The History of Stolen Art with Connor Locke
Shwing Entertainment’s production of The History of Stolen Art at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is a delightfully silly romp full of twists, turns, and unexpected interruptions.
Before the play begins we notice that the stage is full of really well done paintings, although if we are not an art aficionado it isn’t immediately clear whether these are indeed originals or very good copies. We are then introduced to Connor Locke who is going to do a presentation about the history of stolen artwork, or at least we think he is, then it starts to become clear that perhaps we have been lured here under false pretences. Then Connor’s presentation gets derailed by a series of shenanigans which culminate in a chase, a song, and a felony.
The show is multidisciplinary and includes both live and filmed elements, which is apt because most of the members of Shwing Entertainment are filmmakers (and also many of them are visual artists). I think most of the show works best with the element of surprise, so I won’t say too much more about the specifics, but everything works well together to create a really funny, high energy Fringe experience. The show reminded me a lot of the kind of work Haligonian sketch comedy troupe Picnicface might have done in their heyday.
Beyond Colin Locke the other artists involved with creating this show are Elijah Boulton, Lewis Coverdale, and Wilson makes a cameo appearance. I look forward to seeing more from this troupe in the future!
TWISI Fringe Rating: Two Thumbs Up!
The History of Stolen Art at Halifax Fringe has closed. You can follow Shwing Entertainment on Instagram & YouTube.
Keeping with the art theme at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia the next show I saw was Luba Magnus’ Drawn Up, which is a standup comedy show with intermittent cartoon sketches, all drawn and animated by Magnus herself. She is immediately delightful and likeable, and her comedy is equal parts gentle and weird. She works as professional animator so part of what is so unique about this show is the caliber of the cartoons themselves. They also mirror Magnus’ preschool teacher gone a little bit wild energy. There is a sing along portion, and one of the punchlines is “oopsie,” but hold onto your hats, there’s a couple of sex jokes in there too just to subvert your expectations. All in all I found the show quite endearing and very quirky.
Dawn Up Closes at The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (1782 Bedford Row, Halifax) on September 5th at 7:30pm as part of the Halifax Fringe. You can follow Luba on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
I have seen quite a few Fringe shows over the years by female identifying folks that centre on the dumpster fire that is dating in the 21st Century, but I think Bad Bad Boy, written and performed by Steven Andrews, might be the first one I’ve seen from the perspective of a straight man. I found this experience really interesting.
Our protagonist, Steven, has had horrifying bad luck in his past relationships. He has dated two abusive women and emerged from that experience lost and demoralized, and he is trying to embrace hookup culture, despite the fact that it makes him feel uncomfortable to his soul, in the hopes that this might ultimately empower him, or at least distract him for a bit and allow him to have some fun.
The result is a very vulnerable portrait of someone who is very sensitive, and at times quite innocent and naive, who is just looking to connect with a person who is kind, thoughtful, and respectful of him. Steven is an easy character to like and emphasize with: he overthinks things, he is hopeful almost to a fault, and he seems to genuinely be a good person. There are a few things that make him a little quirky (and that may be red flags, I’m not sure): he only owns two DVDs, and he is a bit obsessed with McDonald’s. But overall, a lot of the narrative of Bad Bad Boy is sad. Steven is lonely, and seems to be looking for love in all the wrong places. A lot of the humour in the show comes from the way Andrews tells the story, often with infectious exuberance, which makes even his penchant for McDonald’s seem endearing. He also gets into quite a few funny scrapes, many of which come from the aforementioned overthinking, which is one of the most widely relatable elements of this show.
This is a play to go to with an open heart. When women write and perform shows like this one, I think often the subtextual rallying cry of the female identifying audience is around broad clichés like, “Preach! Men are Trash!” #NotAllMen. And, of course, these women in the audience have male friends, and male partners, and brothers, and male cousins, and fathers, who are not at all trash; but the patriarchy is trash, so we can commiserate with one another around that. Bad Bad Boy doesn’t have the same instinctual rallying cry for the audience, but I think ultimately it’s “Fuck Mean People,” which I think most of us can really get behind enthusiastically too.
Bad Bad Boy plays at The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (1782 Bedford Row, Halifax) at the following times:
September 6: 7:30PM
September 7: 6:00PM
September 9: 7:00PM
Halifax Fringe runs from August 31st to September 10th, 2023 in a myriad of venues throughout the Downtown and the North End of Halifax. For more information and to purchase all your tickets please visit this website. Masks are mandatory again this year inside all Halifax Fringe spaces. For more information about accessibility at the various venues please check out the 2023 Program Guide here.
You can follow Halifax Fringe on Facebook. Instagram. TikTok.
A Note On TWISI Fringe Ratings:
I have never liked rating Fringe shows, or any shows, using the 5 Star system as I have done in the past, so this year I’m doing something new. From now on I will just be highlighting what I think are 4 or 5 Star Fringe Shows. A Two Thumbs Up Rating equals roughly to 4 Stars, while A Two Thumbs Jump Rating equals 5 Stars. I have stolen (with permission) “Two Thumbs Jump” from my friend Lenny Clayton, who is awesome, as she has used it in her film reviews in the past.
