The Buzz – Reviews

Tess Talks

The Tess Effect—Planetarium

I can’t entirely review this show because I never got to see the end or the last speaker. A fire alarm forced us to evacuate the building, which of course, ended the show prematurely. I hope the speaker didn’t have to run outside wearing just underwear!

We left during Marc Dionne’s talk, and he was by far the best speaker of the bunch. There were some problems with some of the deliveries but that did not dismiss the power of the stories, nor the vulnerability of the speakers. I want to applaud all of them for their bravery in coming out to tell their tales. There were some important things to learn from their experiences—all towards building understanding of people’s challenges. I didn’t get to hear the resolution of Dionne’s story and I really want to know how it brought closure.

Even though I didn’t see it through the end, I feel qualified enough to write on what I saw—and what I saw was thoughtful, deep, personal and touching.

Ray Yuen

Money Fish: Balls, Balls, Balls

Hercinia Arts Collective—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

Hercinia Arts collective delivers a polished, traditionally staged theatre spectacle; a nice alternative to the large-scale audience participation format typical of the Kids Venue. Instead of calling on the crowd, the company draws viewers in with immersive sound and lighting design.

The expressive physical theatre captivated the young audience as the Money Fish and their Balls, Balls, Balls juggle their way through a musically driven mash up of Looney Tunes, Fantasia, synchronized swimming and acrobatics.

The performers move with offbeat confidence, fishy expressions, and balletic timing through a clownishly choreographed, visually stunning and rhythmically playful piece of children’s theatre.

Ashley Frantik

🙂 FOOL’S GAMBIT

James & Jamesy—PTE – Cherry Karpyshin Mainstage

A wild, abstract and improvisational romp through time, space and Nietzsche. While clearly relying on the improv skills of Aaron and Alastair (Of James and Jamesy fame) and Nayana of Ragmop Theatre, this show is one I’d lean towards calling clowning, due to the focus on physicality and absurdism. The scenes are all over the place, flowing between more and less abstract moments and in and out of the crowd, both physically and in terms of their constant interaction with the audience. Extremely audience dependent, the show I saw had a great crowd that was very excited to be included, which was definitely necessary for this to be enjoyable. Not necessarily my cup of tea, but a fantastic show regardless.

Josh Fidelak

Story Wizards

Piti Theatre Company—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

Piti Theatre invites young audiences into the world of storytelling via an interactive tutorial. Following a gentle imagination warm-up, a closed-eye visualization exercise that invites kids to recall sights, smells, and other sensory details not currently in the theatre, they explain key story telling concepts like specificity, setting, characters, and structural components such as the climax.

Once the foundations are laid, the melodramatic Story Wizards get the kids laughing with big physicality, outlandish sounds, and physical gags as they psyche everyone up to tell a bespoke story together as a group

Improv with kids is an ambitious undertaking, and while the show’s structured introduction provided a roadmap, the freeform storytelling that followed frequently drifted off course. Managing time and an enthusiastic crowd of young contributors proved to be a challenge, and as a result, the story didn’t always hit every narrative milestone. Still, the enthusiasm in the room and the performers’ commitment to playful collaboration made for a fun and interactive experience that encouraged creativity and imagination.

Ashley Frantik

Instant Modern Classic

The Improv Company—PTE – Cherry Karpyshin Mainstage

Extremely ambitious improv, trying to mix comedic training and improv impulses with serious storytelling and character arcs. All the actors involved are extremely talented, and for every joke that got the entire audience laughing, there was another plot beat that not only logically followed what came before (no easy feat in improv, to be clear) but also deepening relationships and characterization. Like all improv, what you get changes entirely from show to show, but with talent like this you’re in great hands even if what you get isn’t guaranteed.

Josh Fidelak

Alright: Solving the Problem of Living

Four Face Productions—Planetarium

Nisha Coleman is a great storyteller and has lived an extremely interesting life. Some of the stories as mentioned in the program, such as being rescued by Princess Bride’s Westley in Halifax, seem like they would be fabricated, but they all happened. The stories are all compelling. Even those delving into tough topics like suicide and mental health are handled very well.

Her message that even that even simple things like a smile can make a great difference to someone really hits home and ties together her narrative beautifully.

Murray Hunter

Nervous Breakdown in G Minor

Lewis Rawlinson—Théâtre Cercle Molière

Part memoir, part concert, Nervous Breakdown in G Minor is a solo performance that blends queerness, addiction, and mental illness through the lens of a young American cellist. Lewis Rawlinson brings vulnerability and emotional depth to the stage, weaving his personal story with fragments of memory, music, and identity.

The cello playing, as expected, is superb but a pleasant surprise was Rawlinson’s singing voice, which added additional emotional and musical texture to the show. The more abstract, surreal segments gave this performance its most affecting moments. These atmospheric interludes often said more than words, and were a highlight of the theatrical portions of the show.

One of the strongest elements of the performance is Rawlinson’s portrayal of his psychotic break, not as retrospective trauma, but from the perspective of someone experiencing it in real time. These scenes were raw and immersive, offering a window into mental collapse that felt neither melodramatic nor clinical, but authentically lived.

Ashley Frantik

Reviewing The Free Press 2

Happy Capybara Productions—Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame

Benji is witty, funny and fantastic, but admittedly, I was a bit distracted by his good looks and amazing physique. ***** (5 stars!)

Oh wait—that’s what Rothman wants people to write! Here’s what I’m actually going to write, but before I do, I want to confess something.

I’m scared.

The Free Press reviewed his show yesterday and today, it’s in his show. There’s a good chance that whatever I say here, he’s going to talk about tomorrow—and if I say displeasing things to him, I’m going to get reviewed in a poor light. Seeing his “review” today, it won’t be “Benji Rothman reviews The Jenny,” it will be “Benji Rothman reviews Ray Yuen.” So do I butter him up so he presents nice things about me tomorrow and for the rest of the run?!

If you know The Jenny at all, you know that we’re brutally honest. Some of our previous staff members have been rumoured to take beer as bribes but believe me, as the Review Coordinator for The Jenny, I’m going to say that we cannot be influenced by bribes, and we’re going to write what we honestly feel. So Rothman, if you don’t like what I have to say, bring it on! I’m a veteran Reviewer and I’ve written hundreds, if not thousands of reviews. I’ve received everything from bad-mouthing, to swearing, and even got a death-threat once. Yet, here I still am!

To start, there were some delivery issues and problems with the smoothness of the show. I found a number of occasions where Rothman broke the momentum because he was obviously reading his PowerPoint notes on the laptop. I would expect to know the script well enough not to have to stop dead to review.

However, I totally agrees with Rothman on many points. The Free Press, and in past, The CBC, wields way too much power in their ratings, and especially with their star system. I had a Fringe show last year, and I sat anxiously waiting for the next-day result. Five stars meant that you would sell out, and anything below three stars meant that you’re doomed. Who holds your future? Reporters forced to jam as many shows in as possible, some of whom don’t want to be there. I personally talked with a number of sports writers who asked how I got roped into this hideous task.

Uh, I want to be here.

My show was reviewed by a fashion, music and cooking reporter. I got a respectable 3.5 stars but I easily could have one star, if the reporter happened to be racist or like a certain, Orange Idiot south of the border.

So yes, I completely agree with Rothman’s posit that The Free Press has too much power and they often abuse, or at least misuse it.

More about the show, I was a Statistical Analyst/Statistician in my other life and I loved the statistical analyses that Rothman did. Did they show causation? No, but correlation? Not sure, but it was fun to think about and there were some interesting trends.

The biggest laughs came from Rothman reviewing someone else’s previous show. I won’t say anymore about that part.

Throughout, there were entertaining parts, laughs, and good fun. If you weren’t quite soaking it in, Rothman reminded you that you can get up at any time to purchase beer or wine to help you out (I sat right next to the bar for convenience).

I’m tempted to return to tomorrow’s show to see what he says about me!

Ray Yuen

Seance Sisters

Wickert & Arbogast—Son of Warehouse

Part history, part magic act, part family drama, the Seance Sisters deliver an atmospheric Victorian Gothic immersive experience that bleeds beyond their stage. Their intensely spooky demeanour quickly silences even a rowdy weekend crowd.

The definitely-not-a-show features 19th century spiritualism techniques, light voluntary audience participation, and simmering sibling rivalry. After some moral quandaries regarding the fraudulent and exploitative nature of their craft, the sisters’ best trick is their unexpected themes of female agency, economic dependence, and escaping manipulative familial abuse.

Ashley Frantik

Where Does Bob Belong?

Super Duper Productions—CCFM Salle Pauline-Boutal

Whoa! Where do I begin?! At first, I couldn’t figure out why this isn’t a kid-friendly show. A clown? Cutesy music? Fun gags? Are we sure this isn’t Kids’ Fringe?

Then Bob came out. While he’s probably the creepiest-looking puppet The Fringe has ever seen, he’s not children-prohibitive.

Like hitting a concrete wall, things go very dark, very quickly. Yeesh.

From here on in, it gets disturbing. I’m torn thinking that I’m laughing at such horrifying concepts but at the same time, I can’t help it. Maybe I’m as twisted as this tale!

It’s definitely not for everyone. I didn’t even tell my partner about any of the details and she cringed at just the premise. However, if you’re like me—a little depraved and disturbed—you will have a ball with this. Get ready for a lot of grim, macabre, ghastly content, but also get ready to laugh, when you probably shouldn’t be laughing.

Yeesh once more!

But I’d see it again!

Ray Yuen