The Buzz – Reviews

The Tempestuous: A Shrew’d New Comedy by Will Shakespeare & Penny Ashton

Penash Productions—John Hirsch Mainstage

Take a cauldron, throw in some Shakespeare scripts, a few musical numbers, an episode of the Bachelorette, and a plethora of puns based on Shakespeare, then mix it all together with a witchy spell and you end up with the magical result that is “The Tempestuous”. It has been far too long since Penny Ashton has graced our stages at the Winnipeg Fringe (8 years!). She returns with this brilliant, fun and frenetic one person show that draws on Shakespeare, but is told from the woman’s point of view. She deftly performs over 8 characters and includes some audience participation in a couple scenes to carry the story along. A spectacular romp that had the audience on their feet.

Murray Hunter

Emergency Ops

Illustrium Creations—RRC Polytech

Everything you hope not to see during a municipal emergency response. Local performer Hayden Maines plays all five members of their sleepy towns emergency operations department, challenged far more by the travails of office life than the pig shit and chemicals spilling out from a crash. After introducing the cast, the persona and costume changes increasingly speed up, as he cracks jokes and details the situation’s descent into absurd chaos.

First night hiccups are always to be expected, and Hayden keeps an admirable amount of plates spinning in the air. The pace and humour definitely work well, but the primary gimmick of having all the characters played by the same actor feels a bit superfluous.

Josh Fidelak

Adam Bailey: My Three Deaths

Still Your Friend—The Studio at Le Théâtre Cercle Molière

Adam Bailey’s new show centers on three times in his life where he died (or was at least presumed dead). Those stories are just part of his personal journey in looking at death and grief after having to face three deaths of family members within a year. He really brings the audience along, sharing all these stories from different parts of his life as well as some very keen observations about how society deals with the end of life. While sad at times, there is enough humour (including some delving into the appropriateness of humour around death) to make a very engaging and well crafted performance. Bravo!

Murray Hunter