Tea for two
This is a joyful and touching bit of physical theatre with a turn toward the absurd.
Tea for Two is a tea party with James and Jamsie (Tetley Red Tea aka Rooibus is served if you care to have some.) Of course, the parties grow beyond dialog to include things such as delivering tea to the front lines of the British Army, and creating a family reunion with the audience.
And yes, there is audience participation. I am not usually a fan of audience participation. However, in this case, the performers handle it well, and establish their own characters so strongly that their world is not disrupted by inviting outsiders into it. At my performance, these invited outsiders were more than happy to participate in the frivolous world on stage.
Aaron Malkin & Alastair Knowles both have excellent physical comedy skills, brilliant timing, and a tremendous sense for the absurd. It is no wonder that this show has become the patron's pick.
Two shows left! Patrons pick performance! See it!
Fuck Shakespeare
I saw this show as a fill-in for The Show Must Go On, which I missed by showing up at the wrong theatre. I will be seeing Show Must Go On at tomorrow's late night showing.
Fuck Shakespeare actually has very little to do with Shakespeare other than stealing some of its female protagonists to use as antagonists in this unskilled script. Other characters (and caricatures) are lifted from Chinese folklore and Disney's Alladin.
What is claimed to be existentialist discussion comes across more as college angst and the search for the purpose of love.
There are some cute moments (the Weird Sisters are a high point), but the overly linear plot often devolves into the sort of dialog one hears at first-year watering holes.
Not recommended.
Polly Polly
This is a wonderful one woman show about the search for yourself.
Jessica Moss is Polly, a telemarketer who loves movies and who wakes one day to find her live being narrated, and rather unkindly. After a strange telephone call with a woman claiming to be herself, Polly concludes (to borrow from Lewis Carrol) that she is not herself. The real her must be out there, having a much more exciting life, if only she can, quite literally, find herself.
Moss provides excellent characterization and balances the humour of the piece with the tender care of its protagonist. The ending is wholly satisfying!
If you miss it at the Fringe, be sure to check it out at the Best of Fringe, where it is being remounted!
Highly recommended.
Much Ado About Nothing
I got my ticket for this as soon as I saw it was bring produced. After seeing their production of Taming of the Shrew last year, I knew this would be a good bet. I was not disappointed.
The company, Shakespeare BASH'd, delivers a text-focused, high energy, and very funny performance. When not laughing out loud, a smile was certainly on my face.
What continues to impress me with this company is their skill at editing the text. I have been in a production of this show; it is longer than ninety minutes. However, in this company's skillful hands, it comes in right at the hour and a half, and I would be hard pressed to tel you where any cuts were made.
There are two performances left of this show, and I highly recommend taking it in! This Shakespeare is fresh and vibrant!
I am also long forward to their upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet. It will be interesting to see how this company, so successful with their comedy productions, handles a tragedy.
See it! See it now! And tip your bartender!
This is a joyful and touching bit of physical theatre with a turn toward the absurd.
Tea for Two is a tea party with James and Jamsie (Tetley Red Tea aka Rooibus is served if you care to have some.) Of course, the parties grow beyond dialog to include things such as delivering tea to the front lines of the British Army, and creating a family reunion with the audience.
And yes, there is audience participation. I am not usually a fan of audience participation. However, in this case, the performers handle it well, and establish their own characters so strongly that their world is not disrupted by inviting outsiders into it. At my performance, these invited outsiders were more than happy to participate in the frivolous world on stage.
Aaron Malkin & Alastair Knowles both have excellent physical comedy skills, brilliant timing, and a tremendous sense for the absurd. It is no wonder that this show has become the patron's pick.
Two shows left! Patrons pick performance! See it!
Fuck Shakespeare
I saw this show as a fill-in for The Show Must Go On, which I missed by showing up at the wrong theatre. I will be seeing Show Must Go On at tomorrow's late night showing.
Fuck Shakespeare actually has very little to do with Shakespeare other than stealing some of its female protagonists to use as antagonists in this unskilled script. Other characters (and caricatures) are lifted from Chinese folklore and Disney's Alladin.
What is claimed to be existentialist discussion comes across more as college angst and the search for the purpose of love.
There are some cute moments (the Weird Sisters are a high point), but the overly linear plot often devolves into the sort of dialog one hears at first-year watering holes.
Not recommended.
Polly Polly
This is a wonderful one woman show about the search for yourself.
Jessica Moss is Polly, a telemarketer who loves movies and who wakes one day to find her live being narrated, and rather unkindly. After a strange telephone call with a woman claiming to be herself, Polly concludes (to borrow from Lewis Carrol) that she is not herself. The real her must be out there, having a much more exciting life, if only she can, quite literally, find herself.
Moss provides excellent characterization and balances the humour of the piece with the tender care of its protagonist. The ending is wholly satisfying!
If you miss it at the Fringe, be sure to check it out at the Best of Fringe, where it is being remounted!
Highly recommended.
Much Ado About Nothing
I got my ticket for this as soon as I saw it was bring produced. After seeing their production of Taming of the Shrew last year, I knew this would be a good bet. I was not disappointed.
The company, Shakespeare BASH'd, delivers a text-focused, high energy, and very funny performance. When not laughing out loud, a smile was certainly on my face.
What continues to impress me with this company is their skill at editing the text. I have been in a production of this show; it is longer than ninety minutes. However, in this company's skillful hands, it comes in right at the hour and a half, and I would be hard pressed to tel you where any cuts were made.
There are two performances left of this show, and I highly recommend taking it in! This Shakespeare is fresh and vibrant!
I am also long forward to their upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet. It will be interesting to see how this company, so successful with their comedy productions, handles a tragedy.
See it! See it now! And tip your bartender!