Oh Hello Productions!

Fake ‘n’ Bake—John Hirsch Mainstage

“What sets Fake n’ Bake and the production directed by Kristi Hansen apart is its inventive storytelling and vivid theatricality; it has a reason to be on a theatre stage. Despite its serious subject matter it’s downright fun and funny.” -Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca

“Ellie Heath’s experience is relatable and shared genuinely.” -Info Edmonton (Pick of the Fringe)

Opening Night, Thursday, July 20th at 8pm, is with ASL Interpretation. It’s at the John Hirsch Mainstage, so there’ll be plenty of space and close to everything!

Spec Theatre

Everything is Super Wow—The Studio at Le Théâtre Cercle Molière

Featuring playful puppets, tantalising tunes, and delightful dance moves, Everything is Super Wow, a solo slapstick tragedy, takes you on a journey through space and time… via bicycle.  It’s not how far you get on the road, but the very road itself. It’s getting down low and noticing the small things. Wow. Super Wow!

An all new version of last year’s “Fringiest of the Fringe”, mr.coffeehead.

“Unmissable” – Forget the Box

Gravity Theatre

Private Parts: The Secrets We Keep—The Studio at Le Théâtre Cercle Molière

“Both comedy and drama but be prepared for tears”- Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel

“Joanna takes personal themes of love and belonging and bravely shares with great poignancy, revealing great strength”- Lisa Randall, Orlando Fringe

“Superbly acted and so well written, you’ll end up feeling all the feels by the time you leave, and it’s almost impossible to not have a part of this show affect you profoundly in some capacity or another.”- Eric Wenstrom, Orlando Fringe

Cameryn Moore

Muse: an experiment in storytelling and life drawing—MTC Up the Alley

✭✭✭✭ MIRACULOUS MUSE

“… the experience felt liberating and quietly invigorating… The point of the exercise obviously wasn’t to deliver a traditional show but rather to experience art and life from different angles. In those respects, Muse succeeds brilliantly.” – SoSumi (Toronto)

“Built with honesty, accessibility, and approachability in mind, Muse was a refreshing break from more traditional theatre shows.” – Apt613.com (Ottawa)

Not a play, but playful.
Not a show, but sharing.
Not consuming, but creating.

Hypothetical Projects

How to Live Forever—Stephen Juba Park

Imagine a bonfire with your nearest and dearest – but one of your own is being a real downer on account of her mom dying.

Come hang out with us in Stephen Juba Park as we make you think about death and get sad and stuff. (We have chairs and blankets to sit on, but bringing your own wouldn’t go amiss!)

SNAFU

Epidermis Circus (Ingrid Hansen’s Spicy Puppet Show)—PTE – Colin Jackson Studio

“Epidermis Circus is everything a fringe show should be. 5 STARS” — Randall King, Winnipeg Free Press

“Both live and magnified onscreen, in cunningly angled cameras and mirror images, we see Ingrid Hansen, presiding from a table of simple found objects, create characters from her own hands, fingers, tongue. She sets them in motion in a saucy and jostling vaudeville of ‘stars’. NUTTY, INGENIOUS, MESMERIZING.” Liz Nichols, 12th Night

“LAUGHED MY FACE OFF.” – Cryssie Jones @eissyrc

Stephanie Morin-Robert

The Merkin Sisters: DEUX—PTE-Mainstage

WINNER- BestofFest Ottawa Fringe 2023

“★★★★★” -Vue Weekly

“I have never seen anything as good as this at pushing the limits of edgy comedy. You will leave smug and satisfied, with sore sides and wide eyes.”-The Jenny Revue

“AN ABSOLUTE RIDE ALL THE WAY THROUGH. It incorporates burlesque and drag, from high masc to high femme and everything in between. It is a fun-loving celebration of what it means to be human, a party wrapped up as a theatrical show, and you’re invited. Absolutely a MUST-SEE.” – Apt 613 Review

July 12, 2023

Can you feel the excitement building? We are now one week away from the start of the 2023 Winnipeg Fringe Festival! You can check out our version of the schedule here. There are a number of familiar faces that we have not seen in quite a few years that will be back at Fringe. We are still doing the final touches on the Jenny website for this year’s festival, so bear with us if things look a little out of sorts. There is a list of current Shameless Self Promotions a little further down the page.

You Don’t Look a Day Over…—The very observant of you may have noticed the XXX at the top of the header marking this as our 30th Edition. We were 29 and holding for a few years there but are looking forward to having a great celebration this year. You can help us out by sending us any of your stories about the Fringe and the Jenny that you would like to share. For those feeling nostalgic, you can visit our Archives page to take a gander at all the ancient scrolls from the very beginning of the Jenny. I also encourage you to check out the Special 20th Anniversary Inserts from back in 2011.

What is Going on Here?—You really have to ask? OK, here we go, The Jenny Revue is an independent place for everyone to share their Winnipeg Fringe experience. While the Jenny will mostly be an E-Jenny, we do plan on releasing a number of “Best of the Jenny” print issues. That means we are not constrained to the limited space of the print version and we will also be able to have the reviews/ssps/letters on the site in a more timely fashion. Once the Fringe is up and running, while we do have an excellent little herd of Jenny Staff that help fill our web pages with reviews, we want to hear from you. You can contact us via email at jennyrevue@gmail.com. Please follow us on Twitter @jennyrevue, Instagram jennyrevue, and/or Facebook for updates on when the site is updated and other Fringe news.

Are you performing in a Fringe Show?— Welcome to our lovely festival. Please send us your Shameless Self Promotions (see below for an explanation) before the Fringe to try and convince the Fringe-going public to see your shows.

FAQ—The key parts of the Jenny are the following:

  • Reviews—We do a few things differently at the Jenny, one of the biggest differences is we do not use a star or number rating system. Yes that means you actually have to read a review to see what the person reviewing the show thought about it. We have always done it this way, and think that it is a better way to do things. We accept reviews from anyone, with only one condition: You must provide your real name, and some form of contact info (so you can be reached in case we need clarification). Not all the reviews we receive may get published but in general as long as the review was well written it will be published on the website.
  • Shameless Self-Promotion—If you are in a Fringe play and haven’t shamelessly promoted your show, put together 80 words (or less)—different from your program blurb—and send them to us. Clearly mark them as SSPs since it’s difficult to tell the difference between an unqualified rave by a satisfied patron, and a bombastic bit of self-promotion by a company scribe.
  • Letters—Got an opinion on something at the Fringe? It is always better to get it off your chest. Send us your thoughts with your name and contact info and if it catches our eye we’ll spread the word.
  • News—We are always looking for interesting or wacky things that have happened during the Fringe. If you have a tale to tell, let us know.

Last, but certainly not least are the Jenny Awards. This is our end of Festival party that will be held Sunday July 30th. The Jenny’s will be back at Across the Board Game Cafe a fully accessible licensed venue at 211 Bannatyne Avenue.

See you at the Fringe!

Murray Hunter




Photos by Squid Eye Lens Photography

On the last night of the 2022 Winnipeg Fringe, we gathered at Across the Board Game Cafe for our end of Fringe Awards Show and Wrap Party. A huge thanks to Nick and the staff at Across the Board for hosting us this year. We apologize to those who might not have got the message that we were going to be in a new location. As much as we love the King’s Head, and appreciate their long term support, we decided to move to a new location because we wanted a space that was accessible to all. We will try and do a better job next year on getting the word out to all earlier in the festival. We will be hosting next year’s Jenny Awards at Across the Board again next year, so it was the start of a new tradition.

We were short a couple of our crew that night as both our regular Master of Ceremonies Shawn Kowalke and one of our reviewers Lisa Campbell were isolating due to Covid. Big thanks to Ray Yuen for filling in as MC and also doing double duty in photographing almost all of the winners. Apologies to Ingrid Hansen and Tamlynn Bryson who in the rush of presenting we didn’t get pictures of them getting their award.

Our lovely awards were created by hand by Michelle Cook, who wanted everyone to know that the material used for the bodies of the wee donkeys was repurposed from some nurse’s scrubs as an homage to our hard working health professionals.

Below are the categories with the winners highlighted in bold:

1. It Is a Zoo Out There!
(an award for working with a bunch of animals)

  1. The Sex Life of Butterflies [Martin Dockery]
  2. Crabs Gone Wild [Pinchy Productions]
  3. Horseface [Alex Dallas Productions]
  4. Bushtits, Shih Tzus and Private Dicks: All’s Fur in Love and Noir [Theatrically Obsessed]
  5. Shadow Kingdom [The Wishes Mystical Puppet Co.]
  6. Field Zoology 201 [Shawn O’Hara]

2. Don’t Speak…I like to Move It Move It
(an award for shows that don’t need a lot of dialogue)

  1. THREE [Bossy Flyer]
  2. FERN [Horse & Engine]
  3. Minoosh Doo-Kapeeshiw [Echo Theatre]
  4. Tango to the Pointe [PointeTango]
  5. Journey to the Centre of the Earth [Studio Accelerando]

3. Stand Up and be Counted! or Up Against a Brick Wall
(an award for the Stand-Up acts out there)

  1. Stéphanie Morin Robert: BLACK EYE (a live comedy album recording) [Stephanie Morin-Robert Performance Society]
  2. Blueberries Are Assholes [TJ Dawe]
  3. Paco Erhard: Worst. German. Ever. [Paco Erhard]
  4. Pretty Beast [Kazu Kusano]
  5. Gabe Mollica: a Solo Show About Friendship [Gabe Mollica]
  6. Chris Gibbs, Old is the New New [Kelly Finnegan Productions]
  7. God Is A Scottish Drag Queen (Best Of) [Mike Delamont]

4. When the World Gets You Down
(an award for shows that delve into the dark past or possible bleak futures)

  1. All of Human History in 7 Stories [So Lonely Productions]
  2. A Thousand Words [C. Neil Parsons]
  3. Eleanor’s Story: An American Girl In Hitler’s Germany [Ingrid Garner]
  4. Six-Legs [Second Date Productions]
  5. Se’ed [jurasco]
  6. CIVILIZED [By the Book Productions]

5. Let’s Take a Holiday or a Little Trip
(the we could all use a break award)

  1. The Happy New St. Paddy’s Valentween Thank Hallow Xmas Day Show [Crosseyed Rascals]
  2. AWAY, NOW – The World’s Most Desired Destination [Paul Strickland Presents]
  3. mr.coffeehead [Spec Theatre]
  4. I’M BATMAN 89-97 [Rod Peter Jr.]
  5. Kateryna and Havrylo [Ce-Lee Productions]
  6. Slowly and Sideways [Shoestring Players]
  7. As It Turns Out… [TBA Productions]

6. Monster Mash
(an award for … nevermind you are just going to say it was a graveyard smash)

  1. Monster Makers [North Kildonan Community Players]
  2. Bat Brains or let’s explore mental illness with vampires [Scantily Glad Theatre]
  3. The Dungeons ‘n’ Dragons Improv Show XIII: The Loom of Annihilation [The DnD Improv Show]
  4. Something in the Water [S.E. Grummett]
  5. A Grave Mistake [A Little Bit Off]
  6. Macabre Tales of Horror and Macabreness (kinda?) 10 Year HELLebration [Puppy in Pants Productions]
  7. Buckets of Blood – Fairy tales not for kids [Stories Alive]
  8. The Ultimate Actor’s Nightmare [Club Soda Improv]

Editors Note: This was a close 4 way race with A Grave Mistake, Bat Brains, and Something in the Water all within 1 point of Macabre Tales.

7. But Sting Told Me Love Was the 7th Wave
(an award for Tales of Love or at least have Love in the Title)

  1. Romeo & Juliet [Indifferently Reformed]
  2. Charming & Rose: True Love [R-G Productions]
  3. Courtship [Snakeskin Jacket]
  4. Are You Lovin’ It? [Theatre Group GUMBO]
  5. King Warrior Magician Lover [Wolfhaven Productions]
  6. List of People I’ve Killed (A Love Story) [PMF Productions]
  7. Murmurs of Earth [MaxQ Productions]

8. All Alone and Desperate
(an award for Solo Performance)

  1. Wait So Do I Make Out With A Pan? [Buried Seeds Productions]
  2. Scattered Seeds [Kolja Company]
  3. The Paladin [THEATrePUBLIC]
  4. The Disney Delusion [Prosperity Mule Productions]
  5. Daddy’s Boy [Erik de Waal]
  6. The Truth(tm) [Still Your Friend]

9. Hear our Voices!
(an award for stories told through song)

  1. BEFORE BREAKFAST: An Opera in One Act [Naomi Forman Productions]
  2. A Toast to Prohibition [Melanie Gall Presents]
  3. Josie & Grace [PKF Productions]
  4. Songs From A Wine-Stained Notebook [Big Empty Barn Productions]
  5. CABARET SIDE SHOW [Wall Street Theatre]
  6. Tomatoes Tried To Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life [Quivering Dendrites]
  7. Chase Padgett: Lucky Break [Chase Padgett]
  8. The Ballad of Johnny Boy [Walk&Talk Theatre Company]

10. Mysterious and Magical Mysteries
(They will put a spell on you)

  1. Grumplestock’s [Eleventh Hour]
  2. Dirk Darrow: Magic of Future Past [Tim Motley]
  3. The Great & Powerful Tim: Magic Tonight [The Great & Powerful Tim] *
  4. Fringe Family Fun Show [Comedy Illusions of Greg Wood]
  5. An Evening of Magic & Mystery with Ken Sky [Ken Sky]

* Editors Note: The Great & Powerful Tim won the vote but was not present, so the Jenny went to Tim Motley.

11. Guy’s Night Out
(Bro… an award)

  1. Hockey Night at the Puck & Pickle Pub [Monster Theatre]
  2. James & Jamesy: Right This Way [Alastair Knowles]
  3. Generic Male: Just What We Need Another Show About Men [PUSH Physical Theatre]
  4. The Stakeout [big word performance/ jem rolls]

12. Is There a Doctor in the House?
(an anatomically incorrect award about body parts and what can go wrong with them)

  1. Epidermis Circus [SNAFU]
  2. Bedwetter [Drawing Board Productions]
  3. I Am The Most Unfeeling Doctor in the World (And Other True Tales from the Emergency Room) [Melissa Yuan-Innes]
  4. Symptom Circus [Chronically ch(ill)! Productions]
  5. Brown Wasp [Saw Toe Productions]
  6. The Beginner’s Guide To Suicide [Dark Horse Theatre]
  7. Contractions [Best of Luck Endeavours]
  8. Underbelly [Aaron Malkin]

Editors Note: There was a tie between Epidermis Circus and Bedwetter, and Ingrid and Tamlynn decided to share the Jenny Award instead of using the Tie Breaker. Congrats to both!

13. A Variety of Sketchy Comedies and a Pair of Parodies
(an award that conveniently catches everyone else who was in the Jenny)

  1. Everything’s Actually OK: a variety show [S.P.I.C.E. Productions]
  2. Family Dinner: Part 3! [Family Dinner Comedy]
  3. The Morning After With Pam & Paula [Power Pause Productions]
  4. Juliet: A Revenge Comedy [Ryan Gladstone]
  5. Meagre Joys [Project Pigeon]
  6. Ask Me Anything? [Keep It Movin’ Productions]
  7. Lost and Foundling [MTYP’s Summer Studio]
  8. Movie Musicals [Move The S Productions]
  9. One Man Back to the Future (A Parody) [Historic Jukebox]

Congratulations to all the winners. Thanks to all the nominees and all the great shows out there. I hope everyone had a great time, and that you will join us next year in celebrating our 30th year of the Jenny Revue.

Murray Hunter

Art by Dave Pruden

Well it is the last day of the Winnipeg Fringe. It goes by so fast. A huge thanks to everyone who helps make this festival great. Apologies to the performer’s whose shows we didn’t get to cover. Get out there and enjoy as many shows as you can today. Then at the end of the day join us at Across the Board Game Cafe for the Jenny Awards.

The Fabulous Jenny Awards—Just a reminder to join us at at our new licensed and accessible venue Across the Board Game Cafe on Sunday July 24th (the last night of Fringe) for our wrap party and awards show. The evening will be emceed by our wonderful host Shawn Kowalke of the Horrible Friends Improv Group. Doors will open at 9:30 pm with the Awards show starting at 10 pm(ish).

Any company who has been mentioned in the Jenny, either in a Review or Shameless Self-Promotion, may end up nominated for one of our 13 fun categories. We then leave it up to the crowd to determine the winners. The only caveat is you have to be in attendance in order to claim your award. If the winner is not in attendence then who ever had the next highest score takes home the prize.

The prize is a highly coveted fabulous hand stitched Jenny Award created by our very own Michelle Cook. With a lot of hard work she creates a stunning herd of Donkeys with a different theme every year. Stay tuned to our Twitter Feed @JennyRevue for the first pictures of the unboxing of this year’s prizes.

Murray Hunter