The Light Bringer

The Light Bringer—The Cinematheque

The Light Bringer, directed by Bill Pats, is an insightful, compelling and charmingly told personal story of culture shock, family and courage. Though the story is about breaking away from family and cultural demands, the reliability Laila Lee conveys ultimately brings us closer to understanding our similarities.

Audra Lesosky

THREE

Bossy Flyer—One88

I’ve really enjoyed the previous shows by the Long Beach trio of Cynthia Price, Ezra LeBank and Taylor Casas and their acrobatic performances are always very polished and professional. This show lives up to previous standards as they enclose themselves in a tape delineated section of the stage and use their physical skills to tell a visual story. There are some spectacular and dangerous looking lifts, throws and catches combined with many parts where all three move together as one, twisting and turning around/over/under each other. Fear, curiosity, love, hate and jealousy are all on display at various times throughout the performance. Well done! There is also a free cookie provided by the venue for those that come for the show.

Murray Hunter

SpinS

Janoah anygoodjokes?—Centennial Concert Hall – Rehearsal Hall

Janoah anygoodjokes? No, and neither does Bailin! Sorry but all that the one-liners elicited were a few groans, from both adults and kids alike. The juggling was quite good and his mastery of the unicycle is
undeniable. Not sure if the kids enjoyed it or not—I didn’t see the bursting enthusiasm that you normally see when kids have huge fun. I sensed some giggles and chuckles so they were amused at least./p>

I thought that asking for handouts is a bit tasteless, but that’s just my opinion and after all, it’s Fringe.

Ray Yuen

Things We (never) Learned in Sex Ed

Portal Theatre—Son of Warehouse

A broad (comedic) remedial lesson for all the Sex Ed lessons you missed by virtue of poor or generally misinformed public education. Simultaneously hilarious and informative, the show manages to balance musical comedy with very serious sexual issues, namely sexual assault and consent. Well worth the watch, even if you think your Sex Ed was superb.

Josh Fidelak

Yellow Den

Lady of the Lake—John Hirsch Mainstage

The play is actually performed inside a small room that has been created on the stage using fabric dividers to create the walls. The audience sits within the walls on three sides with a bed against the (actual) 4th wall, so there is very limited seating for the show despite it being in the main theatre. It really makes it an intimate theatre experience, especially as the performer is already asleep in bed when you come in. I will not detail the story, as the program guide gives a good account, but as that description says “You’ll have to be there to feel it”. The entire small audience seemed to really enjoy the show and the environment that was created and I think it is definitely one to see if you like spooky shows.

Murray Hunter

The Day the Earth Stood Stoned

Blot Blomblum Productions—Planetarium

There isn’t much going on here; this might be the kind of script I would write if I’d been smoking dope. Everything happens one-dimensionally and there’s no attempt to penetrate the next layer—just like
when you’re on dope and everything’s funny so you don’t need to dig any deeper.

According to the program, personal conflicts exist between the buds and alien avoidance gives them a chance to unravel those conflicts. I didn’t get much of revelation and exploration of their dynamics.

The drama started slowly and by the time it picked up, it was over. I looked at the clock and thought “no wonder.” It only runs 30 minutes. Even at the listed 45 minutes, there’s still plenty of time left to cut
deeper into the characters.

Ray Yuen

El Diablo of the Cards

Ewerton Martins—Son of Warehouse

High energy clown smashed into superb and rapid card based magic. The Brazilian magician packed his hour run time with constant card tricks, laughter, and what was probably the most exasperated 10 year old girl (forced to deal with his madness) that the Fringe has ever seen. A wonderful show, and if the performer comes back, a consistent Fringe mainstay in the making.

Josh Fidelak

Letters

Parachuting Camel Productions—Alto – Portage Place

Letters takes place on two continents during the Second World War. While it follows Winnipegger Paul Bailey’s war experiences, it highlights the impact of the war on his family, friends, and fellow soldiers. Told through letters, separated in time between the minimum of two months it takes for them to be delivered and the other two-month minimum for their response to be returned, the play uses these spaces of time to punctuate changes in emotions and circumstances for every character.

The cast works together well. I attended the second performance and already they were beginning to gel into a tight ensemble. The venue, while amazingly comfortable for the audience with its theatre seating, presented some challenges for the staging. Previously a movie theatre, the long, narrow stage in front of the
screen enabled the separation between the war scenes in Europe and the family scenes in Winnipeg. On the other hand, with no back stage, and little depth, the complex entrances and exits combined with the need to walk the full width of the stage, required some adjustments to the staging of almost every scene. While one could occasionally sense the adjustments, especially when a scene on one continent morphed into a scene on the other continent, the actors handled the challenge well and seemed comfortable with the long walks to entrances and exits.

Emotions are intense throughout the play, ranging for despair to depression to anger to fear to acceptance and gratitude. Each actor understands his or her character’s emotions and projects them – and the changes to them – clearly. The director, Jessina Cheffins, well-known in the Winnipeg theatre scene, has adeptly captured these emotions in her efficient and effective staging.

Paul Bailey’s young daughter, Dorothy, plays an innocent foil to the adult fears, only vaguely aware of what her father is actually experiencing in the war. Isabel Haderer, who has played this character recently in a radio production, deftly modulates her journey from innocence to awareness.

I cried. I don’t generally cry at the theatre, so this surprised me. More than that, it spoke of the effectiveness of the cast and crew in bringing the realities of this play onto the stage.

I won’t be a spoiler but do pay attention to the curtain call and the different emotions that play inside you as you have to decide whether or not — and then when — to applaud.

Sharon Hamilton

Crazy for Dick Tricks: A Dirk Darrow Investigation

Tim Motley—PTE – Mainstage

Tim Motley returns with another outing as Private Dick, Dick Darrow, solving another mysterious case through “mind-reading” and “magic.” His wit plays the audience well and expected dick jokes translate excellently. I’ve seen a lot of illusionist/magic shows at Fringe and this always stands out as one of the best, even if you’re not into this field.

Ray Yuen

GOAT: A Sketch Comedy Revue

TwoSon—Comedy at Wee Johnny’s

Sketch comedy from a 2 woman team, at a bar with open service. What isn’t to love? Broken into very well defined time blocks (with a nightly free segment improvised fresh every evening), energy is maintained throughout the entire length of the show. Extremely well paced, with superb comedic timing and irreverent humor, this is definitely the show to see if a bar-like atmosphere calls to you.

Josh Fidelak