The order in which I am seeing shows this Fringe is entirely random; my schedule is based entirely on how well all the shows can fit into eleven days, taking into account travel time and the time it takes for me to buy and eat a slice of pizza. However, today felt oddly curated, with recurring imagery and themes running through a number of the shows, and that added a little something special to my day. I also broke my own fringe record of number of shows that I have seen in a single day: today I saw nine! Let’s hope I can review them all before 7:00am!
My day began with Henricus Gielis’ King of the Goats at the Bus Stop Theatre (Matchstick Theatre), and it was quite a wonderful way to begin the day. Gielis performs a number of different iconic characters, a sort of demo reel of his range as an actor, but there is a twist, he doesn’t just do Hamlet, he plays Laurence Olivier playing Hamlet, while the scene from the film is projected behind him, so we can judge for ourselves how close Gielis is to capturing the ethereal qualities of a G.O.A.T. Can one achieve greatness through mimicry? Ultimately, this theatre/performance art hybrid is a story of someone who tries out dozens of different voices in an attempt to find his own. Gielis gives a powerhouse performance, oscillating between a very controlled portrayal of some of the canon’s greatest roles to then embodying the unbridled exuberance and freedom of spirit inherent in creativity. Director Jake Planinc does a great job of mirroring this changing and frantic energy in Gielis’ movement, while also working to keep time with the video. One of the first lessons I remember learning when I was young was that if an actor commits to something one hundred percent, regardless of how weird or silly it might be, if they believe in it and really go for it, almost all of the time the audience will go with them, and it will be compelling and exciting to watch. King of the Goats is a wonderfully executed example of this.
King of The Goats plays at The Bus Stop Theatre CO-OP, 2203 Gottingen Street at the following times: September 2nd at 1:00 PM; September 3rd at 9:45 PM ; September 5th at 9:50 PM; September 6th at 5:35 PM and 11:59 PM; September 7th at 10:25 PM
The conceit of T. Roy’s new play Building 17: A Conspiracy In One Act is that Paul, a longtime Military Officer, has agreed to give a guest lecture for army cadets on Military Ethics. Paul chooses to speak about an event that took place twenty years ago, an operation that he took part in himself: Operation Allied Force. This operation was organized by NATO, without the authorization of the United Nations, to address the genocide being inflicted upon Albanians in Kosovo by the Serbs. Pretending we are a classroom full of young army students, Paul very clearly and succinctly, and with great attention to detail, explains for us the context of this conflict and all the various inner workings of this operation, giving us the theoretical concept that the UN was hoping for in a solution, and the devastating realities, which of course include hundreds of innocent civilians as “collateral damage.” Paul has an affable and engaging way of speaking. He is someone it’s easy to believe could hold a room full of young people captive for forty minutes. There isn’t a lot of room for empathy in acts of warfare, regardless, it seems, of whether you’re on the “right” side of the conflict or not. How many accidental civilian casualties in this situation is too many? Would you feel differently if your child was one of those killed? Roy has a strong piece of theatre here. I think this story may work well if the audience were able to see specific aspects of the narrative come to life in flashbacks. Paul is a reliable and clear narrator, with a unique voice, but I think getting a better sense of what he was like twenty years ago, and allowing for the perspectives of a few other characters may add an even more poignant layer to an important story.
Building 17: A Conspiracy in One Act plays at the Bus Stop Theatre Co-Op, 2203 Gottingen Street at the following times: September 2nd 9:30 PM; September 4th at 8:00 PM; September 6th at 6:45 PM; September 7th at 7:30 PM; September 8th at 12:20 PM and 5:30 PM
Off-Kilter Comedy Troupe presents Jane Rogers’ sketch comedy show DIY Surgery, an insightful and humorous reflection on Nova Scotia’s health care crisis. This sketch show is very well constructed, the pacing is strong, the writing is observational, topical, creative, and silly, and the characters and certain themes recur throughout the show to create running gags and a sense of cohesion and unity. There are six sketch performers, Emma Boardman, Kayleigh Butler, Heidi Hodgkinson, Jim Petrie, Bryn Rowlands and Michael Stack and they all do well with bringing these sketches to life. I think there is room to have more fun with some of the characters. Michael Stack’s human cat and Jim Petrie’s overtired doctor were both shamelessly big, broad, physical, and silly for the sake of silly, which heightened the absurdity of the sketch. I really wanted to see the physicality of how the vampire and the werewolf were growing together in one body, for example. In all, however, DIY Surgery really takes an infuriating situation that nearly all Nova Scotians can relate to and offers some genuine and cathartic laughs, astute observations, and a little well-deserved shade for Stephen McNeil.
DIY Surgery plays at Sawmill Playhouse Main Stage, 33 Crichton Avenue (Dartmouth) at the following times: September 4th at 7:00PM; September 5th at 7:00PM; September 6th at 7:00PM; September 7th at 8:25PM; and September 8th at 2:00PM.
For something completely different I caught Robert Lamar’s What If…?, a show that showcases Robert Lamar’s astonishing ability to read other people’s thoughts. The show hinges on the participation of several audience members, people who swear they have never met Lamar before, who have no knowledge of what he is going to ask them or say to them. He gives out closed envelopes, he asks people to look through decks of cards and memorize one specifically and through a series of tests and reveals he guesses which card each audience member was thinking of. I have no idea how this is achieved, and if there is some trick involved, I don’t want to know. Experiencing this type of complete wonder and awe as an adult is so rare, I would never want to rob myself of that. If you enjoy having your mind blown in this way, check out Robert Lamar.
Robert Lamar’s What…? plays at Sawmill Playhouse Second Stage, 33 Crichton Avenue (Dartmouth) at the following times: September 3rd at 7:30PM; September 4th at 8:15PM; September 5th at 8:15PM; September 6th at 8:15PM; September 7th at 9:40PM and September 8th at 3:15PM.
The most ambitious show I have seen at Halifax Fringe so far this year is The Encounters of an Adventurous Snail, a shadow puppetry musical inspired by the Spanish poet Frederico Garcia Lorca. The shadow puppetry, along with the lighting of this show, is magnificent and magical. There are also actors playing the same roles as the puppets. There are some wonderful ensemble musical numbers where the cast stomps their feet and sings in harmony, along with a lone violin, that really bring the story immediately to life. There is one very disturbing, but beautifully staged, moment where one character experiences extreme violence, that will stay with me long beyond the Fringe. The biggest challenge I see with this musical’s concept is that the form and the content are a little bit at odds with one another. The use of singing animals, shadow puppets, and a protagonist embarking on a journey of self discovery suggests a narrative that is accessible, perhaps even appropriate for children (but not necessarily), while the content of the show seems to rely on the audience already having a firm grasp on Lorca’s work and the imagery and themes found in his poetry. There are also elements to the story that would have been innocuous to Lorca that are now problematic, like when the firefly says he shouldn’t have asked the butterfly if he could kiss her, he just should have gone ahead with it. I kept thinking of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland throughout this show and the way that Carroll was able to entertain his readers while also teaching them how to understand the upside-down world he had created. Once we understand the rules of Wonderland, we begin to connect with it, despite the fact that it doesn’t always make “sense,” we learn how to redefine sense. I think the audience for Adventurous Snail might need help seeing the context, or knowing the rules for Lorca’s world, so they’re better able to connect with the creatures who live there. The show has so much potential, and the shadow puppetry is delightful, even on its own, but as someone who doesn’t know a lot about Lorca, I feel like this musical highlighted for me how little I knew, but I don’t feel like I know any more from seeing it… and I’d like to. Ultimately, however, this is a huge undertaking for these young artists; there is a lot here that is impressive and strong, and I hope that Logan Robins, Linda Meian and Zach Levin will continue to work on developing this piece.
The Encounters of and Adventurous Snail plays at The Bus Stop Theatre Co-op, 2203 Gottingen Street at the following times: September 2nd at 11:30AM and 5:00PM; September 4th at 1:00PM; September 5th at 1:00PM and 8:30PM; September 6th at 8:00PM; and September 7th at 6:00PM.
What if a stripper’s most profound fantasy was imagining the fall of the Patriarchy? That was the image that popped into my head shortly after watching Maxine Segalowitz’s whirling dervish of a show Sexpectations. This is a show that I won’t even try to reduce to a paragraph of words, it’s an extremely visual performance that I am sure will launch a hundred post-show conversations this week in Halifax. Segalowitz is a magnetic performer. She held the audience in the palm of her hand as she moved in every way imaginable across the stage, incredibly without breaking both her ankles. She is a marvel just to watch move. When she speaks, audiences hang on even one syllable. She has so much stage presence, but then at the very end, she melts her own facade down and holds space for someone else. It’s a bizarre thing we do, if you really think about it, sitting in dark rooms to stare at people we don’t know, so they can do things and be watched. That’s a strange exchange. Here, it’s likely you might see things you had never considered watching before, things that you don’t know yet if you like or don’t like or why. This is a unique experience to have in the theatre. Grab it while you can.
Sexpectations plays at the Bus Stop Theatre Co-op, 2203 Gottingen Street at the following times: September 2nd at 2:10PM; September 4th at 5:30PM; September 5th at 11:00PM; September 7th at 5:00PM; and September 8th at 4:35PM.
Israel Ekanem’s science fiction play Safe feels like the first episode of a series. The play seems to take place sometime in the future, at a time when humans have begun popping pills to repress their emotions, under the pretence that this is the way to avoid conflict. Of course, emotionless people aren’t just passionless, they are also devoid of empathy, so it’s unsurprising that the world has found itself in the midst of genocide: the unfeeling killing of those who feel. There is a group of resistance fighters seeking to infiltrate the ranks of unfeelers, including Julie, who is in a star-crossed relationship with Lara and has the unit’s most dangerous job. What follows is a well paced action adventure, a fight between good and evil and a harrowing surprise. Ekanem has done a fantastic job of creating this world, the narrative is engaging and suspenseful, and he is able to tell a huge story in only thirty-five minutes. I did find a few instances where the characters tell each other information that, realistically, they would already know, just for the benefit of the audience. There may be more subtle ways of relying exposition. The play is very well staged in a small space, having dark figures with glowing guns (and extremely realistic gunshots) roaming around the audience added creepily to the ambiance of unease and danger. I hope Ekanem is planning on writing more, I want to know what happens next.
This was the last performance of Safe.
A Barrel of Monkeys, Or What You Will by Kevin Gerald Connors is rooted in the concept of the Infinite Monkey Theorem: “that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type any given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare.” Here Connors imagines that monkeys did type out Shakespeare’s works, and that monkey actor-directors formed their own theatre troupe to tour these plays around the jungle, Elizabethan style. Connors plays a pretentious monkey, who is playing Hamlet, and Colin Dobson plays a more earnest monkey, who is playing Horatio. The pretentious monkey has crippling self doubt, which makes it difficult for him to connect genuinely with his more humble and secure cast mate. With auditions for The Merchant of Venice upon them the monkeys are facing increasing stress and pretentious monkey is careening toward his breaking point. There is a lot that is great about this play. Connors does a fantastic job of intelligently weaving Shakespearean references plausibly throughout the dialogue, while continually finding silly and fun ways to root the story in the jungle and in our protagonist’s unique monkey world. Connors gives a huge performance as the overdramatic fading star, which adds nicely to the abject absurdity and fun of the whole show. I enjoyed the dynamic between the two monkeys. It was clear to me that Connors’ character didn’t know how to connect, but I think there may be more opportunities for Dobson’s character to show that he wishes they could be closer, to help build up to his selfless gesture at the end. I understand logistically the choice to stage the Shakespearean performances offstage, but I think it might be more effective to find a way to establish both backstage and onstage in front of the audience, so that we have the chance to experience the monkeys’ performances in all their grandeur. In all, this show is quite delightful, very imaginative and well executed. It’s especially fun if you have a strong knowledge of Shakespeare.
A Barrel of Monkeys, Or What You Will plays at Neptune Windsor Studio, 1589 Argyle Street at the following times: September 2nd at 4:25PM; September 4th at 10:20PM and September 7th at 12:50PM and 4:35PM.
Whether we are on Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat or Tinder, most of us adopt aspects of different personas when we present ourselves online. Lou Campbell’s piece Tourist is an interesting exploration of our many representations of self and asks, “what if you could date yourself?” They perform an array of their very disparate personas for us, from an earnest supply teacher, to a zen raw vegan yogi, to a manic pixie dream girl. With the use of projected video Campbell is also able to interact with another version of self, a SnapChat filtered inner critic who worries about what the audience will think. In the end a snail emerges, they are neither female nor male, or perhaps they are both. This multiplicity in the snail connects nicely to the reality that Campbell may not be wholly any one of these characters, but perhaps they are also all of them. Campbell is an engaging performer, their characters come fully to life with just the switch of one costume piece, and the audience is left considering how we choose the constructions of ourselves, in the way we behave on and off the Internet, and we may walk away feeling inspired by the snail.
Tourist plays at Neptune Imperial Studio 1589 Argyle Street at the following times: September 2nd at 6:15PM; September 4th at 10:15PM and September 5th at 6:45PM.
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.
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