I had a lovely second day (and first full day!) of the Halifax Fringe Festival. My day started out with a lot of charm and then a dark twist, and ended with a lot of charm and then a dark twist, and there was a lot of circus and clowning in the middle- a perfect kind of Fringe sandwich. I spent most of the day in my old stomping grounds, the Imperial Studio (where I used to take and teach classes as a teenager at Neptune Theatre School) and the Scotiabank Studio Theatre, and while it’s a bit of an adjustment and the Bus Stop is always going to feel like an essential part of the Fringe’s heart, it feels really right (and nostalgic) for me to have Neptune Theatre working “in cahoots” with Halifax Fringe this year.
The first show of my day was Rebecca Wolfe’s play Penny, which takes us back to the late 1950s and into the CBC Television Studios here in Halifax where Penny, the “happy homemaker,” takes us along with her on a taping of her cooking and lifestyle show. A forerunner to Dini Petty and Marilyn Denis, Penny shows her audience how women should strive to keep their husbands happy, with a smile, while juggling children, housework, laundry, cooking, managing the household, and other people’s emotions. The episode that she is filming for us is a special one to commemorate her 10 year Wedding Anniversary, which causes her to wax nostalgic about her husband, Jack. Penny stresses that she doesn’t usually talk about Jack on the show, and we soon see why, as the more she reveals about him, the more her mind wanders away from the show, ruminating on behaviours of his that she obviously knows and feels are, at the very least, problematic. All the pieces of the puzzle come together in a dramatic arc, truths are revealed, and we are left to contemplate what is likely to come next for Penny. Similar to Mad Men, it should come as no surprise to audience members that misogyny was rampant in the 1950s and Wolfe doesn’t seem to be trying to offer a stunning new insight into the ways casual misogyny permeated every aspect of women’s lives only a few decades ago, but Penny is simultaneously a reminder of how far we have come, and also that the challenges women face today are the same ones our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers experienced before us. Michelle Langille’s biggest success as a director is coordinating how Wolfe, as Penny, is able to balance telling the story of the play, while also attempting to make a banana cream pie from scratch. This adds a lovely comedic element to the play, and watching Penny multitask also beautifully evokes the way she lives her life, perpetually juggling all the concerns and practical aspects of her life, her husband’s life and the lives of their children. Audience members are given letters to Penny to read out-loud, in the style of Dear Abby, which further roots Penny in the communal patriarchy. The letters fuel Penny’s memories, but the content of the letters are quite benign; it might be effective to pepper a few of them with normalized toxic masculinity and casual misogyny as well. It might be easier for Penny to begin to identify undesirable behaviour in a stranger before seeing it in her own husband. Rebecca Wolfe gives a compelling portrayal of a woman who wants so much for her life to be perfect, who earnestly believes such perfection is possible, and who is terrified at the realization that things in her life are actually very, very wrong. Ethan Palliser-Nicholas plays Penny’s young PA, who is naive and overwhelmed, and completely ineffectual at identifying Penny’s challenges or in helping her to overcome them. Ryan Wilcox’s soundscape includes fun vintage commercials, which also help to add levity and ground us in the time and place. In all Penny has a unique premise, strong performances and direction, and, at a time when it seems like humanity has reached disturbing new lows, it might be a nice reminder that we do have some tangible progress to hold onto.
Penny plays at the Neptune Theatre Imperial Studio (1589 Argyle Street, Halifax) at the following times: Saturday, August 31st at 8:25 PM
Monday, September 2nd at 7:30 PM
Saturday, September 7th at 4:00 PM, 10:05 PM. Tickets are $10.00/ $7.00. For tickets CLICK HERE. Instagram (@alineatheatre).
Next I was treated to LEGacy Circus’ The World At Our Feet, which is a deeply beautiful and profound show about transcending limitations. If you think about it, it’s possible that you might have preconceived notions about what a circus performer looks like, or about who might be able to do circus. This show smashes these notions gloriously and encourages us all to take a moment to consider what might be possible if we use our imaginations and open our minds. April Hubbard begins the show by giving us the invitation to look at her, as she stands up from her wheelchair and makes her way toward the trapeze. She acknowledges that some in the audience may have questions about her body, but she shows us her strength, she shows us her resilience, and we feel her triumph, she shines with it. The second part of the show is performed by Erin Ball and Vanessa Furlong and tells the story of a young woman named Erin who goes missing in the winter in Kingston, Ontario. A mysterious figure on stilts approaches her and they connect in a poignant and surprising way over the ways their bodies work. The two mix trapeze and acrobatics with dance and clown in a deeply personal story that continues the show’s themes of embracing who you are, not allowing yourself to be defined by other people’s perceptions, and the literal heights that are possible when the human spirit is strong, and the community around them is buoyant. This show also features an ASL interpreter, creative audio description, and relaxed performances, which makes it the most accessible show I have ever seen. This is one you won’t want to miss.
The World At Our Feet plays at the Neptune Theatre Scotiabank Studio Theatre (1589 Argyle Street) at the following times:
Sunday, September 1st at 1:40 PM & 6:25 PM. Tickets are $12.00/$15.00. Tickets are available HERE. Facebook. Instagram (@Legacy_Circus).
I went up to Studio In Essence on Dresden Row next to catch another circus show Entangled, which is performed with an array of rainbow coloured circus silks. The launching off point for this show is an exploration of what happens when adults forget how to daydream, and the imagery of the performers climbing and then allowing themselves to fall, catching themselves, while tangled in the silks, is evocative of the playful nature of childhood: taking risks, trusting ourselves and daring ourselves to reach higher. Two song choices jumped out at me, Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” (which asks “will you still love me when I’m no longer beautiful?”) and Pink’s “Courage,” (which asks “have I the courage to change today?”). Like all circus shows what stands out so vividly is the power and the strength the performers are exhibiting: their literal ability to lift themselves up, hoist themselves up, which serves as a clear metaphor. The courage of the performers is also obvious, they are climbing towards the ceiling on a pole or intertwined in fabric and allowing themselves to dangle, spin and drop, sometimes head first, back toward the floor. I’m sure it’s impossible to not feel at least a little bit empowered (or damn near invincible) when you’ve mastered these kinds of skills. In the audience it’s hard not to feel both impressed and inspired.
Entangled plays at Studio in Essence (1535 Dresden Row (above Pete’s) at the following times: Saturday, September 7th at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $7.00/$10.00 and are available HERE. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram (@studioinessence).
I went to Starbucks to get a shot of caffeine and sugar in the form of a caramel frappuccino and was able to catch the first Live Stream of Zach Faye’s show How to Play With Zach Faie on Instagram while I was there. He was filming from the Neptune Studio Theatre’s bar area, and he had a curtain, a big wooden box, and a theme song, which he sang and played for us on a keyboard. Faye is exploring how adults can keep integrating the art (or even just the act) of playing in their everyday lives. Play for the sake of play. He will be going around all the Fringe venues throughout the duration of the Fringe creating his own adventures, and you can follow him at any time @howtoplaywithzachfaie. He has alluded to a trip to the country to see a friend who is about to harvest a crop of Acadia wheat, which Zach needs to make a loaf of bread, which sounds like the beginning of that folktale about the Little Red Hen. I’m intrigued and happy to play along.
Zach will be live on Instagram at the following times: Sunday, September 1st
Tuesday, September 3rd
Saturday, September 7th. His show is free and accessible anywhere with an Internet connection.
Back at Neptune’s Imperial Theatre I caught Noella Murphy and Dorian Lang’s show Worry Duck. Here we meet two clowns, Murphy’s innocent and Lang’s intellectual, who deliver an inspirational speech about worrying, and what we can do, today, to rid the whole world of its worries. Ultimately, this is a very delightful and silly show that explores the idea of the toxicity of worries, and how this could be harnessed in a way that is simultaneously very charming and very dangerous. Lang and Murphy are both compelling performers, Lang carries most of the show’s dialogue, but Murphy expresses about as much as he does using only her facial expressions. There are a lot of laughs, some fun music elements, some really unique ideas, and a lot of ducks. This is one of the wacky little shows that you would only ever see in Fringe!
Worry Ducks plays at the Neptune Theatre Imperial Studio (1589 Argyle Street) at the following times: Saturday, August 31st at 2:15 PM
Monday, September 2nd at 4:15 PM
Tuesday, September 3rd at 7:00 PM
Friday, September 6th at 8:10 PM
Saturday, September 7th at 1:00 PM
Sunday, September 8th at 8:15 PM. Tickets are $5.00/$10.00/$15.00 and available HERE.
In the same venue Celia Rossiter gives us a one woman comedy with a twist, Sex Before Marriage?. It’s a very personal story of a young girl from a small town moving to a bigger city and learning about healthy relationships by slowly realizing the warning signs of toxicity in her situation with her own longterm boyfriend. Much of the show feels like a standup routine and Rossiter is a very likeable storyteller. As the scenarios Celia faces become more and more disastrous the audience roots for her to triumph, and I think also connect to her awkwardness and penchant for bad decisions, more and more. There are quite a few instances where the writing hits a groove, the storytelling is quick and witty and the punchlines are sharp and the events that Rossiter relates take on a sitcom-kind of feel. There are a few opportunities to tighten the writing even more and to make Rossiter’s movements more precise. The show takes a serious turn about three quarters of the way through, which she tackles with the same frankness that she uses during the lighter bits. I think there might be a smoother way to transition both in and out of this moment. This feels like something Hannah Gadsby excels at especially well, suddenly dropping something heavy in the middle of a set where everyone had just been laughing at something that seemed much more innocuous, and then knowing how to bring the show back to a balance afterward. In all, if you like theatre that is unafraid to get real about sex and periods and that wears its heart on its sleeve, I think you will really connect with Celia Rossiter.
Sex Before Marriage? plays at the Neptune Theatre Imperial Studio (1589 Argyle Street) at the following times: Saturday, August 31st at 9:55 PM
Wednesday, September 4th at 9:00 PM
Thursday, September 5th at 8:15 PM
Friday, September 6th at 9:25 PM
Saturday, September 7th at 6:30 PM. Tickets are $3.00/$5.00 and are available HERE.
Thus ends Day 2 of the Halifax Fringe! See you all tomorrow!
The Halifax Fringe runs until September 8th, 2019. Schedules and tickets are available for all the shows HERE, at the venue of the show 30 minutes before it begins (cash or credit), or at the Fringe Hub at Neptune Theatre (1589 Argyle Street) from 10:00am-10:00pm daily during the festival.
Follow Halifax Fringe on Social Media: Facebook. Twitter. Instagram (@HalifaxFringe)
