TRAVELTHEATRICS
Writer and solo performer Keara Barnes has a warmly engaging stage presence—which counts—but her travel stories barely reach the level of being mildly interesting and there’s almost no sense in the script of growing insight or any other kind of accumulation....
THE LADY SHOW
THE LADY SHOW What a fabulous 25-minute sketch show! Unfortunately, the runtime is 55 minutes. The end result settles somewhat south of fabulous, but it's still a net positive. Four uproarious actresses present a variety of approaches—stand-up! sketches! stand-up...
FIELD ZOOLOGY 101
Shawn O’Hara is my new Fringe hero. He created or helped to create two of my favourite Fringe shows: Field Zoology 101 and Fake Ghost Tours. (See that review below.) In Field Zoology 101, O’Hara becomes lecturer Dr. Brad Gooseberry. And you never know what’s going to...
AWKWARD HUG
The medium, as they say, is the message and the medium in the moving and masterful Awkward Hug is writer and solo performer Cory Thibert. Thibert looks like a wary Prince Charming. Athletic and a fan of screamo bands, he seems to be a guy’s guy. And, at times, he is...
FAKE GHOST TOURS
You know that thing where you make shit up with your friends and laugh yourself stupid? Fake Ghost Toursis just like that—and you don’t even have to be stoned or 12 years old to enjoy it. First, a disclaimer that is pretty much meaningless (I think): at the Victoria...
ROCKO AND NAKOTA: TALES FROM THE LAND
Rocko and Nakota:Tales from the Land is naïve, but it’s also so witty and openhearted that I’m very grateful for it. In his solo show, Josh Longueduc introduces us to a little boy named Nakota who’s presenting a class project about a superhero. Very quickly, Nakota’s...
THE ADHD PROJECT
I like any show that makes me cry and, although it also made me laugh, The ADHD Project certainly succeeded on that front. That’s because it tells the story of an outcast—and who can’t relate? Writer and solo performer Carlyn Rhamey, who has ADHD, was bullied and...
UNSCRIPTURED
Unscriptured is very…alright. In it, Travis Bernhardt leads us through an improvised church service. When I was there, we worshipped crying alone, which was a terrific audience suggestion—as was the runner-up, disappointing your mother. Bernhardt structures the improv...
ANGELS & ALIENS
Angels & Aliens: pros and cons. In Angels & Aliens, co-writers and performers Sydney Hayduk and Jeff Leard take on the personae of friends and roommates Syd and Jeff who have just had sex for the first time. It was awkward. To distract themselves, they play...
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