Ramblings and Reviews of Irreverence and Irrelevance:

Paladinian's 2011 Winnipeg Fringe Festival Reviews

UPDATED July 22

Brain Cravers: The Curse of Extollo, Magic Toaster Productions
4 Stars
This one is a little hard to classify. It starts out as parody of high-concept pulp epics, only to turn out the play being performed is rather more like The Man In Yellow, and now... well... zombies are rampaging. But no worries, if the cast can get through the show, the curse should be lifted. But, you know, zombies. The best parts are certainly when the Fringe Volunteer comes on stage, increasingly battle-worn as she fights off the zombies so as to not disrupt the festival. Hilarious, particularly as a Fringe Volunteer.

Bursting Into Flames, Martin Dockery
5 Stars
Today was an amazingly good day for storytelling. Martin Dockery tells a mean tale of the afterlife. Filled with great subtle humour, a charasmatic storyteller, and a superb creeping horror, I was very impressed. I can't remember another show that so effectively used proper dread to build suspence... no scares, no jumps, just a man talking, and the building sense that things have gone horribly wrong...

Can't Get Started, Fancy Molasses Productions
3 Stars
A mixed play. Fundamentally, the play is about a rather unlikeable writer-character who laments his unliked state. There is some humour in this situation, some from his crazyness, some from the actress-character following and rebelling against his script. Some funny bits were funny, some sad bits were sad... but fundamentally, even though a couple of his laments sounded distressingly and disconcertingly familiar, I just couldn't like the unlikeable character enough to really invest in his plight. Perhaps I was just disapointed in the moral: just give up, you are too broken to fix. Ack.

Cannibal! The Musical, MPMM Productions
3 Stars
An entertaining musical writen by Trey Parker, the play was funny and quirky and all in all a good time. In the grand accounting, though, the singing and dancing, rather important parts of a musical, could have been better. Some of the cast did really well, but others less so, so compared to Bloodless it felt a bit, I don't know, under-rehearsed?

Doc Faustus, Sound and Fury
4 Stars
The latest from Sound and Fury was pretty standard as far as that group goes, which means it was quite an enjoyable piece of comedy. Set in a Western take on the story of Faust, the trio has great comic timing and have great fun on stage. The story itself kinda meanders to and fro, but the show doesn't suffer for it as it is just scalfolding to keep the humour moving forward... but, still, I feel more could have been done with the source material... as a frame, it certainly worked, but if given a bit more respect, perhaps it could have also been a fine piece of storytelling as well...

D and D 3.5, Red River Serial
5 Stars
Back again for another year and my review will be much the same. The improv is fantastic, the characters are by and large great and the performers range from good to wonderful with one weaker exception. I am very much the target audience but still, little in this world is better at eliciting enthusiastic, struggle for breath laughter like Red River Serial.

Every Story Ever Told, Ryan Gladstone
3 Stars
Not a bad piece, but as I reflect back on it I can't help but think it a touch shallow? The first quarter of the show largely comprises name drops of various stories with humourous abridged summaries of their plots, but while some were chuckle worthy most just weren't funny or cutting enough to really bring forth the laughs. The majority of the show largely discussed story structure directly, which worked more successfully. The jokes had more time to establish compared to the rapid-fire beginning. Still, much of the insights brought forth weren't exactly revelations, which perhaps I shouldn't hold against the performer. But still, I kind of hoped for a deeper, more philosophical piece.

Fear Factor: Canine Edition, John Grady
4 Stars
A very touching story of the bonds of companionship between man and dog. A cynical part of me wonders whether the emotional kick is just too 'easy', for lack of a better word, but yet the reality is simply that the performer tells his story with great dignity and love and it is hard not to respond even to that alone. I was very close to giving this the full five, but the show ended very abruptly, and 15 minutes early at that, which makes me wonder (and as time passes such becomes increasingly likely in my mind) whether the performer simply couldn't continue...

Frenzy Saves Your Brain, Frenzy Productions
2 Stars
Sketch comedy. Generally random skits that, as is frequently the case, start out interesting and tnen over-stay their welcome. Set as if the audience had been part of a hive-mind experiment that now ran out of control, I'd of expected more actual use of the audience as a character. Not that I minded participation's absence... 'tis a stressful beast... it just seemed like they passed up an opportunity for true Kids in the Hall-esque sureality to settle on just general impulsive randomness.

Grim and Fischer, Wonderheads
3 Stars
Had I not seen David Gaines' Seven Samurai last year, I would probably rank this show higher. (Of course, if I hadn't seen that show, I probably wouldn't have tried this one in the first place...) The group does a very, very good job with their silent body language performance, and was certainly charming, but I couldn't shake the thought that 'very very good' is a far leap from the 'fantastic' I self-importantly felt was deserved.

Houdini's Last Escape, Monster Theatre
5 Stars
The craftsmanship of this show astounds me. The two leads playing Houdini and his wife had such great individual performances, with spectacular and interesting characteristics and characterizations, while maintaining a wonderful back-and-forth. The magic show setting worked great and served to both entertain, provide historical perspective, and move the plot forward. I salute the sheer perfect efficiency of these pieces! The story was great, the performers great, everything just worked together wonderfully. I highly recommend it!

It's Yes, Drek Daa
2 Stars
Well, this was certainly a Fringe show. Sadly Drek Daa tries too hard to say something about everything, and in the end, he says very little. Well, very little clearly, at least. While it is a virtue to try odd, artistic experiments to relay a message it is also a virtue in saying clearly what you mean to say. This show is so proud of its own flamboyant originality it loses any real impact to its themes of environmental distress, consumer culture, and banking excesses.

Lucky 9, Big Sandwich Productions
5 Stars
I've been a fan of TJ Dawe for a while now, so I would forgive one for thinking a star or two here comes from reflected past enjoyments. But mercy, this was a show relevant to my interests. The theme of his latest auto-biographical piece this year is personality; specifically, he uses Enneagram Theory (the nine personality types all people are claimed to fit into) to analyze his own flaws and foibles, gain some understanding and perspective into those of others, and philosphize generally on what it might mean to be a healthy person. As good a piece of storytelling as I hoped, a topic I was glad to hear discussed.

Mary Rose, Snakeskin Jacket
3 Stars
A well done performance of a ghost story classic. The performances were quite good, though the titular character herself was perhaps not as strong as the rest. The rest of the cast though were quite well seasoned and were a delight to watch. Sadly, the visual effects serving the ghost story were more distracting then effective, though they were such a small part that is a bit of a niggle to even bring them up. All in all, some fine examples of character acting.

Oh, That Wily Snake!, Concrete Drops
3 Stars
So much inuendo... the show was somehow the cleanest dirty show I think I've ever seen. Well, at the end, subtext fell away to just become rather horrific text, but still. Martin Dockery and Vanessa Quesnelle both do good jobs with their roles, though the male lead grew quite reprehensible, but this is mostly a credit to the performance. Some of the bits did go just a touch too far on the surreal side and lost their grounding, but mostly they had just enough oddness to fit.

Outside Joke, Outside Joke
4 Stars
Improv is a hit or miss thing, and I generally get my fill with Red River Serial, but as the Venn diagram of that group and Outside Joke are largely coterminous, I thought I'd give this a shot. And they put on a good show! It is funny how good Toby is at musical numbers here considering the... struggles... of his bard character. Only complaint: non air conditioned venue. Pant

Shakespeare in the Ruins' Romeo and Juliet, Will & DeSIRe Theatre
3 Stars
This four-man rendition of Romeo and Juliet was a good outting. The acting was really quite good, as would be expected from Shakespeare in the Ruins, and the actors brought a great sense of fun to the 75 minutes. They really did a good job, but I can't help but confess that Romeo and Juliet is hardly my favourite of the Bard's works. They made great progress towards overcoming my antipathy, but... I was still kinda glad to see it end?

Something About Life, Chris Gibbs
4 Stars
Chris Gibbs delivers another fine hour of comedy. I do in fact think this was one of his stronger recent performances... his timing was spot on, his delivery very charming, and his stories about his many years visiting Winnipeg were of great local interest. His material, all at least in part feeding back to the theme of him giving advice of dubious value as to the living of one's life, was crisp and funny. An entertaining show from an entertaining comedian.

Spitting in the Face of the Devil, John Montgomery TC
4 Stars
If Fear Factor: Canine Edition covered my quota for heart-breaking monologue, this can certainly fill the horrorific perspective column. Bob Brader's story of growing up with his abusive pedophile father was a emotional piece of storytelling. It is hard, walking out of it, to not pompously philosophize about what made his father the man he was... but I don't like the sound of my own opinions nearly enough. Suffice it to say that this is a powerful piece of storytelling, and leave it at that.

Three Seconds To Live, Fifth Wall
4 Stars
I hadn't heard much word of mouth about this show but decided to see it based on its program write-up, so I didn't expect much of it frankly. I'm glad I took the chance, as this was really quite a good piece of storytelling. Shawn Erker told a poignant story of choices made and choices made for you, told around a core of mental sickness and climbing themes. The story was moving, well acted, and with good use of props, and all in all quite a strong one man tale.

Tinfoil Dinosaur, Tinfoil Dinosaur Productions
4 Stars
A strong piece of autobiographical storytelling. Sam Mullins tells stories of his life with energy and emotion. Though his delivery is still a little unseasoned (at least compared to other comparable shows this festival) he speaks earnestly while keeping levity at a good level... not too silly, not too much pathos. His experiences trying to make it in Vancouver as an actor who 'suffers' from an anxiety disorder are intersting to hear and delivered well.

Twenty-Five, Joel Crichton Emergency
3 Stars
The main problem with this musical isn't with the performers, who have fine voices and sang the songs with skill. The songs themselves were pretty non-discript, though the G20 themed song was pretty good. No, the main problem with this show was that while it had a theme (various 25 year olds) it didn't tell much of a story. There were small bits of character, small bits of story, all unrelated to each other except for their theme. Stronger songs, or an actual connected story, would have given much great presence to the performances.

Zack Adams, Weeping Spoon Productions
2 Stars
This show did not do much for me. It seemed a fairly standard white-guy-on-accoustic-guitar show, telling stories and singing songs about his life and his loves. But while the songs were by and large serviceable and some of the jokes were fairly amusing the whole affair left me wondering when we'd reach some meaty substance, which never seemed to materialize. There were no real deep questions asked, let alone any real attempts at answers... just a guy, who lived, and is now strumming his guitar on the topic.

Paladinian's 2010 Winnipeg Fringe Festival Reviews

2 Man No-Show, ZeekTech Productions
2 Stars
I'm possibly not the target demographic for this show. There were a few funny bits, but they most depended upon embarrassing, fairly juvenile humour that didn't resonate with me at all. Seeing a short person humping a chair in multiple different ways loses any meaning rather quickly. Sigh. The best bit was the outlandishly enthuasiastic Jurassic Park synopsis to one's date who hadn't seen it. (I am perhaps not yet old enough to not find a well-timed spit-take funny, at least.)

7(x1) Samurai, David Gaines
5 Stars
Quite the performance! I will admit though I wanted to have fun with the show, the hype and expectations left me with an over-critical bias through the first quarter that threatened to poison much of the enjoyment. That quickly passed, and soon I was grinning like the rest at the funny and clever physical storytelling. The amount of information that David Gaines can impart with a cock of the head, or a shifting of the hips is incredible. That he can take so many characters and play them all so distinctly identifiable is the height of impressiveness. A show that definately deserves its success.

Billy Stutter, an Irish Play, FatWhine Productions
4 Stars
The performers, when asked to describe whether this show is a comedy or a drama or what, respond rather helpfully that it is an *Irish* show. So really... a prolonged set of humourous tragedies couched in stereotypes and foreign accents. And the show certainly revels in such, but also retains a great charm in the process. The obsessive stoicism and accepting nature of the characters throughout the absurd events they are subjected to keeps the show funny and engaging rather then cruel or malicious. The actors ranged from good to excellent... the brother character definately stole every scene he was in. All in all, great Irish fun.

Burlesque Unzipped, Prairie Fire Presents
3 Stars
A one woman show that I think would have worked better with two, Burlesque Unzipped was a history lesson of the burlesque genre that was interesting to experience but could be a touch halting due to costume changes. A second performer who could take up the reigns while the first changed over would have kept the momentum somewhat better, I think. The strongest part of the show, unexpectedly, was the modern section, where the performer did a wonderful glow-balls-in-socks dance that had me hypnotized. The movements of the lights were enthralling. Ooooooh.... *stares off into the distance and follows the beckoning fairy lights*.

Burning Man and the Reverend Nuge, Tommy Nugent
4 Stars
Philosphically I disagree with the Reverend Nugent, but show-wise he tells a mean story. Detailing his experiences growing up to be a Christian youth reverend, falling out of that, losing his religeon and finding others all over and the catalyst that Burning Man was for some of it, we get to hear of an interesting life told by a skilled storyteller. His fundamental philosophy of 'it's enough, all of it, every moment', though... ugh, it sounds good, but a revelation I think it not. It is the power of positive thinking in all its helpless soothing plattitudes. Sometimes things *aren't* enough. Sometimes things aren't acceptable as they are. Pretending otherwise, convincing ourselves to accept problems that we could instead drive ourselves to overcome strikes me the only way one can really progress. Its kind of funny... the motivational speaker in 'When Harry met Harry' was really the counter point to the Reverend... his motto was 'Confront, Good! Avoid, Bad!'. Though that speaker was largely antagonist to Harry, contrasting it oddly gives the other show an after-the-fact... benevolence? Weird.

Cactus, The Seduction, Epicworlds - Jonno Katz
3 Stars
A one man exploration of the search for love, Mr. Katz has a variety of quirky random skits that flow together rather well. The bits can be amusing, but suffer from a fundamental shallowness. The performer capers and jests well, but does not really explore his theme in any great depth or insightfulness... the overall plot serves just to move us from one skit to the next rather then truly flesh out or firm up any expressed message. So... quirky and fun but ultimately a touch substanceless.

Caught in the Act, The Company
3 Stars
A nice little meta show, the play was a straightforward affair of two self-aware characters debating the state of their constantly re-written bed-focused existance and how they might escape the whims of their frustrated writer. The female character was pretty well acted... the male less so, but at a tight 45 minutes the show didn't overstay its welcome and all in all wasn't a bad time.

Celebrity Cult, Black Sheep Theatre
4 Stars
I'm a big fan of Jayson McDonald's previous works and this one continues to highlight his great skills as a playwright and actor. Following the falls of two modern celebrities, the show has great comedic timing and maintains a good realistic absurdity... the characters remain likeable (or failing that, interesting) without becoming too tragic themselves. The humour never descends to cruelty and the story moves along at the perfect pace. A well acted and well written story!

Club Chernobyl, Agua Luna Productions
2 Stars
There were two fundamental problems in this play, as far as my limited perspective goes... it was too long at 90 minutes, and none of the characters were terribly enjoyable. Time-wise, I think they could have fit what they did into a tight 60 minutes, heck, possibly even a quick 45. The characters possibly wouldn't have gotten as tiresome. The plot itself didn't do much except put 4 characters into the same bar. Its raining torrentially outside. The water is rising up. Supposedly this is bad enough to be life threatening, but by the end of the show, they simply walk away. And that's it. What happened to the menace? Why were we supposed to care?

Company Man, Third Man
3 Stars
Nile Seguin's act this year was a little halting but still amusing enough. Discussing the market crash and the irrational state of the economy in general, he has some good bits, some nice if basic information, and fills the 45 minutes nicely. He was obviously nervous though (he indicated his girlfriend's parents were in the audience) and the self-consciousness had him struggling a bit from time to time. There is a time during one piece of exposition where he stops midway through to tell a joke from his stand-up act, because the bit runs a little dry. A firmer act wouldn't have had that worry. So all in all a good stand-up act but could have used some more polish.

DnD, Third Edition, Red River Serial
4 Stars
Red River Serial returns with what I believe to be the silliest, most creative improv of the festival. The actors take to their Dungeons and Dragons inspired roles enthusiastically and hilariously, without falling into cliqueish in-jokes that depend on being a gamer yourself. The pure, playful fun of the performers remains infectious three Fringe seasons in... seeing an installment of it at least once is an experience I highly recommend.

Daydream, Cultural Imaginary Productions
2 Stars
It is to the show's credit that they at least show the main male character becoming unhinged *before* he picks up a video game and turn into the stereotypical media image of the violent, insensate-to-reality psychopathic gamer. (Yes, I take such depictions a tad personally.) Still, the show does transition ever onwards towards Reefer Madness style absurdities about the effect 'realistic' video games have on the mind of an impressionable 32 year old. Sigh. On the plus side, when the crazyness goes full swing, the play does become much more of a spectacle, and some intensity is added to what is (for quite a while) a fairly unimpressive set of mother and son talking in each other's general direction.

Dot Dot Dot, Rapid Fire Theatre
3 Stars
Or maybe a bare 4. So far the only non-Dungeons and Dragons based improv I've seen this far this festival, Rapid Fire Theatre did not disapoint. That they took the four improv audience suggestions at the beginning and filled most of the whole hour with such showed some impressive understanding of pacing and story building. Some of the jokes got stale... Big Momma and her food-storage rolls needn't have been explored so... deeply... but otherwise the show worked and was quite amusing to observe. Was fun.

Die Roten Punkte - Kunst Rock, Die Roten Punkte
5 Stars
Die Roten Punkte (The Red Dots) continue to be amazingly entertaining. With their Art Rock show, DRP brings the tunes and the funny, and their charisma and audience rapport are spectacles to behold. I caught them on their first show of the season, the last show of the night, and the audience coaxed a two song encore out of them, which no doubt the Fringe will take exception to but to us patrons was AWESOME.

Eccentrically We Love, The Fugitives
4 Stars
The Fugitives are back with the same breed of wonderful folk / bluegrass / spoken word gestalt as their show two years back. The diverse musical and lyrical skill sets continue to make for a beautiful show, and the greater focus on group banter and competition added a nice personability and charisma to the performance. (Aside: Team Accordion all the way, but Team Triangle Thing comes a close second...) A great hour of great music.

Freud vs. His Ego, Monster Theatre
4 Stars
Monster Theatre is back with a very strong show featuring history's most famous psychologist. The comedy felt very tight and the history lesson, so to speak, was interesting. The King's Head, of course, remains one of the best venues for such shows and can be as much a draw as the performance itself. Of particular note here was the performer synchronized dialogue, which was done expertly and gave a great feel to the show. The only negative would be a habit towards repetition, which felt more like padding then actual serving the story or humour.

Gibberish, Chris Gibbs
3 Stars
Chris Gibbs remains a funny, funny man, but this show for some reason had a certain consequenceless feel to it. The jokes were funny but kinda only there to *be* funny. There wasn't really a strong narrative to speak of to unite everything together beyond the overall 'I dont' want to fail' pathos, which while amusing didn't do much for me. Also, some of the lead up to the bits failed to build a strong sense of anticipation, so there were times I was thinking 'just get ON with it, man...'. Still many laughs, but sadly not as much memorable as in previous shows.

Gunpowder, Stars and Hearts
3 Stars
Perhaps it was simply because it was late and I was tired, but though I enjoy Jayson McDonald's plays greatly, this one struck me as somewhat more, I don't know, unimpressive. The show was humourous, and the characters interesting, and the story quirky and weird, so I should have had a great time. I guess I was hoping for another funny show but with an emotional backbone like GIR or Fall Faire. This one was only about the funny, and I suppose I was hoping for more.

It's Raining in Barcelona, Bundle of JOY Productions
2 Stars
A rather subtle character show, the play had some strong performances but plot-wise was... well, subtle. I don't really know what else to say. The story didn't really grip me... a subdued pimp, a dreaming-of-better-things prostitute, a nerdy repressed client. The conflict was repressed, the drama was understated, the progression of the characters was slow and steady. If one is looking for such a show, one will enjoy the performance, but if one wants a bit more zip, its not the best fit.

Jewish Girls Don't Kayak, Ms. Iz Productions
2 Stars
It is somewhat hard to pin down why I didn't get much out of this show... it is an exploration of one's experiences, and I normally like gaining the perspective such provides. Best I can figure, the show suffers by the fact that the lead has actually lived a rather charmed life. Her last name of Israel causes everyone to presume she is jewish, and that is unconformtable, apparently? But otherwise she has doting (if outlandishly stereotypical) parents, a life that has seen her travel and love across all sorts of places and people, and has by all appearances prospered throughout it all. She certainly didn't face the crushing prejudices of her parents, or grandparents... so I guess I have to ask... why is she here talking to us about how her wonderful life has had some small few hardships?

Man 1, Bank 0, PKF Productions
5 Stars
I'm a sucker for good stories told by skilled storytellers, and this show certainly delivered. Patrick Combs tells a funny, personable, and surprisingly engaging tale with wonderful comedic timing and effective multi-media props. As a true story it resonated powerfully, though even if it were a complete fabrication its presentation would still make for a great tall tale. Of particular interest was its display of the common modern villain, laid out in all its petty and vindictive banality. Very well done, and the 75 minutes flew past.

Rant Demon, Doctor Keir Co
5 Stars
It is hard to classify a rant as inspirational, but Keir Cutler manages it with this tangential performance to previous season's show Teaching the Fringe. His analysis as to the consequences of un-checked ranting, the parts of his history that contributed to them, and his path to addressing such are both hilariously funny and emotionally relatable. Some of the impact is probably helped by an existing familiarity through previous shows, but even a first-timer should appreciate the wonderfully told absurdities of being one's own worst enemy.

Secret Fringe Cabaret, Various
3 Stars
Yes, I finally got to attend the famously hard to get into Secret Fringe performer cabaret! Hooray! And how was it? Well, fun. A great experience. The first half was certainly the strongest, with performances by Monster Theatre, the Fugitives, the Bike Trip guy and Little Miss Hiccup, the chelo guy, and so on. There was sillyness, there was complaining about reviews and reviewers (...) there was a food fight, and much alcohol was consumed. Probably due to this last bit the second half broke down a touch, becoming a bit, oh, I don't even know. Others said they were a touch over-wanking. I was just glad to attend... hopefully I'll catch it again another year.

Seeking..., Heat and Hot Water Productions
3 Stars
A well done 3 actor / multi-role show about dating / searching for companionship. The show had good heart and strong acting. It did take some time for the identifying characteristics of the different roles to make themselves obvious as the actors switched focus, but did end up working well before too long. At the mid-point they have a speed-dating scene which cleverly leveraged the audience... and swept me up in it. Aaaah! Aaaaaaaaaaah! AAAAAAAAAAAAH! (Sorry. Letting the silent scream out now. Couldn't exactly do so earlier. Feel better now. Hope I didn't embarrass myself too badly in the 30 seconds. Aaah.)

Spaceship Man, Sound and Fury
3 Stars
A solid if unremarkable show by Sound and Fury, which being one of the main draws of the Fringe comes as something of a surprise. Being short some of the traditional troupe apparently made a noticeable difference... while the show was funny and had many great bits, it remained only funny instead of the hilarity of last year. (Or, according to others I've talked to, further years previous as well.) The Shatner bits got a touch old pretty quickly, the spontanaety somewhat repressed, and the performers had a certain feeling of cautiousness? Self-consciousness? Anyway, still quite funny, but not a classic.

Sparks, TheatrePublic
3 Stars
Though called a romantic comedy, I really think this show was rather more a dramatic romance. There were a few laughs but interestingly they felt more in service of the drama then for its own sake. The performances of the two leads quite good, the third less so, but his appearance was short and oddly unnecessary, so such was little distraction. The emotions were good though the lead poet character (being an admitted rascal and scamp) wasn't exactly the most likeable of sorts. But hey, its the Fringe, not everything needs to conform to troperific forumula. All in all the show was a nice story and experience, though it didn't particularly stand out in any specific sense.

Taking Out the White Trash, Break the Wall Productions
3 Stars
Not quite as good as last year's Don't Make Fun of Jesus, sadly. Sherri sutton remains a very funny stand-up comedian, but this year's show didn't seem to resonate emotionally like the last run's. Perhaps part of it comes (as is even mentioned by the performer) from how she does seem angrier then last year when talking about the topic of the people on the lowest rung of the social ladder. She pointedly references through rant and joke and annecdote how the lives and mindsets down there are destructive, but she really gives no perspective on how things could be changed, so at the end of the show it really feels she is circling the issue rather then speaking 'truth to power' like an advocate comedian theoretically should.

The Goodtimes, The Goodtimes
2 Stars
Debated giving this show a one star. But wasn't as bad as that, really, I suppose. A husband and wife vaudeville show, the costumes and props were interesting but the songs... not. Part of this was the accustics... their robot sidekick's synthetic voice was difficult to parse, and the lyrics of the human performers drowned out by the bass of the music. The real problem is the content... just wasn't my thing. A song about drowning rats (or trying to kill one trapped in the toilet bowl with ammonia unsuccessfully) disgusted me. The bit where the wife comes out in a vagina costume... really? Then the rest were really just trivialities. The whole set is probably great if drunk or stoned or both. For me... no.

The Wild Things, Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers
4 Stars
Wow. A much larger production than I was expecting, The Wild Things has a great blend of costume and music that really lent a Jim Henson quality to the whole affair. The plot being moved forward entirely through catchy, well-executed musical numbers was much more effective then prolonged monologuing or actor dialogue and gave the show a rapid energy. The noise makers given to the audience members were great fun, because I got one... if I hadn't it may have been a different verdict. The only real complaint is that one set of drums, near the beginning, were cover-my-ears-for-relief painful. They either became better leveled later on or my ears became sufficiently deadened to not be bothered. Ugh. Anyway, the tunes were very very good, and the spectacle a delight.

Things that Never Happen, Travis Bernhardt
4 Stars
A magic show, nothing more, nothing less, but expertly done. Travis Bernhardt is talented in all the ways a stage magician should be... charismatic, skilled at sleight of hand, and displaying conjuring tricks as good as I've ever seen. His little nuggets of science facts (and lies) were a nice touch to distinguish from other performers on the free stage. Great fun.

Tired Cliches, Acky-Made
3 Stars
This is a show where preconceptions might poison the well a bit. As a fan of TJ Dawe, and this being an adaptation of his first Fringe show, I was set to love the storytelling. Unfortunately I found I couldn't help but be distracted hearing what it might have sounded like originally in my head, over what was before me on stage. Alex Eddington does his best to make the monologue his own... his ledgermain is quite good and the manic, trapped-animal energy did work well, but to a certain degree the efforts to individualize just highlighted the need to individualize in the first place. I guess the performance felt a touch... performed? Still, the writting is engaging, the energy is great, and the show is quite enjoyable, but one's expectations may need to be overcome.

Title Of Show, Pocket Frock Productions
3 Stars
I'm of mixed thoughts on this one. The first hour is a quirky little exploration on making an original musical, and the last half a somewhat more dramatic view on how one works to make the former a Broadway success. Oddly, in this case the last half hour, the side with actual emotion and conflict, did the overall play a disservice to me. At the hour ending point, the musical had a nice completeness to it. We could walk away with a little grin and move on. The extra half-hour left me feeling a little like 'why are we still here'? 'Oh, are we still doing this?'. 'Okay, how much longer is this going to go?'. And so on. The quirkyness ran flat and over-trod near the end, I suppose. A lesson I myself should probably learn but likely never will.

When Harry Met Harry, flaming locomotive productions
3 Stars
Another well acted show by the guy from The Good Thief last year. He is obviously most comfortable performing in character roles, as his skill at delivery and manerisms are protrayed wonderfully in such avenues. Unfortunately, this story didn't really grip me. I could empathize with the crippling social anxiety of the main character, but his day to day life and nightly dreams of counting stones, while significant, didn't exactly enthrall. The audience participation was quite good... the character's hatred of 'Bernard' was enjoyable and the audience member who was assigned handled it well.

When the Killer Mutant Lizards Attack, Stupid Gumball Dispenser
5 Stars
As a fan of the Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, I'm most certainly the target demographic for this show, and was greatly pleased by its execution. A one man show set as a set of testimonials by survivors of L Day (when the giant killer mutant lizards attacked), they slowly reveal the unfolding of their local apocalypse through sharing their own limited experiences and perspectives. The acting and plot was fantastic and surprisingly moving... the conclusion to the gas station attendant's story in particular had me close to misting up. This was the first time I've seen a Brent Hirose play, and he did a fantastic job with this story. I must make sure to follow him in subsequent years.

PTE: Glorious 2 Stars

I waver between giving this show 2 or 3 stars, but rather then whip out the silly half-star, I'll commit to two.

Glorious! is the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a 40s era notoriously terrible singer. The show is something of an analysis of the sort of person who goes on American Idol and bombs, though the Simon Cowell is more passive-aggressive in his mockery. As such much of the humour revolved around Florence's unfounded confidence in her artistic abilities, others mockery of said (dis)abilities, and then of course the requisite painful examples.

As mentioned before, I'm not a big fan of embarassment humour... being one who suspects he is humiliating himself pretty much whatever he does, it strikes a little close to home. So the snarkyness to the poor woman who just wants to perform didn't really resonate with me, nor did her terrible singing amuse.The performers did do an excellent job with their material, though, and the set as always was wonderful. It is just the narrative itself that didn't appeal, though many others did find it hilarious. The maternal Parental Unit thought it the best show of the season, so there you go. (The Paternal Unit thought much the same as I, I suspect.)

One other weakness I found was the moral of the story, as it was. The moral, and a fine moral it is, is that one should not let others dictate your dreams. Of course, that comes with the requisite responsibility that you can't expect anyone else to *help* you with your dreams... your dreams are your own, and it is fundamentally up to you to realize them. Which Florence certainly did... because she inherited great wealth and people couldn't have stopped her performing if they tried. (And some did.)

It was not her skill or her talent that saw her rise to success, it was because she was rich enough to be immune to the consequences of failure. So long story short dream the dream, but you better hope you've got the money to make it happen.

PTE: Lawrence and Holloman 3 Stars

Lawrence and Holloman was billed as a Dark Comedy. I suppose that descriptive works well enough. There was goof-ball antics and some very unpleasant people. Well, person, I suppose. Not that it really matters, but SPOILER ALERT, I guess?

General plot: Two Odd-couple trope guys, one an optimist (it was only later he realized his father's dying words were actually to become an eye doctor) and one stuffy pseudo-pessimist. The pessimist was odd in that starting out he struck me as kind of a super-introverted I'm a PC character, and later morphed into a rather more classic Phil Hartman sort. The outgoing, energetic optimist started out as rather a jack-ass, but by the second half became substantially more pleasant. (Losing a leg to gangrene will help with the sympathy angle, I suppose.)

Oddly, I was relieved that in this show the loser introvert ended up being a simple psychopath rather then a man so fundamentally pitiful that his loser-ness actually infects and destroys anyone nearby. A lesson of hopefullness for us all, I suppose.

The first half of the play, where the characters and their interactions are set in place, involved Dad falling asleep and myself wondering when the intermission would arrive. The second half, wherein the optomist's misfortunes escalate to increasingly cartoonish absurdity, was much more engaging. The first half was necessary for the second to play well, I suppose, but still it really felt like padding while waiting for the true plot to reveal itself.

What bugged me though, is that while the play wasn't really what the Chimera would call embarrassing comedy, it was certainly sadistic. It covered itself in slap-stick and a Warner Bros. cartoonishness, but still, it at its core revolved around making one guy suffer through increasingly severe tortures with the only justification for calling the play a comedy being that he was too fundamentally dumb to be bothered by them.

So I dunno. The play was really only amusing when it was being outlandish, which is fine and good, but I can't help but feel guilty about the fact the outlandish parts were also the explicitly cruel ones. This state doesn't speak well of me, personally.

PTE: Goodness 4 Stars

We are likely still leaning towards the MTC Warehouse Theatre for our season tickets next year, but this show did at least give us great hope for the PTE season. Unlike most of the last several shows, Goodness has essentially no set... just a pair of chairs and actors. It felt much more like a 2 hour Fringe show then a standard PTE presentation, and this was not a bad thing.

We had the author-stand in, breaking the fourth wall to talk to the audience directly. We had the characters calling the author on his bullshit. We had a meaty, consequential discussion about not-directly-named Rwanda and the genocide there, contrasting those experiences with the author's craving for vengeance for his own family's loses during WW2 in Poland. Discussions about what makes good people bad, and are victims themselves automatically good? Why are people so terrible? Are all the worlds problems caused by too much love?

Some of the questions were pretty easy to answer personally. No, victims aren't automatically good, but nor should we blame them implicitly. People suck because we have inherited dangerous evolutionary baggage. No, love isn't the problem, your argument is not compelling. Some of the larger questions, like how does one move on, how does one survive, were much more thought provoking. Certainly more engaging then whether the young man should join the hockey team, or whether the old guy should build the cabin he's dreamed about for years.

But maybe such is because I simply pretentious, or put on airs of pseudo-intellectualism... but the Fringe show, talking philosophy and pain and man's inhumanity to man, interest me more then daytime television melodrama. Though the fact that I refer to the shows I didn't like with such a descriptive likely reflects more on my perspective then the shows themselves...