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The Jenny Revue is a publication of The Jenny Revue Inc., a not-for-profit corporation, funded solely by advertising and donations. It is not affiliated with The Winnipeg Fringe Festival, MTC, or any other organization. Privacy Policy The Jenny Revue is published on Treaty 1 territory, the lands and traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Anisininew, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and on the Homeland of the Red River Métis. | ||||||||||||||||||
The Buzz – Reviews – 2015
A Behanding in Spokane
We’ll Do It Live—PTE Studio
If this one’s not on your must see list, it should be. The story of a man whose untimely separation from his left hand and subsequent 27-year search for it, sets the tone for this comedy.
When a couple try to sell him a hand to cash in on the reward money, comedy abounds. Add a hotel clerk with his own agenda and it’s mayhem.
It takes a lot for me to LOL (literally) at a performance but I sure did at this one! It’s FUN-NEEE!!! With a strong script (albeit ridiculous), and brilliant performances by all cast members, the 90 minutes flew by. Hands down one of your best bets at this year’s Fringe!
Joanne Nuys
Japanese Samurai Don Quixote Challenging…
Hiroshi Shimizu—Cinematheque
I think Hiroshi is the hardest working performer at this Fringe. He can be seen constantly hand-billing and promoting his show at all hours. I didn’t have this one on my radar but it’s my new favorite and I’m very hard to impress after 25 years of heavy Fringing.
This guy delivers! It’s a heartfelt story of how a young Japanese man with barely a grasp of English, ends up at The Edinburgh Fringe. He ignores a request for an interview by the Times, as he thinks it’s a joke, only to find himself having to explain his comedic raison d’être, in hand signals, to a thoroughly puzzled reviewer from that world famous paper.
I loved his explanations of the difference between Japanese and English speakers, and his impression of drunken Scots in a titty bar, one of his first, eye-opening gigs. His stories of his struggles to become a performer and his motivation will move anyone who has faced adversity and won.
His claims to not speak English well are false. He is so eloquent, insightful, and driven and his choice of words shows a deep intelligence and understanding of the human condition.
He’s sure to become a favourite of performers and patrons, alike. Please don’t miss Hiroshi!
Lisa Campbell
Inescapable
RibbitRepublic—The Purple Room
Few people can craft a head-trip of a story as well as Martin Dockery, and Inescapable doesn’t disappoint. The plot continually rewinds and plays out, all conveyed through dialogue that shifts and morphs subtly as it repeats.
Two friends are stuck in a room, gradually becoming aware of what is happening to them, and to their broader lives in general. Tensions build, simmer, relax then come boiling back as they slowly piece together the situation.
Pacing is tight, and pressure builds steadily to a climax that is crushing in the implications for the characters. While the play doesn’t seem to have quite as much room for broad interpretation as some of Dockery’s previous work, theories were still ricocheting around the head of this viewer well into the next day. A Fringe favorite continues to deliver.
Ryan Hauff
Inescapable
RibbitRepublic—The Purple Room
Inescapable is storytelling at its finest.
This original story pushes through at an excellent pace with wonderful performances by Martin Dockery and Jon Patterson.
It’s funny, confrontational, and manic. You can’t escape the endless déjà vu and honestly, you won’t want to.
Annett Kohut
Loon
WONDERHEADS—Warehouse
Over the past few years, the Wonderheads have become money in Winnipeg’s Fringe scene. This is my first foray into Wonderheads territory so I had high expectations. But I was a little disappointed.
The acting was great—don’t get me wrong there. Despite the mask having only one look, the movements (with some help from the music) seemed to elucidate difference facial expressions. The delivery was phenomenal. My gripe comes with the plot—this was an intensely sorrowful situation that left me sad, and I didn’t feel any better when I left. Some stories intend to leave you sad but this one left me with a hole.
Ray Yuen
Loon
WONDERHEADS—Warehouse
LOON is must-see physical theatre with an excellent sound design, and it’s family-friendly.
Students of acting should take particular note of what THE BODY can convey, even while working with a stationary mask and without the voice.
John Chase
Merlyn Productions
Kids vs. City
Seventh Sense—Planetarium
I had the misfortune of checking out Seventh Sense’s production, Kids vs. City. Two best friends who, while searching for a fringe venue stumble across a “mysterious board game called The City.” In an ode to the classic film Jumanji, Craig and Josh spend the next 60 minutes “trying to defeat the magical board game.” Unfortunately for the audience, this is possibly one of the worst performances currently at the Fringe.
The dialogue is infantile, the characters juvenile, the music off-key, and the humour joyless. Five minutes into the act, I was ready to leave and demand my money back but decided to stay in the hope that things would get better. They didn’t, as evidenced by the “rap battle” between a policeman and a fireman.
Kids vs. City is a crime against theatre! Please warn everyone out there!
Alex Gachanja
Disco Pigs
Broken Still Productions—Planetarium
Both actors speak very quickly. The show is rather difficult to understand until you get used to their accents. I was straining to hear what they had to say for the first 20 minutes or so, which also happens to be how long it took to warm up to the characters in any way.
They both seem like honestly awful people, though Runt really does seem to mean well in some cases. The best way to describe it is: it’s a story of how things fall apart.
Arden Pruden
Who Killed the Applebottoms?
In the Morning—Warehouse
The program advertises 75 minutes but the actual running time is only 40 minutes, so plan your schedules accordingly. It’s a shame too, since I would have liked to see more of this piece. I can’t help but wonder what could have been.
It starts off fine, but what kind of murder-mystery reveals the killer up front? I expected some sort of incredible plot twist but it’s not there. I would like to see the original script to see what was hacked to the floor because what’s left doesn’t make a heck of a lot of sense, and it leaves you wanting more.
Ray Yuen
A GUIDE TO SURVIVE A GREAT FLOOD by Noah
Zoot Zoot Prods.—Asper Centre (UofW)
This is probably the zaniest show I have seen so far at the fringe. We as an audience were greeted by about a 100 stuffed animals sitting in our seats and the craziness didn’t stop there. Ken Hall is a master improviser who takes the ridiculous and makes it accessible to the audience. I don’t think I have ever cried over a stuffed animal being murdered before. This show was hilarious! Keep in mind parents that the animals were cute but the language at times was not (there are quite a few F-bombs)
Kaitlyn Kriss
