Condo portrays a modern 20-some-
thing young woman who is confronting her own
self image and who attempts to remake herself
to find Mr. Right.
This is a very funny and well staged show
and is quite enjoyable.
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| Murray Hunter
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| pyg |
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By Any Other Name Prods.—Son of Warehouse
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One of the most difficult tasks a playwright faces is deciding what to do with the words, what to leave to the actor(s), and what to leave for the audience to fill in for itself. Rose Condo manages this task almost flawlessly.
I suppose it helps when you are writing a piece you plan to perform yourself, especially if you are as gifted a performer as Rose is. In pyg, her character belies the sociological study that says the happiest people in the world are single women. She consults the advice pages of glossy magazines in an effort to boost her dating prospects, but as with all quests, this one has a down side.
The only place where this otherwise intelligent and entertaining play suffers is in the final character shift. The script gives us enough information to make it logical and satisfying, but her final turn does not quite hit the mark. I suspect that the performance needs a tiny bit of fine-tuning at this point, but overall, this is a very fine theatre experience, that, like a lot of locally-written shows I have seen, deserved a much larger audience that it received.
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| Kevin Longfield
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| The Ragin'Cajun WoridTour |
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The Williamson Playboys- Playhouse |
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Experience a fresh take on history-a long
take. Since these are the oldest musicians in the
world they should know it all.
Funny and engaging, the dynamic duo had us
laughing through the whole 75 minutes. They
should consider putting out a CD, but someone
would probably rip them off. Don't miss this
clever comedy.
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| Cathy and Terry Tully
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| Rainer Hersch's Instruments of Mass Destruction |
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The British Comedy Club Of Great Britain—Planetarium |
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While Weapons of Mass Destruction have yet to be found in Iraq, the laughs are easy to find in Rainer Hersch's one man show. Only Rainer could combine the worlds of music and warfare so that they mesh so comically. He also solves the burning question of 'Where IS Saddam Hussein?'.
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| Murray Hunter
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| Rainer Hersch’s Instruments of Mass Destruction |
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The British Comedy Club of Great Britain—Planetarium
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I have three suggestions, three words each:
I. Dancing on Stage
II. Audience Partici-Paction
III. Go-Go Dancing
I feel these three additions would tie together nicely to give the play a more holistic fringe experience.
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| Bettsey Parsons
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| The Raven |
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The Poe Booth-Jazz Studio (Crocus Bldg Rm 200) |
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A great Fringe experience! An emotionally
powerful performance. At 1 1 minutes, and pass
the hat, you can't lose.
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| James Holme
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| The Raven |
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The Poe Booth-Jazz Studio (Crocus Bldg Rm 200)
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I saw a show about a bird. The bird was a
Raven. I didn't understand a word, but it was
good.
I like the actor, George. He is cool. I like the
bird, the ticket was good.
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| Willlam Mannish (age 6)
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| Revisioning |
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Short Pencil Productions- Conservatory |
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Having written a play about an obscure histor-
ical record myself, I was curious to see how
Hope Macintyre would tell the story of how
female convicts were shipped abroad from Great
Britain to be sold as wives in the colonies.
This is an imaginative and thoroughly fasci-
nating production. The three actors are all strong
and work together well. I had a little trouble fol-
lowing the narrative at the end, but overall it's an
outstanding effort. Bring your Kleenex.
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| Kevin Longfield
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| Revisioning |
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Short Pencil Productions—Conservatory
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This story of 3 women who travel to the new world to be sold as wives, is an emotional journey.
The historical play exposes the truth behind what it was like for these women. The cast is made up of three strong actresses who do a wonderful job portraying 3 different classes of women.
For those who want a show that inspires emotion (it made me cry) this is definitely a hidden treasure of the fest.
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| Mary Thompson
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| sheroes |
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Mad George Productions—MTC Backstage
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This was my first fringe show ever. I really enjoyed the play. Sheroes had my interest from the moment it started until the very end.
It was funny, sad, dramatic and very uplifting.
The language is for adults only, and there are gunshot sounds. The theme is for a mature audience only.
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| Stephen M. Logan
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| sheroes |
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Mad George Productions-MTC Backstage
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Sheroes shines. This three woman show is
dynamic, sexy and powerful. So too, are the
women in it. Their performances are compelling,
sharp and riveting. The story line about three
women trying to sell $1 00,000 worth of cocaine
pulses with urgency, excitement and danger.
The relationships between the three women are
enticing and at times touching. This episodic, all-
female Tarentino adventure is a must-see show!
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| Todd Fish
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| Small World |
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Sue Lee & Kosta AndreaTheatre Company-WCD
Studio
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Sue Lee and Kosta Andrea's create a surreal
and captivating view of the world through the
senses of a very small child, both in the womb
and without.
Performed solo by Sue in brilliant costuming
and makeup, on an inventive set, Small World
evokes a mixture of reactions.It can be poignant yet full of dread, enticing yet repellent,
comfortable yet disturbing, joyful yet horrifying.This intelligently constructed production
puts the audience in the consciousness of the
small child-you experience all that Sue (the
child) is experiencing: wonder, delight, fear,
confusion, and above all vulnerability.
Sue's performance is marvelous physical
theatre. She perfectly captures the uncoordi-
nated movements of a small child, In one
engaging sequence, she is the small child
walking hand-in-hand with her parents, holding
two giant forearm props above her head.
There's sad sequences where Sue portrays a
somewhat neglectful teenage mother and
humour when she mimics an inexperienced
baby-sitter attempting to change a diaper.
As avant-garde physical theatre, Small
World is not for everyone. But don't let that
deter you from seeing it. Empty your mind of
expectations, and simply marvel at Sue Lee's
extraordinary talents.
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| Robin Chase
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| SmallWorld |
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Sue Lee & Kosta Andrea Theatre Co. -WCD Studio |
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The first 5 minutes of this show took my
breath away with the sheer beauty of it, and that
is the type of stunning imagery that continues
throughout the play.
Unfortunately, there were very large sections
where I had no idea what was going on. I may
have been disadvantaged from the start by the
fact that I have a penis and have thus never
given birth.
This show is definitely geared towards
women, but at one point I did hear a woman
behind me whisper to her friend, "what the heck
is she doing now?"
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| Shawn Kowalke
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| Solid and Shade |
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Tom Tom Theatre—Film Group Studio
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How appropriate that a work based on Edgar Allen Poe’s writing should be in Venue 13. This production is one of my favourites so far.
The artists have done a great job of collaborating to create a unique interpretation of Poe. I went to see Tom Soares, who has done some great work with Shakespeare in the Ruins, and became a fan of the other two actors, Tom Keenan and Laura Lussier, who bears a strong resemblance to Poe (but in a good way). Patrick Keenan provided an evocative musical score.
Poe himself, was a great innovator in form, and I am sure he would approve of this production. In one of the more uncomfortable venues, I lost myself in the production. Sit near the fromt, though, to avoid sight line problems.
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| Kevin Longfield
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| The Spice Of Life |
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Leithelle Productions-MTC Warehouse |
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All My Children, Days of Our Lives and Gen-
eral Hospital-move over. The hottest new
soap, The Spice of Life, has arrived!
Remounted from the vault of Fringe hits,
Leith Clark's saucy tale will leave you craving
more (there are three more episodes). Come
see the episode that started it all, and made
Leith undeniably King of the Fringe.The cast is
stellar.Together script and cast will keep you
laughing all the way through.
Join the Parsleys and the Oregenos as they
become entangled in a web of blackmail, sex,
intrigue, scandal and revenge-and that's only
in the first few minutes. To find out what hap-
pens in The Spice of Life you'll just have to
come and see the show.
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| Gareth Craig McVicar
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| Spicy Tales |
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Saucy Gal Productions-Cinematheque |
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Leigh-Anne keeps getting better. Yesterday
she showed that she has depth beyond the
humorously erotic tales she normally tells. I
loved the story of Druzilla, told almost straight
with beautifully developed imagery.
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| Kevin Longfield
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| Star Wars Survivor |
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Purple 9 Productions-MTC Up the Alley
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I'm sitting with my two brothers waiting for
the show to start, Collectively we've seen Star
Wars about a thousand times. We're also Sur-
vivor fans. No pressure...
One hour later...
If you are at all familiar with Star Wars you
will get a kick out of this show. If you're a Star
Wars geek, you'll probably think you could have
written it better ... but you didn't.
Either way, this is an entertaining show with
some big laughs.
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| "Obi" John Gordon
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| Street Suess |
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Pimpin'Catnip Prods, -Son of Warehouse |
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While the man from Orlando may not be up
to our Canadian beer, he certainly is up to
bringing his hood to life. The fact that he does it
la Suess just makes it more fun.
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| Tim Hogue
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| This Is Our Youth |
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Needle-in-A-Haystack Productions - PTE Studio |
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Superb writing, outstanding performances,
subtle and effective direction. Congratulations
to everyone involved.
Don't miss this show. A real Canadian
premiere and not likely to be outdone.
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| Kevin Klassen
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| This is OurYouth |
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Needle-In-A-Haystack Prods-PTE Studio |
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Wonderful acting and a great snapshot of the
lives of three "youths" of 1982. Congratulations
to all involved. I especially liked Kris Turner's
characterization of the vulnerable young man.
Do go see it.
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| Margaret Gordon
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| three |
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The Nothing Productions—Son of Warehouse
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These three women have been performing since they were kids, and it shows.
three features very tight ensemble work with great physicality. The loosely-connected sketches vary somewhat in quality, but at their best (the kid taken to a modern-art museum as a birthday present, and the office worker with a monkey efficiency expert “helping” her) they are as funny as anyone out there.
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| Kevin Longfield
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| TOLD BY A DODO |
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Funky Chicken Theatre Co. -aceart inc.
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I saw Dodo's picture in the program book, and
knew I had to see this. Add a company name like
Funky Chicken, and the draw was irresistible.
Coco the Dodo and Audrey the White Chicken
narrate the framework for four myths-from
Mexico, Egypt, Greece, and Polynesia-which
are acted out by Coco & Audrey's counterparts,
Luan de Burgh & Michelle Seton, using a mix of
props and mime, costume and sound, and their
own acting talent and innate playfulness-and
bubbles! (One must never forget the bubbles. I
never leave home without mine.)
Do you need a better testimonial than fasci-
nated kids, responding to Coco and caught up in
the stories? None of the little ones showed any
signs of napping or wandering away. Esp ecially
right for the 4 to 8 year-old set, the show capti-
vated both the toddlers and the grandparents in
the audience.
Hey, it's not everyday you have the chance to
see a dodo. Go see Coco.
P.S. Spend a few minutes in the aceart gallery
on your way out. The Pez dispenser Last Supper
was getting a lot of attention.
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| Kylea Fulton
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| Toothpaste and Cigars |
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Theatre George-Cinematheque
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This show deserved its sell-out Saturday performance. Two very bright but emotionally superficial people meet at random, but cannot find a
way to break through their cool exteriors and
really connect with one another.
It sounds kind of weepy, but like all great comedies, it has a strong emotional core. The two
actors have great chemistry and are individually
strong. They reminded me of Burns and Allen, or
Hepburn and Tracy, or any other of the great
comic pairings.
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| Kevin Longfield
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| Trick Boxing |
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Sossy Productions-MTC Up the Alley |
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Where else could you see Ballroom Boxing
than during the tale of Dancing Danny David, the
apple boy boxer?
This pair packed quite a punch and know how
to deliver it. Hats off to Brian Sostek and Megan
McClellan for presenting such a wonderful piece
of theatre.
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| Tim Hogue
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| TUMULTE DES FLOTS |
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| ISABELLE BARBAT—MTC Backstage
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I don’t "get" dance. Seldom does it evoke an emotional response from me. I am prompted to attend dance shows for the simple pleasure of watching a body move through space.
This woman was a beautiful, graceful performer. I left the show with a real sense of peace. I particularly enjoyed the yoga influence. And she has a stunning voice.
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| Kathy Clune
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| Veronica's Room |
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Postage Stamp Players - CCC |
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Veronica's Room has a very smart script and
an extremely talented cast. The acting in the
show is outstanding.
The ending is surprising to say the least. Go
see this show.
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| Jon Alexander
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