Susanna Bird and Other Stories

bikecircus—Asper Centre (U of W)

A skydiving accident has a young woman hurtling towards earth. She reflects on her life as the air rushes past her, and unfortunately her mind won’t turn away from a troubling incident in her youth.

Morgan Johnson gives a sensitive performance in this intriguing script by Natalie Frijia, assisted by occasional appearances by Zita Nyrady as her mean-girl friend Tiffany. Johnson makes good use of a trapeze as both the tree she climbs as a 13-year-old and the wind resistance in the more mature woman’s plunge to her fate.

I have no idea what the other reviewers have said about this show, since I have not read a single review this fringe, but judging from the sparse crowd at 10:30 Thursday night, they have not received rave reviews. All the same, I highly recommend this performance.

Kevin Longfield