SOLOVELA, AN IMPROVISED SOLO TELENOVELA (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
Of the nine shows I’ve seen at the Fringe so far, Diane Jorge’s Solovela, an Improvised Solo Telenovela succeeds most thoroughly on its own terms. As the title lets us know, Jorge performs the body of the show by herself. But first she interviews an audience volunteer...
CANDY (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
There’s so much to like in Travis Abels’s solo show, Candy. But the centre doesn’t hold. Abels sets up the narrative frame: he’s going on a journey to the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, where, legend has it, if you stand on the edge at sunset, you can see your future....
THE GUYS I F*CKED (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
I know the word fuck is in the title, but that’s not going to stop me from nerding out. Narrative tension, which provokes interest, comes from not knowing how things will work out, what insight the protagonist might gain. Watching The Guys I F*cked, I was so far ahead...
CULTS (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
Blair Moro’s script is a staged lecture about cults, the tactics of their leaders and the abuses visited upon their members. Mostly what I got from it is some horrific imagery that I can’t do anything with and that will stay lodged in me for a long time. Moro notes...
THE TRUTH AND DARERS (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
Fresh talent, deep emotions: The Truth and Darers is my kind of show. In Shanti Harris’s script, a group of young teens gathers in an abandoned barn in their isolated, impoverished, rural community for a high-stakes game of Truth or Dare. If you lie or don’t complete...
COLONIAL CIRCUS-HISTORY, CLOWN STYLE (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
Ripples of surprised laughter flowed through my body as I watched Colonial Circus – History, Clown Style. That’s because this show is taking full advantage of the space that the Fringe creates for audacity and experimentation. Off the top, performer/creators Shreya...
ICKOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
In terms of craft, Ickoholics Anonymous could not be tighter. In this solo show, writer and performer Lucy Lucia plays a character named Lucy who’s attending her first meeting of Ickoholics Anonymous. Conveniently, she’s brought a PowerPoint presentation, which...
BOYS’ CLUB (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
A couple of caveats: Boy’s Club, Comox rapper Alick Mac’s exploration of the current state of masculinity, is very much a musical TED talk, and there’s nothing fresh in Mac’s analysis. (Don’t stop reading.) Mac is preaching to the choir but, speaking as a member of...
TALL MARK’S EAT IT ANYWAY (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
You know those shows where you check your watch after what feels like forever and only five minutes have passed? Tall Mark’s EAT IT ANYWAY is one of those. Tall Mark sings “comic” songs that aren’t actually funny, then asks if we’ve understood the messages in them....
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