> David Johnston *
A man and woman trek eastwards across America. The apocalypse has happened. Or the rapture. Or a plague. Doesn’t matter. Point is, they’re alone, and they’re in search of a surviving colony somewhere near San Francisco’s famous bridge—assuming they make it that far.
Don’t come expecting logical consistency. Apparently, the apocalypse—or whatever—wiped out all books and music players (they have one digital recorder loaded with a single narratively convenient song) but left the countryside balmy enough to be traversed by two shorts-clad non-hikers.
Still, this two-hander is intermittently charming, if occasionally overacted. The central relationship is prickly and well-considered. Little fragments grab the spotlight: his frustration at half-remembered song lyrics, their wordless grief after consuming what might be the last peaches on Earth, a tender moment in which they attempt to learn to dance.
There’s promise here, but The Bridge is crossing over well-worn territory. And, ultimately, the story isn’t quite interesting enough to make the trip worthwhile.
Remaining performances at Studio 16 on September 11 (7:45 p.m.), 13 (5 p.m.), 15 (1:10 p.m.), 16 (8:15 p.m.)
* This is a guest review.
David Johnston is a Vancouver-based actor, aerialist, and writer, not in that order. He recently hailed from the Edmonton Fringe, where he saw many excellent shows and also ate a green onion cake. The green onion cake got three-and-a-half stars. David is a recent graduate of Studio 58, and is currently writing a script about reviews, so this should be a rather meta experience. He’s delighted to join FRESH SHEET for the Vancouver Fringe.
Sign up—free!—for Colin Thomas’s FRESH SHEET and get daily reviews for the first week of the Vancouver Fringe.
And, if you want to support informed, independent criticism—you know you do—check out Colin’s Patreon campaign.
………
0 Comments