The Buzz – Reviews

50% Nonverbal

C. Neil Parsons—School of Contemporary Dancers

C. Neil Parsons oscillates between storytelling, physical theatre, music, and dance in a series of impressionistic segments exploring perception and interpretation in thoughts, words, and sound. Rather than building toward a conventional narrative, Parsons guides his audience through a series of vignettes. Some pieces are more abstract than others, and the variety keeps the performance fresh; there is genuine pleasure in watching Parsons transition so confidently from one scene to the next.

Moving fluidly between the whimsical and the introspective, the performance’s greatest strengths lie in its physicality. Parsons’ stage presence is expressive and playful, periodically incorporating choreography alongside some unconventional and delightful bass trombone techniques.

Shifting from goofy to sincere and back, 50% Nonverbal embraces its eclectic mix of artistic disciplines. Audiences willing to follow its dreamlike logic will find a thoughtful and elegantly inventive Fringe experience.

Ashley Frantik

Finding Rem Lezar

Rem Lezar Theatre—Asper Centre for Theatre and Film-U of W

What was going on? There was no parking for blocks! The place was packed! Deliberately not doing research in advance, hoping to be surprised, I found this was a musical with a three piece band and lots of child and young actors; with the exception of the hero Rem Lazar. In my opinion the talent was the strongest from the youngest up. I was very impressed. Let’s hope little Fringe performers grow into big Fringe performers. The house was full of adoring friends and family.

I’m going to call this a learning and growing project. It was obviously extremely well rehearsed with not a flub or misstep. The choreography was perfection . The vocals, not so much in ensemble numbers. I hope the adoration and friends and family don’t run out and make this a rewarding run for this hard working young cast.

Lisa Campbell

The 7 Lives of Louis Riel

I, Metis Productions—PTE – Cherry Karpyshin Mainstage

Originally a work by Ryan Gladstone of Monster Theatre, the script was given a more culturally appropriate makeover by local Metis theatre folk Geneviève Pelletier, Katie German, and Cory Wojcik. The latter two doing the performing on stage. Opening and closing with a song by Ray St. Germain, they step through 7 parts of Louis Riel’s life using 7 different genres.

It is largely based on history, but with plenty of comedic not-so-historical moments thrown in. Each part is told from a different historical perspective, which changes how Louis Riel was viewed. The different genres add a bit more fun with genres that include a Hallmark Christmas Movie, a Graphic Novel, and a Noir Detective Film.

This is a fun high-energy production that was a real crowd-pleaser and the performing chemistry between Katie and Cory really brings it home.

Murray Hunter

Private Parts: The Secrets We Keep

Gravity Theatre—RRC Polytech

Secrets. We all have them. Those secrets can affect our lives, whether they’re the ones we keep or the ones that are revealed to us over time. This is the area that Joanna Rannelli mines in her one-woman show: the secrets (“the private parts” of herself) that she held on to, and how they informed her life and relationships with her mother. Candid and engaging, Joanna held the audience in thrall with her honest dialogue, even shedding a tear or two herself. This is a fantastic show that will have the crowd reflecting on their untold stories.

Karl Eckstrand

Bullheaded

Chronically Ch(ill) Productions—Planetarium Auditorium

What a polar show. From the cutesy puppets and the flippant beginning, I thought this was going to be a Kids’ Fringe type of show.

Then it darkened very quickly.

I read a lot of Greek Mythology back when I had time to read. It’s been decades but I don’t think the rendition from Hailley Rhoda fits entirely with the plot of the Myth. But what is Myth? In one of my discussion groups, there’s discourse that a Mythology is simply a Religion that’s been conquered. That makes sense; if a superior species conquers the Western World and the conquerors teach a new Religion, in a few generations, Christianity ceases to be a Religion and becomes a Mythology. Then interpretations change (and they do in religions as well) but what’s truth? Or Untruth? Rhoda’s angle works for this show so is it accurate? Who cares–just enjoy the show.

Rather than focus on the “hero” of the narrative, this show looks at the story from the eyes of Pasiphaë, wife of Minos and mother of the Minotaur. It’s raw, gripping and devastating. I find the later shift—towards the end of the show—a drastic re-shift. We went from levity to devastation, but then the bit with Theseus tries to turn comedic again. That’s too much emotional shift. You went from fun to ripping hearts out—let’s just leave those hearts hanging by the aortae. Despite that, well worth the journey.

Ray Yuen

Another Side of Rice

Nicholas Rice—Asper Centre for Theatre and Film-U of W

I had to get more Rice after being so delighted with his show two years ago. The audience was peppered with enthusiastic friends from his days as a former Pegger. He made new ones with his affable personality and polished story telling skills. He related tales of his childhood as an underdog in athletics, and touching stories of losing his father at a young age and his youth. These were interspersed with his sage philosophies of life. A genuinely impressive and worthwhile show!

Lisa Campbell

« Jean-François, plus que parfait »

Langues Tordues/Twisted Tongues—Le Studio at Théâtre Cercle Molière

A direct call to government for accountability in protecting minority languages in Canada. ‘« Jean-François, plus que parfait »’ is a political satire that highlights injustices felt by many French Canadians and Indigenous language speakers.

The titular character, Jean-François, is the ideal francophone. He speaks absolute perfect French, never using any anglacisms (English words used in French). Through the power of sex he turns most of Canada into perfectly bilingual speakers, and yet this creates its own problems that politicians are ill-equipped to manage.

The play criticises Canada for being a country that claims to value linguistic diversity, yet fails to serve language minorities. The scene where the anglophone, the francophone, the queer francophone, and an Indigenous person reveal the receipts for what it cost them to become bilingual was particularly effective in illustrating intersectional issues.

While French Canadian experiences are the centre of this play, it attempts to reach all language minorities. For that reason, audiences who feel under-served in their first language will see something of their experience represented. Anyone who loves the French language, French people, and who cares about language minority issues should go see this play.

Shane Thevenot

Andrew Silverwood: Love Thy Neighbour

Andrew Silverwood—Planetarium Auditorium

After bringing the audience together with a minty-fresh holy communion opening bit, Andrew Silverwood maintains his energetic exuberance throughout this well crafted stand-up set. The delivery is seamless, the punchlines are solid, and his self-deprecating jokes on family history and neighbourly annoyance land spectacularly with a Winnipeg audience.

Remarkably, this review was of both Silverwood’s opening performance and his first time playing Winnipeg. Whether he stumbled into an uncanny understanding of Winnipeggers via divine intervention, or simply benefited from the understanding that we really are all just neighbours, his material feels surprisingly at home here at Winnipeg Fringe.

Ashley Frantik

Site #57

Thinking & Feeling Theatre Company—Asper Centre for Theatre and Film-U of W

I really enjoyed this new work even though I’m sure I’m not in their target audience of older teens and twenty-somethings. The audible gasps and cries of surprise from the crowd certainly showed how much the cast succeeded in having the audience in the palms of their hands. This clever script was so well written I couldn’t find a single flaw or suggestion for improvement (except I felt the final dialog between Hailey and Luke could have been shorter). I feel strongly that other than Shakespeare productions, Fringe shows should be kept to an hour.

I recommend this sweet show that delivers intrigue, humour and heartbreak with a charming, professional cast at the helm.

Lisa Campbell

Sounds from the Meat Machine

Licensed Fool Productions—Son of Warehouse

Brad Torres presents a celebration of “meat-machine”-made music; a universal and perhaps inherently human science in the face of waves of AI-slop flooding streaming platforms. Using his keyboard to demonstrate the building blocks of musical composition, he aims to build an original piece with the audience by the end of the show.

Some of the more academic discussion on music theory might drag a little for the uninitiated. The opening-day audience included several music students, who appeared to delight in the show’s denser theoretical references. For those without a background in music theory, however, some of the material may prove harder to follow.

Audience input was largely relegated to the end and was a little tricky for some components (naming a musical key on command is simple, calling out a melody, less so). Even so, creating real music with real people, including working through the rough patches, is a joy that cannot be procedurally generated.

Ashley Frantik