The Buzz – Reviews – 2016

Jim Forgetting

Stars on Moon Theatre—School of Contemporary Dancers

A powerful show, and a side of Alzheimer’s that isn’t normally in focus. While this is a good thing, I had to focus on the show as a show and unfortunately I found both actors very stiff off the top and it didn’t grab me right away. It takes them a while to really get into their stride and once they do the show is fine, but nothing special. The final monologue of the show dragged and felt much longer than the rest of the show. In the end, I was more concerned with the thunder outside than the show altogether.

Arden Pruden

JONNO

ECHO theatre—Tom Hendry Theatre at the MTC Warehouse

I assume this play is a hit on Jian Ghomeshi and honestly, I get more feeling out of watching a news article about Ghomeshi that I do watching this play. Fracturing the incidents and the victims denudes the play of its ability to engage the viewers’ emotions.

After Jonno assaults his victim, the focus either moves to another victim, or moves to Jonno’s justification. If this play would have continue with the victim and displayed the abject horror that they experience, this could have been a powerful and tearful exposition. Instead, it’s just a story without feeling and soul.

Ray Yuen

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

Blackout Productions—Onstage at Pantages

It had its moments of course but when it dragged it really dragged. For a show to be an hour and 45 minutes long it needs to have a strong premise and this show, while it had the premise, it lacked the execution. I found that what they did for comedic effect was less humorous than when they went completely off script. They were strong actors but the show felt so much longer than an hour and 45 minutes. It felt forced in parts and only really flowed when the unexpected happened. Several of the jokes they used were funny, but only because I was familiar with the plays they were parodying unfortunately. The concept is sound of course, dozens of troupes have done this, and most of them have done it better.

Arden Pruden

Flesh-Coloured Crayons

Absolute Zero—The Cinematheque

I remember the “Flesh” crayon, as well as the “Indian Red” crayon and looking back now, those descriptions are so offensive. Thus, based on the title and description, I expected a satire on culture and racism. This theme only appears in smatters and by no coincidence, those are the best parts of this show.

This troupe has five actors and it doesn’t take long to appreciate that their talents range from quite strong to very weak. One of the actors should not be on stage as she has no talent for improv and her storytelling lies a league below average. The stand-up gigs go from so-so to good but most of the improv skits fail.

I saw so much potential when the actors appeared as Princess Jasmine, Tiana, Mulan, Pocahontas and Anna. The starting jokes were fresh and funny. I hoped to see the humour continue with a social
statement of why white is good, black is bad, and everything in-between is gradient. Instead, the exploration ends and show jumps to an inane girl-talk having nothing to do with “flesh.” If they take some time and effort to focus on the theme and dump the other clutter (and the weak link), this could become a superior show—as is, this looks like a haphazard hotchpotch that someone hastily threw together with no cogence or coherence.

Ray Yuen

Snapshots

Lonely Girl Productions—MTC Up the Alley

My initial thought about this show is that watching people study is one of the least interesting things to put on stage unless it’s done properly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t done particularly well and the entire first act (of three) dragged much more than the next two. The relationship between the two main characters felt a touch incestuous which made the show a little difficult to watch, and personally I was rather uncomfortable. It could have been a lot tighter overall and the performances were weak. It could be a stronger show with a tighter script but until then I would give it a miss.

Arden Pruden

Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII

Monster Theatre—PTE – Colin Jackson Studio

This is the third year (after 2012 and 2013) that this show has been presented at the Winnipeg Fringe. It is easy to be skeptical of one-person shows that feature a large number of characters, but this show won me over by the time it ended. Tara Travis, dressed in a simple white ankle-length dress that she never adds to or changes, introduces each of the wives as they pass into the afterlife, usually after some horrible death. It is a testament to Travis’ acting skill that she can keep them all distinct, from the noble Catherine of Aragon to the ditzy Catherine Howard. Travis moves constantly about as she keeps a heated discussion going amongst an expanding group of people. It is the different physical poses that she employs for each of the characters that does the most to keep them all clear.

Once all six wives are together, they need to figure out who will be Henry’s consort in the royal, as opposed to the normal, heaven. This plays like a Survivor of the 1500s, with each woman trying to justify her place over the others. Later on, Henry himself appears, and Travis portrays him like an arrogant and corpulent fellow. The real twist, which makes this comedy satisfying even as political commentary, occurs when the women start to think about what they really want in the afterlife, that they did not originally have in life, and they start to do something about it.

Konrad Antony

Places to Wait

Aaron Simm—Red River College

The only thing I have to say that’s in any way negative is that this show is much funnier if you’re from Winnipeg. Thankfully I am from Winnipeg and I thought it was hilarious. Aaron Simm is an amazing storyteller who combines humour with history in his tale of desperately trying to leave Winnipeg. It was surprising how accurate everything he had to say about the city was. In the end he was right, a lot of people hate this city, but we love to hate her. And leaving would be bittersweet no matter what.

Arden Pruden

C-

SPNP Tech—Son of Warehouse

In this forty-five-minute one-man show, Eric Jaffe of Brooklyn, New York, reflects on the serpentine paths that he and many others of his age and social group have taken in their work lives during the past twenty to thirty years. To prepare for this show, he had interviewed sixty-five former fraternity brothers, compiled their stories, and looked for trends. Sometimes he acts out their stories, putting on different accents and mannerisms, and at other times he summarizes what he has learned. One conclusion that he draws is that nobody really knows what their intended career will be like before they finally get into it, and more than a few people discover that they do not actually like what they have chosen. Often individuals have to try many things in life to find a suitable fit. These are good lessons that I appreciated being reminded about, but does this work as theatre? I can’t say that any of the stories really stuck in my mind, and another problem was that it was sometimes hard to tell if Jaffe was speaking for himself or as just another one of his characters/interviewees. Moreover, what is Jaffe saying about his own production with his choice of title?

Konrad Antony

The Humourists

HCMD Productions—Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall (UofW)

If you’re going to open your show with a video projection at least make sure the audio and visual are synced up. There were 3 projections in this piece and it’s unfortunate that all I could see was how out of sync it was. That combined with the video sketches not being particularly funny made the whole thing drag for me. The ladies were funny, but I rarely laughed aloud, if anything I smiled and chuckled here and there. I know all three of these women are very talented but unfortunately this wasn’t their strongest work.

Arden Pruden

Jim Forgetting

Stars on Moon Theatre—School of Contemporary Dancers

I got to see this wonderful production during the great storm that engulfed Winnipeg on Wednesday night. It was one of those moments when nature enhances art, with the distant rumbling outside enhancing the sense of foreboding as Jim’s wife struggles against the inevitable fate of his early onset Alzheimer’s.

I loved the simple staging and the episodic nature of the script, and the finely-tuned teamwork of Lyle Morris and Cheryl Soluk. Both roles presented enormous challenges, and the actors fully committed to those challenges. I’m stingy with my standing ovations, but I happily joined the rest of the full house last night.

Kevin Longfield