Liberty

Abandoned Campus Theatre Company—The Playhouse Studio

This is an oft-seen setting where two estranged friends are bound together to spend time unraveling the conflict. I can summarise the totality of the plot in two minutes but the story takes 65 minutes to tell.

Despite the lack of action, I’m rapt for every minute of this show. The play reveals just enough at just the right time to keep you engaged and raring to find out what’s next. The denouement grabs you by the heart and squeezes, refusing to let go until the lights come on.

The poetry can get a bit corny sometimes, and at others, it’s recited a bit too quickly. Slowing the verses down a bit would give the audience more time to digest the meaning behind the words and fulfill the 75-minute allotment. Nevertheless, this is still an engrossing story that I am very happy to have seen.

Ray Yuen

Half Hour Hamlet

PHAB Productions—School of Contemporary Dancers

I didn’t catch the name but apparently Patrick Hercamp is unavailable and a guest performer relates Hamlet. I can’t speak for the scheduled performer but the substitute gives an entertaining, and hilarious recount of the Shakespearean classic. I’m not sure the Bard would have approved of this irreverent rendition but audience lavished in this good time.

The story runs at tornado speed and the half-hour whips by effortlessly. I would have liked to see a longer show to give some more background but the gist is here.

[Editor Note: John Huston was the replacement and will be performing the Saturday and Sunday shows as well.]

Ray Yuen

Burn Job

Big Sandwich Productions—Bandwidth Theatre

TJ Dawe, formerly of Burnaby but now of Vancouver, is a Fringe lifer. Not only is this his 105th Fringe festival (as he tells us in the Fringe guide) but he also directs two other shows at this very festival (as he tells us at the end of this show). In this production he sits at a small desk facing the audience, with a swing microphone, a laptop computer and a small control panel for occasionally modulating his voice. In this setting, he looks like a radio DJ, and for a brief segment, he is, as he plays excerpts from the top songs of 1985, when he was in his early teens. He tells tales of growing up, his changing musical tastes (top 40 to rock to classic rock to prog rock to classical), performing pranks in his neighbourhood with his best friend, and eventually dropping acid as a young adult.

Dawe is a good storyteller, honed I suppose from years of performing. His stories are clear and he never flubs, as far as I can tell. Unfortunately, there is also a palpable lethargy to his present show. Even though he sometimes gesticulates at his desk, Dawe never stands up until the show over. He also talks about rejecting a career in conventional theatre after getting a BFA and I remember hearing him talk about this very same thing at a completely different show he did a few years ago. Furthermore, for some reason, he spends a lot of time detailing the action of the film A Clockwork Orange, and then after changing topics for a few minutes, he spends a fair amount of time detailing the action of the book A Clockwork Orange. Show, don’t tell, anyone?

Konrad Antony

Fruit Flies Like a Banana

The Fourth Wall—School of Contemporary Dancers

Made up of a classically trained flautist, percussionist and bass trombonist, this trio makes music in all sorts of unconventional ways. Most of the music should be familiar to you but the way its presented leaves you oohing, aahing, laughing and cheering.

“Time flies like an arrow,” and it sure does—the hour soars by, leaving you wishing for more. Wacky, zany, goofy, funny and fun—you never know what comes next. If you only see one show, this would be
a great one to choose. I think that Winnipeggers stand too eagerly for ovations—and it takes something spectacular to get me on my feet. Today is the first time I’m on my feet in a decade.

The audience decides the order of the skits. The order doesn’t matter much since you eventually run through all the cards anyway. Now if there were more cards and skits than time, I would leave unsatisfied and wonder what I missed. I may even come back for another viewing hoping for the missing pieces (hint-hint!).

Ray Yuen

Aspergers: a social misfit at work

Autistic Productions—Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall (UofW)

Amusing but not gut-roaring funny, which is fine because this attendance half teaches you the challenges facing someone with Asperger’s, and half entertains you with stand-up. The heroic effort gives you a good glimpse into things that we take for granted that only come with hard work for someone with a neurological disorder.

Ray Yuen

As a general rule, Fringers are more considerate the movie-goers about turning off their phones. Through 34 shows this year, I did not encounter a single phone attack—until last night.

I can understand how you might forget to turn off your phone; it’s understandable but not acceptable. Before every show, a public message comes on instructing you to turn off your phones. If you’re a new-comer, you’d hear the message like a warning from the Emergency Broadcast Channel. If you’re a veteran, the message might fly by you like the seat belt instructions on a plane. Ok, but as a veteran, you should already know better—your phone should be off.

When they say off, they mean OFF, not silent or vibrate. Guess what? When your phone vibrates, everyone around you can hear it. It’s not like you can answer or check anyhow, so what’s the point of leaving it on vibrate? If your phone vibrates during a show, you’re rude.

For those of you who do check, you may as well take a flashlight and shine it at people’s faces. Everyone within a 10 metre radius can see the glow emanating from your phone. If you’re looking at your phone in the middle of a performance, you’re a jerk.

If you leave your phone on, ringer and all, you’re an asshole. That’s what we got last night. During what was supposed to be an emotional moment, the phone chimed, distracting the entire audience. Worse, she made little effort to shut the thing off, haphazardly and casually reaching down. She did not reach into her purse until the third ring and it was six full chimes before she silenced it.

She destroyed the mood for everyone. Bravo for the performers who continued uninterrupted and unfazed, but for the rest of us, we missed a solid minute of solemn dialogue.

After the show, during acknowledgements, we discover that the phone offender is a Fringe Actor. That makes you an effing asshole. Imagine for a second if someone did that to you at your show. That was a disgrace.

Yes, I’m calling you out, Actor from The Writing on the Stall. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Ray Yuen

Lovely Lady Lump

Lana Schwarcz—Son of Warehouse

A very light take on surviving and fighting breast cancer. Lana Schwarcz combines humour with seriousness quite spectacularly, and takes you with her through her treatment with as much humour as she took it with. She was an absolute joy to watch and an amazing linguist. It’s a very powerful show and definitely something worth seeing.

Arden Pruden

Jazz Cat

Sisterscene for Kids—Kids Venue – MTYP Mainstage

Gall is an accomplished performer and she captures the kids’ audience as easily as an adult crowd. Two minutes into the show, she has the kids yelling at supersonic volumes. As a storyteller, she amusingly leads the viewers through Ella’s journey of self-discovery.

Transcending genres, the audience applauds enthusiastically to every musical number, be it opera, blues or jazz. Kids probably won’t appreciate Gall’s extraordinary vocals but that doesn’t stop them from taking her singing lessons.

The kids howl, hiss, shout and sing though this delightful story. At one point, Gall describes in detail a chicken eating bugs—from the audience, you hear a little kid’s voice repulse, “That’s just nasty.” You never know where entertainment can emerge!

Although kid-oriented, adults will enjoy the journey too.

Ray Yuen

No, YOU Can’t Return Discount Shrimp!

Bessie-Jean Productions—Son of Warehouse

As a customer service worker I was horrified at the way this character behaved. As an audience member I thought it was hilarious. I was strung along completely the entire time it was an incredibly engaging performance and kept me laughing the entire time. A very brash man of course, but I left thinking that he would be a hell of a guy to drink with.

Arden Pruden