Booger Red

Jim Loucks—The Output at Video Pool Media Arts Centre

What a warm and wonderful treat from Jim Loucks of California. Warm is so many ways. The love shared in this son’s relating of the story of his father’s and his own life, the personality of the performer and the heat of the venue. What a trooper to perform under the additional heat of stage lights!

This was so worth it! I was intrigued from the beginning; wanting to know the origins of the unusual name of booger- different meaning in the south, thankfully. What a beautiful surprise to find out this man isn’t just a brilliant actor but an amazing singer as well. I wasn’t the only one delighted. The audience wouldn’t stop applauding. Please see! Just be prepared if it is a hot day.

Lisa Campbell

Adventure of the Little Rooster

The Grand Salto Theatre—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

This plotline reminds me of The Cat Came Back but instead, the star is a rooster, flanked by a flock of ducks and a brood of chickens. You can’t have a conflict without an antagonist, which here happens to be an evil cabbage.

The story is fun but it’s the adventure that really draws the kids’ attention. The “water adventure” has the kids looking with awe, and the “fire adventure” has me wanting to see more Hungarian dance and hear more Hungarian folk music. It’s a kids’ show but it can be enjoyed by adults as well.

Ray Yuen

Field Zoology 101

Shawn O’Hara—Planetarium

Time to get educated with Professor Gooseberry as he takes you through a prepared (albeit outdated and biased) lecture of how to be a field zoologist. The laughs were non-stop in this hilarious show. Think Anchorman but the community college version of Ron Burgundy. The dead pan humour is perfect to a tee from Shawn O’Hara in this one man show. My favourite part was honestly his ad-libbing based off audience suggestions and cue cards where he was able to display a shocking amount of animal knowledge! Definitely a highlight of my Fringe!

Kaitlyn Kriss

The Family Crow: A Murder Mystery

The Pucking Fuppet Co.—PTE – Colin Jackson Studi

A puppet show doesn’t get any simpler than this: one person, one puppet and a mystery.

Proulx’s cawstume was cool but it was the crow the stole the show. Prepare to spend the entire span of the outing shaking your head and rolling your eyes as you endure the rapid-fire streak of dad-joke like puns. I cawn’t remember how many times I laughed but I croaned a lot. The cawdience really appreciated it as most of the room stood on their talons while clapping their wings.

Ray Yuen

Wolfhaven Presents: King, Warrior, Magician, Lover

Wolfhaven Productions—Planetarium

Told in the style of an old odyssey story of old, Wolfhaven recounts the epic tale of how he become King. This play reminded me of so many of the fantasy stories I loved reading growing up. It told of battles and adventures and falling in love. Unfortunately the story teller didn’t live up to the sweeping nature of his story. His tone was very monotonous, his pacing was very slow, and he stumbled over quite a few words and details of his own story. It also didn’t help that he ran overtime by 8 minutes because he went so slow. Definitely not the show for me.

Kaitlyn Kriss

James & Jamesy: Easy as Pie

James & Jamesy—PTE – Mainstage

They may be dressed as clowns and the antics may be zany and goofy, but underneath all the flash, this is a simple psychological exploration. The show opens with a typical clown routine, culminating in the usual pie in the face. Somewhere along the line, James developed PTSD and the remainder of the show explores his psyche for a cure. After all, what clown is worth their shoes if they can’t take a pie in the face?

Ray Yuen

African Folktales with Erik de Waal

YAP Theatre—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

What a magical show this was. Erik is a master story teller who transports you back to being five years old watching theatre for the first time. This year, he retells 2 charming folk tales for audiences young and old alike. Even though this is a Kids Fringe show, I found myself fully invested and sucked in by Erik’s voice and charming sense of humour. Portraying all the characters himself, Erik’s stories are like a warm hug for your soul. A beautiful show, this a great way for anyone to spend an hour.

Kaitlyn Kriss

Okie Dokie

Physically Speaking—Cre8ery

Often the best humour is the kind where no words are required (Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, etc.). This is where the clowning talents of the actor carry the action, and the humour emerges. This is the case with “Okie Dokie”, a largely non-verbal bit of physical comedy from the talented and enthusiastic Ardyth Johnson. Using only a few words of dialogue, sound cues, and her amazingly adept facial expressions, Ardyth tells the story of a lonely woman inadvertently assigned the task of raising a completely unseen (but nevertheless very present) alien baby. Madcap insanity abounds, and she takes us on a journey which is both frantic and endearing, all without ever leaving the confines of the intimate stage setting. It’s difficult to sustain this sort of thing over an extended period of time, but Ardyth is a seasoned performer with fantastic skills; it’s hard not to become wrapped up in the (deliberately) cartoony adventure. There’s even a surprisingly touching and heartfelt conclusion. Just like its hapless heroine, “Okie Dokie” deserves some love. Go and check it out.

Mike Seccombe

Epidermis Circus (Ingrid Hansen’s Spicy Puppet Show)

SNAFU—PTE – Colin Jackson Studio

This is one of those shows that Fringe regulars rave about. This is my first outing and I have no idea what to expect. The black outfit and ominous intro music suggested it would be a dark outing. I’m not sure I would call it “dark” in the theatre sense of the word, but it sure is twisted.

This is the wildest take I’ve seen yet done to The Blue Danube Waltz, and the antics to Carmina Burana are just outrageous. The Bolero comes on and that piece is somewhat warped itself.

All the skits are ludicrous, but they’re meant to be, and they’re also ludicrously funny. I’m sure glad (and so is my partner) that I don’t wear a mustache.

Ray Yuen

Hooked?

All About Theatre Kids—Kids Venue: MTYP – Mainstage

Peter Pan and Captain Hook are at it again in a retelling of the classic story of Peter Pan. It’s a simple story told with some witty one liners. This all child cast brought their ’A-game’ for this delightful Kids Fringe show. The acting was quite good and believable. The dance numbers were enjoyable and the singing was great! There were moments were the acting was a bit over the top. Our main villain often favoured scream-acting their lines for a laugh. This made it difficult to understand what they were saying. There also were numerous points of audio feedback unfortunately. Stand outs were a sassy Tink and witty Smee who both at points stole the show with their excellent deliveries. A great show to bring the kids for an afternoon of fun!

Kaitlyn Kriss