Harper & Row

Naked Theatre Productions—Pantages Studio

This coming-of-age exploration starts a bit slow—well—for a middle-aged guy anyway. As well, much of the audience giggled quite a bit but much is lost on me. It’s still enjoyable for all but definitely, I think you get more out of this adventure if you’re a member of the fairer gender.

As expected, you have some humorous parts, some sad parts and some serious parts—everything you want to see in a journey of maturation.

Ray Yuen

Weeping Spoon Productions

The Ballad Of Frank Allen—WECC – ACU Hall

Sure. It’s a bizarre premise, I’ll give you that.

But look, ask yourself: “If a man travels half way across the frickin’ planet to bring you a show about a man who lives in a another man’s beard; surely either the show is very good, or the man is completely insane, right?”

Maybe it’s both.

Winner of the 2017 Just For Laughs Award (Best Comedy) at the Montreal Fringe.

5 Stars -“Seriously good writing. Seriously great performances. Ridiculously funny show.” – Adelaide Theatre Guide

Peter vs. Chris

Peter n Chris—John Hirsch Mainstage

The ultimate bro-mance returns to the fringe! The boys are back with another one of their signature shows. Back with a laugh a minute and some slips to boot, this highly physical dynamic duo have proved once again they have what it takes to deliver one liner after one liner. The show was very silly, but that’s what makes it so charming. Their friendship is so endearing that you end up rooting for these two to succeed no matter what. While the jokes are sometimes crude and there is a lot of swearing, there is definitely something for everyone to laugh at. If you are looking for something new from them, this show is not for you. They even joke about the fact that we all seem to keep coming back, despite nothing changing. If you are like someone like me that doesn’t care and just wants to keep laughing at goofy jokes then this show is for you. Well done as always and I can’t wait to see what ‘new/old’ show you bring back next year.

Kaitlyn Kriss

Woody Sed

Two Dollar Shoes—MTC Up the Alley

You don’t need to love Woody Guthrie to be thrilled by this heart breaking performance. There is nothing lacking in this outstanding production. Thomas relates the life and times of the activist and musician, with warmth and humour. His guitar playing is perfect. His acting easy and so natural, you think it’s Woody himself. Be prepared to sing along to the well known protest anthems. The story is not a happy one but you will leave satisfied and so glad you took the time to treat yourself to this wonderful show. Thank you Thomas!

Lisa Campbell

Snake Oil

Theatre Dance Centre—John Hirsch Mainstage

Hosting one of the largest casts in the entire fringe, the wild west comes alive through dance and gun fights. This silly and fun family show follows three gullible ‘village idiots’ and one not so scary bad guy as they try to outsmart the townsfolk and get ahead. The cast was on the whole very strong with tremendous comedic timing. The main villain had me belly laughing quite a few times. There are also some wonderful whole-cast dance numbers and an epic slow mo fight scene. While the dancing and jokes landed, several elements did not. The show is very hokey and looked, quite frankly, cheap. There were gun shots in effect but they were very quiet and also did not really sound like gun shots. The set looked like they ran out of time to finish it. There were many very awkward transitions and unintentional moments of silence. While the cast is undeniably talented, It is very hard for me to treat this as a legitimate play when you try to pass off children and teens as adults, especially when they are acting alongside actual adults. A little more time and polishing was needed to turn this into a good play, but it is  good one to take children and families to.

Kaitlyn Kriss

The Places We Go

UNIT Productions—Pantages Studio

A blend of transparencies and shadowing drives this show. The transparencies look nicely made and the transitions good smoothly. The shadow interaction make this imagery work well. It’s a well conceived idea that takes the normal transparency art to the next level.

I can identify well with the story-line, being a first generation Canadian-Asian, but this play takes the opposite perspective. Normally, you see the struggles of the first-gen Canadian, versus the loss of the homeland family because of the emigration. It’s a fresh angle but the sequences can be a little too long. They use too many examples at times, and some of the lists are too long.

The singing here bothered me somewhat. If you’re going to sing at your show, you should be an accomplished singer. By contrast, if you want to assume the part of a sorrowful young girl singing, then sing at the level of a little girl. The off-key, weak singing just shows a shortcoming of the artist.

Although scheduled for one hour, the actual time barely runs 30 minutes. Shave the repetition and you have about 25 minutes of real material. There’s not much of a plot here and that’s because of the short run time.  This plot needs some twists and development—as is, it’s a bit simple and basic.

Ray Yuen

Evacuated!

Pack of Others—Creative Manitoba

Erika shares her fascinating, true story of her time as visiting student in Indonesia, during a dangerous era. It was exciting, interesting and worthwhile to see. I would have preferred that she just relate the tale and not rely so heavily on theatrical techniques such as repeating phrases; to make the thing seem to come full circle. It just seemed forced. Her apologizing for confusing us repeatedly at the beginning is not needed and condescending to the audience. We are pretty sophisticated theatre goers, for the most part; and I certainly didn’t find myself confused. For that, you need a first year dramatic arts production. The story and her talent are enough to stand alone.

Erika is half of a very talented partnership with Paul Strickland, who brought us the wonderful Papa Squat and Ain’t True and Uncle False, hailing from Cincinnati. Go see his show too!

Lisa Campbell

Flight

Curbside—John Hirsch Mainstage

This incredible movement piece was a joy to watch. Based on the classic story ‘The Little Prince’, This new telling was visually stunning to watch. I loved watching these three talented acrobats flow seamlessly from one scene to the next. With no set whatsoever, I was spellbound the entire time. Fans of the story may not love some of the changes that have been made for the purpose of this production. It is alluded to at the very beginning that this is a sort of sequel to the original, but the story is relatively the same. In this telling for example, instead of traveling through space, we travel through the sea. Instead of visiting planets, we visit islands. I found some of the nuances and metaphors were lost but the story seemed to have a more light and whimsical feel to it. This is a great one to take your whole family too and a definite treat to brighten anyone’s day.

Kaitlyn Kriss

We’ll Meet Again: Vera Lynn, the Forces’ Sweetheart

Melanie Gall Presents—Creative Manitoba

Melanie is a professional opera singer; just so you know the quality of the voice you will be treated to. If you want to escape the busy pace of the Square, and retreat back to the days of WWII, the Andrews sisters and Vera Lynn, this is your chance. Melanie creates a warm, safe space where the audience is provided with song sheets and encouraged to sit back, relax and sing along. I honestly forgot I was at the Fringe. Most of the audience was there to see Melanie; having fallen in love, as you do, with her previous masterpieces, such as Piaf and Brel . I have seen every one of her shows and will continue to do so. She shares the life and history of Vera Lynn, who is still alive at 100, and her love and enthusiasm for her subject is contagious. This show will thrill, transport and warm you with her easy charm. What more do you want for twelve bucks? Treat yourself and fill a seat before you can’t get one.

P.S. For those of you who have been avoiding this fourth floor venue for fear it will be another of those sweat boxes , relax. I was there on an extremely hot day and the venue is perfectly comfortable.

Lisa Campbell

Shark Weak: Nothing To Fear

Shelby Bond—Cinematheque

This Fringe favourite tells a great story and he doesn’t disappoint again. This time, he explores fears and phobias. We all have them and most of us share many of the same ones—much of it by nature and for species survival’s sake. That’s how the show begins, before everything becomes a mash of humour-laced mockeries—and that’s fine. Fears can be justified and phobias are as the definition suggest, irrational.

You’ll have fun at this show but you should show up early. It’s likely to fill up and you should try your best not to sit in the back row. The ending was pretty much ruined for me because…well, just try not to sit too far back!

Ray Yuen