Snake Oil
Black Sheep Theatre—Rachel Browne Th. (Crocus)
Tales She Tells
Spoons in Spotlights—Rachel Browne Th. (Crocus)
One Man Back to the Future
Shelby Bond—Eckhardt Grammatté (UofW)
One Man Back to the Future
Shelby Bond—Eckhardt Grammatté (UofW)
All You Can Eat/The Top?
Gearshifting Performance Works—MTC Mainstage
Surrounded
The Unexpected Laboratory—Eckhardt-Grammetté Hall (UofW)
We hit the King’s Head last night, in need of their cold beer and yummy hot food, and magically hit one of those lulls where seats and service were instantly available.
The main stage was down, the vendors were packing up, the beer tent denizens were finishing last call purchases, the late night rush had yet to begin, and the weather was perfect. What could be wrong?
Plenty.
As reported by today’s Free Press, Theresa Thomson, lead actress, in Audra Lesowski’s Lies of a Promiscuous Woman, has been harassed and threatened by anonymous bullies masquerading as defenders of Christianity—a religion they clearly don’t understand, given that its principal tenet is love, and its Golden Rule is, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”
Apparently these terrorists have defaced the show’s posters, verbally harassed Thomson on the street, and committed vandalism when they wrote “slut” on her car.
The Free Press article reports that Fringe Festival director, Jason Neufeld, had been approached by two men “demanding that the show be shut down,” (proving that they don’t understand Fringe any better than they understand Scripture).
He said “No,” of course. In hindsight, I’m sure he wishes he’d reported the incident to the police, as Theresa plans to do today. Let’s hope Jason has a memory for faces and a talent for description, as these guys need to be stopped.
A Fringe Festival should be a place where artists can explore any and every aspect of the human condition, be it historical, fictional, fantastical or controversial, and do so without fear.
If people want to protest any given work’s message they have a right to do so legally, through nonviolent means. If a few more people holding signs appeared in Old Market Square, they’d make their point without threat. At least you could see their faces and monitor their movements.
But the low-lifes who lie in darkness, spewing their poison anonymously, those folks are sick and dangerous.
I hope security is upped around the venue and someone more than the “sole male cast member” is there at curtain to make sure Theresa gets safely to her car. U of W could help out by guaranteeing her a parking space in a well-lit, monitored area, or maybe someone should just drive her to and from the theatre entrance for her final three performances.
On the lighter side, frequent Jenny scribe— and Artistic Director of Theatre Anywhere—has added “actor” to his resumé. He has a bit in Bits, most of which he says he spends listening for his cue. Welcome to the actor’s life.
It’s press time. Keep sending your Fringe reviews and stories to jennyrevue@shaw.ca.
Remember to keep your eyes open and be safe.
Be prepared to be captivated. KimmyZee once again takes her audience on a thoughtful, poignant, raw, exposing and HILARIOUS journey through Motherhood and middle age.
The night I attended, there was a whole pack of college boys seeking an honest sex education and boy did they get it!!!! Even the Jehovah’s Witnesses were laughing! Throw in her Asperger’s diagnosis and you’ll understand why she’s been so quirky all these years, and not just ‘awkward’.
The script is tight and evidence that Zeglinski isn’t afraid to stare bold faced into her inner child; inner bitch; inner critic; inner everything…and share with us. How many of us can say that we can do this and put ourselves up there on stage, basically naked, and openly laugh at ourselves? Brilliant. It’s not easy to hold an audience for 60 minutes but Zeglinski does this seamlessly, effortlessly and radiantly—in all seriousness, she held my gaze the entire time.
When it was over, I wanted more. You’ll not be looking at your watch to see when the next show starts. Part of the brilliance is that this script and performance reaches well beyond a middle aged demographic and provides us all with a very clever and uproarious sex education— PHEW, answers to things I was pondering.
The minimalist staging approach intentionally draws our focus to Zeglinski’s focused and passionate delivery, and is enhanced with the clever use of minimal props – Director Andrea Von Wichert has outdone herself. This is 60 minutes of ONE WOMAN on stage (no easy feat!) yet, the jocularity you will experience will leave your sides splitting, your own inner critic questioning and your inner comedian wishing you had thought of putting on this show yourself. Not to be missed!!
Shows like this are why I come to the fringe every year. This is a well-written, well-directed, well-performed gem.
I realize that it might not be to every taste. The narrative is not linear, which means that you have to pay attention. At the same time, the nonlinear time line really enhances the experience if you stay with it. It’s the best choice for this show.
All four actors give great performances in this triangular love story. The comic and serious elements blended well, and I also love that it did not have a pat ending. The set design serves the story well and allows us to travel to three locations seamlessly.
Congratulations to playwright (and actor) Megan Andres, Director Chris Johnson, and the rest of the cast and crew.
Here is a great example of truth in advertising. The program tells you exactly what to expect. Jan Janovsky delivers what he promises, and he does it well.
He had a small audience on opening night, but I expect that will build as word gets around. Humour is a personal taste, so I don’t expect everyone to enjoy his bad puns and nightclub style jokes. His piano virtuosity should please everyone, though. I particularly enjoyed his boogie-woogie (perhaps that explains the company name). He earned the huge response he got from the small crowd, and I would recommend planning an afternoon or evening at the Wag venue where you can see him and some other great performers.
