Leah Pritchard as King James VI in Knight of the Bat 2
My first show of the Halifax Fringe Day 6 was Lions Den Theatre’s Millennius 2: Life Lessons from the 1980s at the Neptune Theatre Windsor Studio.
I had a hard time trying to figure out the unifying vision for this play; it seems to offer three different options for what it could be. It is hosted by the supremely silly Dr. Pocket, played by Keith Morrison, but it ends with a fairly legitimate lecture from Matt Ryan about David Bowie’s oeuvre specifically in the 1980s. I found this very interesting because I don’t really know anything about the trajectory of Bowie’s career, and it sounds like the 80s were a strange time for him, and I could have happily listened to Ryan go into way more depth about that. Conversely, Cat McCluskey’s character gave a much more satirical lecture of sorts ribbing 1980s music in general, which made some astute and funny observations, which seemed like maybe more of the tone the play was going for. Celia Rossiter’s character at the beginning reads to us from her mother’s journal, which is basically just a very superficial chronicle of a few artists that were popular during that decade, and it’s less clear why we’re being given this information. I was interested in the idea of hearing the history of 80s music from the perspective of a young woman in her formative years at that time. It would be interesting to see this character grow and change and have different insights and opinions about the music as she grows up throughout the decade. I also liked the overall idea of them being part of a college in a strip mall, but I wonder if there would be more zaniness and odd characters to mine in the vacuum cleaner mechanics class. You can take classes studying popular contemporary (ish) music at Dal, after all.
Millennius 2: Life Lessons from the 1980s plays at the Neptune Theatre Windsor Studio (1589 Argyle Street, Halifax) one more time tomorrow September 6, 2023 at 10:45pm. You can follow Lions Den Theatre on Facebook & Instagram.
The next show I saw was The Velvet Duke’s All Request Radio, which was also in the Windsor Studio. I have seen some live musical improv before, where improvisers create brand new songs on the spot based on audiences’ suggestions, but whenever I’ve seen this done before there’s usually a piano player who follows the lead of the improviser. The Velvet Duke gets song title suggestions from their audience, and then there is some sort of randomizer on the computer that gives them a backing tack in an array of different styles, so not only does The Velvet Duke have to improvise the lyrics, but they also have to make the song work somehow with the track! This was very entertaining to watch. We were treated to a countdown of ten improvised songs, including hits like “Get Yourself a Cat,” “Please Don’t Eat My Turnip,” and “My Heart is a FlufferNutter.” I also was not expecting there to be special guests but Rooks Field-Green and Kiana Josette both did their own very solid improvised songs as well! This is the kind of show that is unique to Fringe Festivals, and having the guests can really help create community and camaraderie among local and visiting artists.
All Request Radio has ASL Interpretation for all shows. Tonight the ASL Interpreter was Mae Striteman, and I found that I watched them a lot throughout the performance too because there is something extra magical about someone interpreting improvised music into sign language.
TWISI Fringe Rating: Two Thumbs Up!
All Request Radio plays at the Neptune Theatre Windsor Studio (1589 Argyle Street, Halifax) at the following times:
September 6: 9:15PM
September 7: 9:00PM
September 8: 7:30PM
You can follow The Velvet Duke on Facebook, Instagram, & TikTok.
I ended my evening at the Bus Stop Theatre for Dan Bray’s newest opus Knight of the Bat 2: Act of the Assemblers produced by The Villains Theatre.
This play follows hard upon Bray’s Fringe hit from last year of the same franchise, and once again tells the tale of William Shakespeare who moonlights as a superhero with his sidekick Robin Goodfellow. This time, however, it’s not just London Town in danger, and Shakespeare meets a whole rogue troupe of heroes called the Assemblers™️ in a multiverse-hopping super sequel adventure.
So much of the fun of this play comes from how thoroughly Bray has melded the world of Shakespeare’s England with that of DC Comics’ Batman Universe, although you don’t have to be a scholar of either to understand the jokes, and you don’t need to have seen last year’s play to get a full experience at this one either. Dan Bray has been writing plays that meld Shakespeare’s language with our own contemporary speak for years and his command of this very specific skillset is clear. He also knows how to mine every nook and cranny of his ideas for fun, silliness, and laughs. All of this is on playful display in Knight of the Bat 2.
Ira Henderson has engaging stage presence as the broody and pompous William Shakespeare, a man who seems to be compelled to save the world not because he wants to, but maybe because it gives him the same power over the fate of others that he finds in playwriting. His frenetic sidekick, Robin is played hilariously by Rachel Lloyd, as one part Oliver Twist and one part Dobby the House Elf. Colleen MacIsaac plays Alfreda, Shakespeare’s nurse, who is also a little bit off-kilter and thus unpredictable. New this year to the play are Jacob Sampson, Stoo Metz, Leah Pritchard, Liliona Quarmyne, and Rooks Field-Green as the Assemblers™️, a spirited and varied group of superheroes who all introduce themselves quite thoroughly. There is some really fun fight choreography from Audrey Eastwood, and I especially liked the very big hero energy from Sampson and Quarmyne and the tension this created as both vied to usurp the other as leader of the heroes. Leah Pritchard also plays King James VI, the Scottish King who ascends the throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, and her portrayal of him is hilarious. I’d love to see her King James spar with Jonathan Groff’s King George III from Hamilton. The costumes by Noella Murphy and Dan Bray really root us beautifully in this wacky mashup world of Gotham and Jacobean.
There were a few instances where some of the actors could speak a little bit louder, and over enunciate their worlds a bit more to compete with the soundscape. Overall, though, the entire cast does a great job of bringing these wacky characters to life. If you liked Muppets Most Wanted, Home Alone II, Toy Story II, Star Wars Episode V, The Dark Knight or Paddington 2, head on down to see the Bard of Avon go a little bit batty on the boards of the Bus Stop Theatre… Again.
TWISI Fringe Rating: Two Thumbs Up!
Knight of the Bat 2: Act of the Assemblers plays at the Bus Stop Theatre (2203 Gottingen Street, Halifax) at the following times:
September 6: 10:45PM
September 7: 9:15PM
September 8: 9:00PM
September 10: 8:45PM
Follow The Villains Theatre on Facebook & Instagram.
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.
