We just can’t stop reviewing fringe plays

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This article was published 16/07/2022 (894 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AS IT TURNS OUT…

TBA Productions

The Clock Tower (Venue 3) to Sunday

A wealthy woman is selling her mansion, which becomes the scene of a cross/double-cross confrontation with her husband, the vixen-ish secretary with whom he’s having an affair, and the secretary’s unsuspecting husband.

There are two main problems with this 75-minute ensemble drama written and directed by Winnipegger Liz Farler. First, the script literally needs to be cut in half. The repetitive, meandering back-and-forthing between characters gets tedious. These give us endless backstory and exposition but no action or forward motion and little character development. At one point, the unsuspecting husband says, “I don’t need to hear all the details.” One can relate.

Second, the performances are uneven, ranging from inexplicably cartoonish (Sara Groleau as the vixen secretary) to timid (Kathryn Shank as the daughter). The production is low-energy to the point where it was often hard to hear the actors over the venue’s fan. 1.5/5

— Mary Agnes Welch

BLUEBERRIES ARE ASSHOLES

TJ Dawe

Tom Hendry Warehouse (Venue 6) to Sunday

Vancouver’s TJ Dawe (The Slipknot, Tired Clichés) is the king of the fringe for a reason — he’s a masterful storyteller, weaving wonder and meaning into tales that hold audiences rapt.

But he’s trading on that goodwill with his new show, a baggy hour of quasi-standup comedy that trades in gentle observational humour, a kind of Jerry Seinfeld-lite. His consummate ease onstage helps him sell his material, which is ostensibly about the way we’ve become inured to how weird the world is, but much of it borders on trite (a bit about Winnie-the-Pooh looking like poo is cringe-worthy) and the construction and language need to be much, much sharper to work as standup. There are Twitter threads and TikToks that cover this ground more incisively. 3/5

— Jill Wilson

DÉJÀ VU

Meraki Theatre Productions

The Black Box at Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 19) to July 24

Imagine you’re a teenager. It’s test day at school. Again. It keeps repeating. Every time your grade gets worse. You become more and more sullen. The reason? Your Joie de Vivre has separated from your physical self, and is trying hard to reconnect — with help from two bickering characters in tops hats. This imaginative Alice In Wonderland/Groundhog Day-like script was collectively penned by members of its cast, all aged 11-15. The lines alternate English and French, allowing viewers to practice a second language while easily following the story by context even if they don’t get every word.

Technically, the production used sound effects and music to good effect, except during a nightmare sequence where the music drowned out the dialogue. Not perfect or fully polished, but that’s hardly the point: For tweens and teens interested in theatre, this is a great idea. After the 35-minute show, you get a Q&A with the cast members and their director. Bonus! 3.5/5

— Janice Sawka

ELEANOR’S STORY: AN AMERICAN GIRL IN HITLER’S GERMANY

Ingrid Garner

The Fountain (Venue 4) to Saturday

Los Angeles-based actress Ingrid Garner brings to life her grandmother’s story of being an American girl in Berlin during the Second World War in this harrowing tale of survival, based on the elder Eleanor Ramrath Garner’s autobiographical memoir of the same name.

Garner is unflinching in her storytelling skills, including gut-wrenching references to rape and suicide, as well as a no-holds barred bombing scene. She easily morphs among her German-born family members, crisp Nazis encountered at school and the Hitler Youth group her grandmother was obligated to join after her family emigrated to Germany in 1939 from New Jersey in search of greater economic opportunities, ultimately becoming trapped as enemy aliens.

The 60-minute drama with its compact set also asks pertinent questions about identity, and it’s impossible to watch this show without recalling another war raging right now. The narrative wraps up a bit too neatly, though poetic references to her “14 angels” serve as welcome balm to all that has come before. 4/5

— Holly Harris

EPIDERMIS CIRCUS

Snafu

PTE Colin Jackson Studio (Venue 17) to Sunday

Imagine Shari Lewis’s soul got possessed by David Lynch.

Victoria-based performer Ingrid Hansen doffs the Cousin Itt hairstyle she wore in The Merkin Sisters alongside Stéphanie Morin-Robert at the fringe a few years back. But she still wears that show’s dark, deadpan humour in this 75-minute puppet piece that boasts not a single conventional puppet.

As the title suggests, Hansen uses parts of her own body parts to create puppets, most frequently her hands, in the case of two-hander Florence McFingernails, but a more challenging bit of anatomy in playing raunchy comedian Lenny the Boob. (“I gotta get something off my chest.”)

Hansen employs technology and video projection to provocative, cinematic effect, incorporating weird objects (her use of a doll’s head may induce nightmares), unsettling audience participation, apocalyptic imagery, and the occasional erotic frisson. At the end of the show, Hansen mischievously suggests bringing someone who’s never been to the fringe before to check out her show to get a taste of the festival. She’s not wrong: Epidermis Circus is everything a fringe show should be. 5/5

— Randall King

I AM THE MOST UNFEELING DOCTOR IN THE WORLD (AND OTHER TALES FROM THE EMERGENCY ROOM)

Melissa Yuan-Innes

The Cinematheque (Venue 7) to Sunday

Ontario author and doctor Melissa Yuan-Innes has seen some things during her time in the ER — births, deaths and everything in between. In her 50-minute (slightly shorter than advertised) one-woman show, she dons a lab coat and uses a skeleton to help illustrate her sometimes graphic, sometimes moving recollections.

Yuan-Innes is an affable presence and does well with making medical procedures and terms clear for the audience. She elicits some laughs and some tears, and gets in a few jabs at the medical system. But she is just not a natural raconteur — her stories are full of awkward pauses and sometimes trail off without a real ending — and the show needs a dramaturge, stat, to shape it and give it a dramatic arc or a thread that pulls it together. 2/5

— Jill Wilson

KING, WARRIOR, MAGICIAN, LOVER

Wolfhaven Productions

The Clocktower (Venue 3) to Sunday

Matthew Evan Havens’ latest story is one as old as time: a boy becomes a man, abandoning his agrarian life to see the rest of the world. He goes on a voyage to a far-off city, meeting characters with names like Badger along the way, There are dashes of royalty, war, sorcery and love as the central character trudges through what is often an inscrutable storyline, with not enough of any of the titular elements to make the audience truly care about what happens to the man along the way.

For better or worse, Winnipeg performer Havens’ approach is pure storytelling: he bounds between folksy anecdotes and scenes of dialogue in which he plays all characters. But there’s a reason kids ask storytellers to “Do all the voices”: it’s simply more engaging. Here, Havens fails to adequately between the characters he embodies.

King, Warrior, Magician, Lover has the promise of a good story. But the one-person format might not be the best version of it. 2.5/5

— Ben Waldman

THE MAGIC THAT IS ME

Music with Mandy

Manitoba Theatre for Young People (Kids Venue) to Sunday

Audience members get a balloon on arrival, which proved to be a big, pre-show hit with the kids and an effective interactive prop throughout this gentle music and dance show.

The original songs (sung by Calgary jazz vocalist Mandy Morris) and tap-dancing routines (by Alicia Ward, who also plays the lead) are built around the story of a child named Max and their colourful adventures through their dreams and imagination. Each dream segment brings a different emotion Max must manage.

The songs aren’t quite memorable or energetic enough, and the narrative is a little unclear even to an adult. Plus, I’m not sure tap dancing is enough to propel a story forward or capture kids’ attention. The best, most delightful part was the interactive warm-up at the start.

Wholesome, but underbaked. 3/5

— Mary Agnes Welch

MEAGRE JOYS

Pigeon Project

Comedy at Wee Johnny’s (Venue 15) to Sunday

If the laughs emanating from Wee Johnny’s comedy venue don’t seem as loud or as frequent during Meagre Joys’ show, don’t let that fool you. Some of the sketches from this local company — Danielle Kayahara, Lar Simms and Abby Falvo — are of the thinkier variety, more likely to elicit a barked “Ha!” than a belly laugh, and are filled with throwaway lines that sneak up on you.

The situations range from relatable — trying to sell something online, door-holding etiquette — to outré (a sketch combining Lady Gaga and The Babadook is a highlight, as is a silent-film-era influencer video), but all are clever. The performances are occasionally a bit hesitant and could go broader (a couple of punchlines were inaudible) but the joys provided here are bountiful. 4/5

— Jill Wilson

MR. COFFEEHEAD

Spec Theatre

The Black Box at Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 19) to Sunday

Stanczyk is desperate to not take over his father’s deli and to escape his “loving” grandmother who keeps threatening to have a heart attack and leave a note blaming him. So he leaves on a 1,000-day bicycle trip, accompanied only by his friends Herr Helmut (his helmet), Pani (his bike bag) and Mr. Coffeehead (his bike). Oh, and all his online followers.

Described by Vancouver writer-performer Ira Cooper as a “slapstick tragedy,” this one-man clown show at first looks like something for the kiddies — his bag has a mustachioed face, his helmet has googly eyes and Stanczyk looks a lot like Captain Jack Sparrow with red clown cheeks. But then things spin off into a mashup of techno music, double-entendres, angst, loss and ultimately despair as Stancyzk wonders “Is anybody even watching?”

Very fringy and worth a look, but ultimately this one is all over the road. 3/5

— Janice Sawka

PRETTY BEAST

Kazu Kusano

The Cinematheque (Venue 7) to Sunday

Japanese-born comedian Kazu Kusano is a firecracker of a performer, bounding around the stage in bright red shorts and a tank top as she tells the story of how she overcame sexism and family trauma to achieve her dream of doing standup for a living.

The performer’s mother had schizophrenia and a germ phobia — she never touched her daughter — and her father was hilarious but an alcoholic. Kusano is compelling as she recounts the obstacles she faced as a pretty tomboy who didn’t follow the rules, slipping easily into other characters along the way. But like so many autobiographical shows, Pretty Beast (65 minutes, not 75) falls into the “and then this happened” trap of straight chronological retelling. This blend of comedy and family drama needs reshaping and trimming to deliver real punch. 2.5/5

— Jill Wilson

ROBERT WILL SHOW YOU THE DOOR (TALES OF BEING FIRED)

Jeremy Productions

The Clock Tower (Venue 3) to Sunday

In the course of searching for God’s plan for her life, New York comedy veteran Susan Jeremy got fired from almost every job she ever had. She got fired from a fish’n’chip stand; fired from a gig as a birthday party clown; she even ran into trouble doling out celebrity impressions on the street. Hey, at least it left her with lots of material for this 60-minute whirl through the indignities faced by an aspiring comic, waiting for her big break.

Along the way, Jeremy discovered not just one, but a few purposes in life. One of them is to amuse audiences with shows like these. She’s a natural onstage, bold and engaging, never better than when she’s slyly poking fun at herself. Throw in a little ‘70s and ‘80s nostalgia that will entertain the right generation, and the hour rolls by easy. 3/5

— Melissa Martin

SCATTERED SEEDS

Kolja Company

The Clock Tower (Venue 4) to Sunday

There’s no purer fringe experience than when people who don’t make their living in theatre get on a stage and open their hearts to strangers. In this case, Winnipeg’s Greg Evans is a lawyer. He’s also someone who navigated childhood grief that gave way to addiction, and someone who, thanks to the love of the people in his life, found his way out.

In Scattered Seeds, Evans shares vignettes from that life story through a mix of monologue and original song. It’s a simple production: just a man, his guitar and his own affable manner, giving an hour to relate the events that shaped his life. Though his reflections don’t always go as deep as they could, and some parts don’t feel as emotionally urgent as they might, it’s still a lovingly intimate piece, and Evans is warm and effortlessly pleasant onstage. 3/5

— Melissa Martin

SIX-LEGS

Second Date Productions

The Fountain (Venue 4) to Sunday

On the surface of the planet, a plague of locusts rules the Earth. In tunnels deep underground, three women eke out an existence on whatever they can scrounge. We meet them just as they come to terms with their dwindling supplies and isolation, but this original local drama is really about the relationships between them.

It’s a good premise. The trio of actors has wonderful chemistry and presence, and they have much to play with on a beautifully dressed stage. The script, on the other hand, feels slightly aimless; just as it seems to be building, it reaches an unclear and anticlimactic end.

It would have been nice to explore these characters and their tensions and bonds in more depth, but what is present is enough to hold 60 minutes of interest. 3/5

— Melissa Martin

SLOWLY AND SIDEWAYS

Shoestring Players

Cre8ery (Venue 11) to Saturday

This year, Winnipeg’s Shoestring Players bring us four mini-one acts that run the gamut from middle-aged ladies considering an affair to strangers facing their fears on a Ferris wheel. These shorts are about the small moments in life that help us move forward. Most are two-handers and very talky with not much action — which makes sense for a theatre company born from the Manitoba Speech Association. However, that sometimes nets the deadly fringe combination of slightly stilted but also over-actorly performances that never quite capture the naturalness of a conversation.

But the Players chose good, workable scripts, and the performances are polished and brisk. Perhaps the best short was Duet for Bear and Dog, a light, slightly wistful debate about evolution and domestication between a yappy dog and a bear caught in a tree. (Maybe more bear-and-dog and less cartoonish Russian dog owner, though?) 3.5/5

— Mary Agnes Welch

TANGO: TO THE POINTE

PointeTango

John Hirsch Mainstage (Venue 1) to Sunday

Ballet meets bordello with this often-breathtaking contemporary dance show that mashes together pristine classical dance with the passionate moves of tango.

Montreal-based company members Erin Scott-Kafadar and Alexander Richardson dazzle with an imaginative one-hour program teeming with wit (also choreographed by Richardson), including plenty of pirouettes, tango kicks and flicks, punctuated by gravity-defying lifts that explode like fireworks.

An eclectic soundtrack ranges from spoken narration — the duet accompanied by Charles Bukowski’s grungy ode to “style” is dynamite — to smoky bandoneon music right out of Buenos Aires, where the show was birthed during pandemic lockdown. A highlight is Richardson’s solo performed with a pair of pool cues rife with sub-text. Scott-Kafadar has toes of steel, delivering astonishing pointe work; however, the show ironically is most potent when the artists perform bare-footed, their palpable physical and emotional connection now at its most achingly vulnerable, intimate best. 4.5/5

— Holly Harris

WHATEVER HAPPENS AFTER

Naked Theatre

Rachel Browne Theatre (Venue 8) to Sunday

This 60-minute drama by emerging Manitoba playwright Sarah Flynn has the flaws of many works by young writers, but in the last part, the play’s strengths come strikingly alive.

Acted by Flynn and Jodi Kristjanson under Simon Miron’s astute direction, the action follows a strange farewell between half-sisters Quinn and Ash. We hear, at too great a length, their myriad, sadly funny family problems. But then we come to what has been avoided, Quinn’s soul-killing depression and the belief her “farewell” is the only way out. No plea from Ash will work. Sometimes there aren’t happy endings.

The banter leading to Quinn’s revelation should be subtler, but hold on and wait for the powerful yet almost casual conclusion. With it, Flynn shows herself a playwright to watch in the future. 3/5

— Rory Runnells

WRITE, REWRITE, REPEAT

Crosswalk Productions

The Fountain (Venue 4) to Sunday

As every writer knows, characters can take on a life of their own, and in this dramatic comedy from local playwright Cora Fast, that idea is made flesh. Riley, a writer, hunches over her desk, working on a story about a university student named Reise and his friends, but he has his own ideas about what the story should be. At his urging, Riley revises some scenes.

That central device has immense potential, but the script only sometimes uses it to full effect. The moments when Reise and Riley butt heads are brightly comic and thoughtful, but much of the 60-minute runtime gets bogged down in awkward dialogue that can’t find enough depth. A gut-punch emotional twist at the end does pull it together, albeit abruptly. Overall, an imperfect but intriguing idea, given life by an eager and likable cast. 2.5/5

— Melissa Martin