2014 Fringe - Day three

Only two shows today.

Radical

Radical is a historical bio play looking at the Canadian Oncologist Vera Peters, and particularly her leading role in introducing the use of the lumpectomy procedure into the treatment of Stage 1 breast cancer. The subject matter was very interesting, but the show itself lacking in dramatic shape and tension. There also seem to have been liberties taken with the flow of events as the show implied to me a death decades earlier than a quick web search has drawn up. 

Recommendation: Worth seeing for a bit of exposure to Canadian Medical history. Otherwise, safe to pass on.

52-Pickup

52-Pickup, written by Fringe stalwart TJ Dawe in partnership with Rita Bozi, is an experiment and an experience! 52 short scenes, windows into the beginning, middle, and end of a relationship. But presented in a random order each time. Not only that, but presented each night with one of four possible casts, including two same-sex, and two opposite-sex pairings. 

The performance I saw, the roles were performed Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster (who is also one of the directors) and Kristen Zaza. They brought a sweet sense of innocent and budding romance to the lighter moments of the show, and the right darkness and hurt to the scenes depicting the relationships disintegration.

The show was an absolute delight! I would love to see it again with another case and another order of shows, but I have the suspicion it will be sold out soon.

Special recognition must be paid to the SM and technical team, Justis Danto-Clancy and Sam Hale. I cannot imagine what the booth must be like on a show where any one of 52 scenes could be coming up at a moment’s notice. Yes, the light and music cues always came smoothly

.

Recommendation: Fantastic Fringe Moment. See if it you can.

2014 Fringe - Day 2

Ok. I am going to see if I can keep my reviews short and to the point. Seven shows today and I am going to try not to take seven hours to write my thoughts

First up, a dance double bill:

When All Is Said and GET SERVED

When all is said is billed as a piece about storytelling, however, it lacked a clear narrative or shape. To me, it was more a piece exploring themes of mimesis, which is fine, and the choreography held together conceptually, with some moments of good engagemntment. Unfortunately, the lack of shape or through line left the piece feeling unfocused. This was not helped by the single level general amber wash across the stage and the ambient amorphous soundscape used as background.

The second number on the bill, GET SERVED was generally unremarkable. While promising to to “unveil the secrets that lie below the facades” of needy restaurant customers, it just did not come through. Last years comedy “excuse you” covered similar ground far better and with much less anguish.

Recommendation: If you follow dance at the fringe, When All Is Said may be worth checking out, but GET SERVED makes me suggest giving it a pass.

The Dark Fantastic

This performance is best characterized as a llkve book on tape, as author/performer Martin Dockery perform the entire show seated at a desk, as lighting provides mood to his underscored narrative. It is an excellent narrative, however, striking me as a cross between Jeanette Winterson and Stephen King. The story, written in a poetic mode, flirts with brilliance and remains engaging. I would really enjoy seeing the script published as a short story in its own right. Unfortunately, much of the intensity of this intimate piece is swallowed up by the venue. The Al Green space is just too big for the show as presented, so what would likely have been riveting in one of the backspace venues or the solo room, falls short of what it really deserves.

Recommendation: If you can take the odd gruesome description and enjoy a good storyteller, check it out.

Baker's Dozen

After the intensity of the previous show, Baker's Dozen was a welcome change of pace. The premise: the baker has been found dead in his apartment, and the butcher is on trial. They key witness, an old woman who saw the butcher and baker, and possibly the candlestick maker, getting their run a dub dub on in the tub.
The focus, however, is not on the case before the courts, but on the twelve jurors deliberating the case. With humour, wit, and incredibly strong characterization, Adam Francis Proulx bring each of the 12 jurors to life, in puppet form. With a gentle touch, he raises questions about our duty to the justice system, and to ideas of justice generally. To its credit it does not make any attempt at answering the questions it raises, only planting the seeds of dialog in the audience.

This show is 12 portraits around a common theme. Thoroughly entertaining but far from frivolous.

Recommendation: Strongly recommended

Punch Up

When Duncan kidnaps the funniest man alive to save the life of the saddest woman in the world, dark and hilarious comedy ensues.

This is easily the highlight of the day, and is sure to be one of the must see shows of the festival. Kat Sandler's script is smart, looking at the nature of comedy while delivering the laughs. Her direction, as well, keeps things always lively. Strong performances by cast members Colin Munch, Tim Walker, and Caitlin Driscoll. There is no set designer listed, but props should go to him or her along with costumer Holly Lloyd and lighting designer Melissa Joakim for bringing the “pee wee's playhouse of a secret layer” to life on a fringe budget.

Recommendation: Stop reading this review and get a ticket.

Parallel Play

This is a straight forward sketch show featuring Elvira Kurt and Megan Fahlenbock. The jokes are certainly there, though some hit better than others, and a few go on rather long. Perhaps I had my expectations too high, but I expected the laughs to come harder and faster from such an established name as Elvira Kurt.
While the order of the day is primarily comedy, a more seriously toned sketch about a mother protecting her child from being raped at a party stood out for me as a particularly well crafted piece of theatre.

It should be noted that while the piece remained contained in its hour slot, it ran longer than the 45 minutes listed in the program.

Recommendation: if you like sketch work, its worth a look.

The Urinal Diaries

I will refrain from the toilet jokes here. This is, unfortunately, a play damned from the outset by a terrible script by playwright Mark H Albert. The jokes are poor, the situations outlandish, and the scenes haphazardly shaped and inconsistent in tone. In one scene there are penis size jokes, in the next, a soldier with PTSD is begging a robber to shoot him. The company tries is best to provide pathos, but is fighting an uphill battle.

Recommendation: Avoid this show.

A solid show to open my fringe with

And the Fringe is underway!

Today was a promising start as I attended Robert Watson’s play Chasing Margaret Flatwood. Flatwood is a comedy, which I found somewhat in the vein of a Canadian Absolutely Fabulous. The plot primarily centers around rich wannabe socialite Vivienne Moore (Catherine McNally) attempting to stick it to her arch rival by organizing the social event of the decade, featuring famed Canadian writer, Margaret Flatwood. In this, she is supported by her adopted sister and general leech Jazmin Latrine (Kimwun Perehinec), who I could not help but thinking of as Patsy to Catherine’s Edina. Around this endeavour swirls a background narrative in which her husband, Gerald Moore (Mark Terene), a clear send up of Conrad Black, though this time with a meat rather than media empire, conspires with his lawyer (Daniel Krolik) to hide the funds he has embezzled from his company pension fund. Finally, enter into the mix the righteous daughter, Olivia (Julia Lederer) back from university. 

The script is strong, and many of the jokes are smart, referencing the headlines and cultural trends of Toronto. In another incarnation, I think there is some room to tighten the material, perhaps cutting about 10 minutes off and relocating a scene or two. I also felt that the frame narrative set up in the opening few minutes never really came into its own. However, I reiterate, the script it strong.

The execution of the material, unfortunately, left me a little cold. I want to be clear, I enjoyed the performance. I just couldn’t help but think that there was potential for even more enjoyment and laughter. My best guess at the culprit was the overall tenor of the line delivery and pacing. The dialog had a certain patter and rhythm in it that I don’t think was coming across. I kept wanting to hear it in the quick-patter rhythms of Rosalind Russell, or the breakneck speed of Jennifer Saunders in full Edina mode. Here, though, the delivery was on the slower side, and there were a few points where some of the actors were searching for their lines. I fully expect, however that the delivery will improve from performance to performance as the company finds its stride with the materials, and that as they do, the laughs from the audience will be stronger and more sustained.

As you know, I am a sucker for site-specific staging, and the site of this performance, Campbell House at the corner of Queen and University, is stunning. The majority of the show is set in the room the audience inhabits and the immersive feel at first entering the space is wonderful. I wish, however, that the company had come across as feeling more a part of the space they were in. Again, I am sure they will feel more comfortable over the next few runs, but at this early performance, they often felt as if they were characters standing in the space instead of really inhabiting and feeling comfortable in it.

Director Andrew Lamb does a solid job moving a relatively sizable cast through such a small performance area. Set and Costume designer Lindsay C Walker does an ingeniously simple transformation of the living room into a Food Basic aisle. Playwright Robert Watson even takes a turn in a couple of the smaller roles in the show, and steals more than a couple moments while carrying out set changes, or delivering drinks to the various members of the Moore Clan.

Despite the critique above, I expect the execution will improve as the actors get more comfortable through the run.

Recommendation: Worth checking out, especially for those who might be called pinko bleeding heart commies by a certain sports commentator, Don Raspberry.