The Buzz – Reviews – 2017

KING

Walk&Talk Productions—MTC Up the Alley

There is really only one word that needs to be said in this review: Wow! It is well earned by this fantastic cast. I was beyond sad when it ended. I could have listened for another three hours. This show is nothing but sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Exploring the choices and legacy of three very different kings, this amazing play modernizes the legends and puts them as rock gods. This is helped by having the kings played by three fantastic vocalists who are all given a well deserved chance to shine. My only wish is that they somehow release a cast recording. Believe me, when you see the show you will want the same. I’m still humming the songs now! Do not miss this gem of a rock musical or you will be very sorry.

Kaitlyn Kriss

Riot Resist Revolt Repeat

Vault Projects—Dragon Arts Collective

This gets the award for best production. The many flights of stairs on the way up to the venue were decorated to echo the themes of the show and the two strange doctors in the play meet you eerily and silently at the entrance. The stage and theatre is elaborately and beautifully decorated and they make use of every type of media there is. The work involved must have been tremendous and I appreciated the care and effort. I want them to do my next party.

The same kind of effort should have gone into the play. After around thirty plays, this is the first example of amateurish acting I’ve seen. Melanee Deschambeault was lovely and competent in the lead. The two other characters each had different flaws. Eric was stiff in his acting, which should be gone by this time in the run. You can tell he loves the theatre but I suspect he may be better used in directing or producing. Riva was strangely loud and startling when she did her lines. The shrouded character was superfluous, though they needed something for the fourth character to do until she was needed for the final scene. The script was interesting, though the medical scenes were awkward and uncomfortable to watch due to the roughness of the acting. The removal of various audience members of and on stage was pointless, and interrupted the flow. Despite my whining of too many one person plays; I would have preferred to see Melanie do this alone. The aboriginal aspect was a little preachy and the flow strange and disjointed, without a smooth pace. If she carried the story alone, this would have been avoided. They already had most of the medical scenes taped, and should have stuck with that. An interesting experience but not one that entirely satisfies. Great script but the execution needs work.

Lisa Campbell

The Ladies Guide to Deceit and Debauchery

Ballyhoo Entertainment—Son of Warehouse

I found out today that this year’s Fringe features seven magic shows! Seven! This is my fourth and I’ve seen some of the illusions overlapping—but not here. The gags in this show are unique (caveat: there are still three other magic shows I didn’t see).

The Fringe programme purports to feature two illusionists, Lucy and Lilly—unless I’m missing something, this is a solo act. Regardless, Hendrix puts on an entertaining background behind the illusions. The programme also calls this a “magical musical.” A couple of songs emerge from the demonstration but by no means would I call this a musical. In fact, Hendrix’s singing abilities—well, it’s not quite an ability, let’s say [it somehow feels very wrong to pan musical ability and have the name “Hendrix” in the same sentence].

Based on the title, I hoped for more scandalous or risqué parts but after all, it’s a magic show and I can see her wanting to keep it kid-friendly.  Still, it’s a solid effort, aside from the singing.

Ray Yuen

The Neighbourhood Watch

The Neighbourhood Watch Improv—MTC Up the Alley

Long form improv is not normally my thing. My attention span is too short for it. This I loved though! The actors were so quick witted you couldn’t even tell it wasn’t scripted. I was impressed by how genuinely funny and heartfelt each of them were. The cast has excellent rhythm. You can tell that they have been performing together for a long time. I loved seeing how supportive of each other they were. Everyone in the cast is equally as talented and all were able to hold their own. Neighbourhood Watch is funny, charming and different every time. If you haven’t seen it go, if you have go again!

Kaitlyn Kriss

Dr. Caligari’s Cabaret of Luck

Midnight Cabaret—WECC – Ventura Hall

Editor’s Note: The Cabaret was on Wednesday Night at Midnight and is an annual tradition. The last couple of years it has been at the WECC.

A good time was had by all as the traditional Midnight Cabaret stared in its relatively new WECC venue. This is a traditional fundraiser put on by the performers with the profits going to Harvest and the Fringe volunteer program. The actors plan and work on skits and songs for the fans and their own entertainment. The WECC is spacious, with multiple levels to utilize, so we never know where the next act will pop up. It’s traditional to light the action with flashlights held by the audience. This year was a riot. It was amazing to see just how much popcorn can stick to a person covered from head to toe in lube. They are also hard to catch. This is a good chance to see your favorite actors doing something different with an ensemble. We need more of you to attend this great event as it was only half full. The show was one of the best in some time.

Lisa Campbell

SLAM!

Winnipeg Poetry Slam—Red River College

First rule about a poetry slam:  no nudity.

Boo!

What’s the point—let’s go home,
No want hear all them poem.

Oh too late, you must stay;
Grab a seat, do not stray.

Get some numbers, be a judge—
Judge be fair, numbers don’t fudge.

Poems, some good
Some seem coarse—
Soak them all!
Have no remorse.

Fingers go snap,

Hands go clap,
Poems be real—ain’t no rap;
Poets be real—ain’t no crap.

Some be grave;
Some be ham;
Good time crave?
Come to SLAM!

Ray Yuen

The House of Yes

Half Empty—Tom Hendry Warehouse

House of yes is a tidal wave of comedy and tragedy. A masterclass in acting and subtlety, this play could have easily been on the MTC Mainstage. Standouts from the cast were Jackie O as well as the drunk mom. The crazy characters are we’re an absolute treat to watch. Parts of the plays made me feel uncomfortable; but, it is written to make you feel uncomfortable. This is something no one should see with their siblings. Well done and don’t miss this show!

Kaitlyn Kriss

Prophecy

Impossible Mongoose—One88

This play is so remarkable one hardly knows where to start. To touch on all the splendid features of it would require a long review. So for the moment here are some almost-random comments:

In awarding it 5 stars CBC was under-rating it.

Several hours later it still feels as if one’s entrails are littering the floor at Venue 29.

A terrifyingly powerful play, performed by Carmen Neuwenhuis and directed by Corben Kushneryk. It focuses on four women of Troy during the Trojan War—Cassandra, the dead-on accurate prophet whom no one believed, her mother Hecuba, queen of Troy, her sister-in-law Andromache, and half-sister Briseis (with a few glimpses of Helen of Troy). We look at these events from a women’s perspective. Not a pretty picture—and as Ardern herself has remarked, there’s no catharsis in it. It’s vivid, savage realism. One long shriek of pain and rage. But, being realism, it weaves in gentleness, warmth, and comedy as well. The writing and acting of Briseis’s introduction to the not-unkind warrior Patroklos is simply charming.

Some of the best of the best parts are when one character comments on other people—illuminating them with sharp clarity. Hecuba’s remarks comparing her foppish son Paris (principal provoker of the war that brought catastrophe to Troy), comparing him unfavourably with a hat, are hilarious.

Performer Carmen Neuwenhuis and director Corben Kushneryk are remarkable. Neuwenhuis’s shifts of persona from Cassandra to iron-hard Hecuba to the crushed and terrified Briseis to pious and repressed Andromache, and to the mincing Helen, are marvellous. The shifts are helped by slight costume, cosmetic, and location changes (and the set-pieces are all ordinary everyday objects), but this actor has a great ability to change her presence. And as for her projection and power—well, I won’t tell you to get ready to duck, since you’ll find yourself doing that by reflex.

I did think the play could be improved if there was a more obvious indication the actor has shifted roles when she makes the first switches to her several characters. For instance, for a few moments you think Cassandra’s talking about her son when the actor’s actually shifted to Queen Hecuba who is telling us about HER son. It’s confusing if one knows who these characters in Greek myth are—if you don’t, it must be disorienting. 

The audience seemed very attentive through the whole hour.

Somehow Ardern’s got her imagination so inside Greek tragedy that she’s actually written one.  

One doesn’t say such things. But it does need to be said. Ardern’s passage on the fate of Andromache’s and Hector’s son Astyanax actually improves on Euripides.

With this play, this author takes another step toward the Governor-General’s Award league—if it doesn’t bring her there already.

The play brings things home to us. I won’t tell you how it ends, but I’ll just say—we, the audience, sat there stunned.

To borrow a phrase, Prophecy is coming FOR Edmonton next month.

Kevan Bowkett

What Would Emma Goldman Do?

ZList Productions—Tom Hendry Warehouse

What WOULD Emma Goldman do? I saw this play last night and I still don’t know. I don’t even know if it matters, since the script doesn’t give you a whole lot of information about the influential anarchist.

I’m not sure what the script was trying to do. We are presented with four characters, all of whom are caricatures. There is an anarchist, a philanthropist, and ex-con and an alt-right publisher. Non of these people are likeable, in fact they are all quite despicable. Is the show just camp, a poke at the bear as it were? Is it social commentary, trying to define and expose us as people who present one aspect but always have hidden agendas and nefarious goals? Or was it really trying to examine the current political state of society, with special reference to the USA?

I really don’t know. If it was camp, the send up didn’t go far enough. If it was social commentary, the script did not give the characters any way for us as an audience to care about them, or what happens to them. As far as the USA situation, there was really not enough there to actually promote discussion.

The acting was adequate. The actors know how to move on stage, deliver their lines, and interact with each other. Generally, the alt-right publisher and the boyfriend were the most interesting to watch. They found some humour in their roles, and kept things moving. The anarchist character was often strident in her delivery as opposed to being passionate about her beliefs, and the philanthropist wife character was underwritten, and not even really a philanthropist.

The production values of this show were pretty low. This is a millionaire’s mansion for Pete’s sake. The couch was from the nineties, the rug looked like it came off of someone’s porch and the ottoman was plastic. So too, was quite an important prop, the gun, which was badly painted silver and nonfunctional.

This was not a show I would encourage people to see.

Michelle Cook

The Standoff

Floppy Fish Productions—Tom Hendry Warehouse

Musicals, comedy and lemons await you at this original musical. The songs were somewhat catchy. There were a few great physical gags and a hilarious satanic little girl. The show featured gorgeous harmonies and a very vocally talented cast. Unfortunately that is not enough to make an amazing musical. I found that the show went on way too long. It was a great, hilarious idea but it would be better suited as a short skit rather than a long musical. There were also a ton of microphone issues. The musical was very dirty with the amount of f-bombs, c-bombs, and any other language bomb you can think of. If swearing makes you uncomfortable at all, don’t attend this show. A great idea that just missed the mark in all aspects, and one you can probably skip this year.

Kaitlyn Kriss