2 QUEENS. 2 BARS. 55 YEARS. (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
It’s good to be reminded of what else the Fringe can be. In the early days of the Vancouver Fringe, which launched 40 years ago, there was a whole lot more thematically challenging material on offer and much more solid dramatic writing. Since then, the Fringe has...
BRUNCH: A COMEDY SHOW (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
I wasn’t having nearly as much fun as many of the folks around me seemed to be having. The premise of this offering from the duo called Brunch is that they’re performing sketch comedy — in 1424 — so most of the jokes are anachronisms and some of them are pretty good....
JIMMY HOGG: THE POTATO KING (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
Jimmy Hogg is a master. And yes, I do mean that in a mildly kinky — and entirely pleasurable — way. Hogg’s delivery in the stand-up/storytelling of The Potato King is almost furiously energetic. He rants, he yells. He gets your attention. And he goes on hilariously...
EVERYBODY KNOWS: LEONARD COHEN DANCE THEATRE (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
I wasn’t dazzled, but I was absolutely never bored. Everybody Knows held me, so that’s a win. In her solo show, Rita Sheena dances to the recorded songs of Leonard Cohen, as they’re performed by the Swedish duo First Aid Kit. The implicit narrative moves from struggle...
NAKED AT MY AGE (VANCOUVER FRINGE)
You’d think Charla Hathaway’s autobiographical solo show about becoming a sex worker at 55 would be surprising or audacious, but it’s not; it’s mundanely instructive. Hathaway makes legitimate points, the central one being about the importance of women claiming their...
TWELFTH NIGHT: My Second Review, Seven Weeks In
This production is so much better than it was when I saw it on its second night way back in June — and that’s a triumph for the actors. I returned to this show primarily because I wanted to see Camille Legg’s Viola. Just before Twelfth Night opened at Bard on the...
THE BEAR AND THE PROPOSAL: Worth the Trip
This production is so unlikely and, in many ways, so successful. In her adaptation, writer and director Estelle Shook uses the Chekhov farces The Bear and The Proposal to explore the historical relationships between Indigenous and settler characters in the North...
MEASURE FOR MEASURE: A Disastrous Misinterpretation
Measure for Measure is about brutal sexual coercion. But, in his adaptation, director Jivesh Parasram frames the play as broad comedy — and he thinks he’s doing abuse survivors a favour. In the story, Duke Vincenzio is concerned about the number of brothels in Vienna...
CATS: For a Show I Don’t Like, I Liked It a Lot
Cats would probably like Cats: it’s a shiny bauble that keeps moving around and doesn’t require you to think at all. Cats could probably happily spend a couple of hours, plus intermission, watching Cats. I am not a cat and have never been impressed by Cats — the...
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