Halifax Fringe Day 1

I had a wildly great night at The Bus Stop Theatre for Day 1 of the Halifax Fringe Festival. I saw four excellent shows and had the best time. If this momentum continues over the next nine days this will definitely be a Fringe for the books! 

My evening started with the third and final instalment of Dan Bray’s Knight of the Bat trilogy. Every year I tell Dan that I am going to watch the DC or Marvel franchise films that he is lovingly pastiching in these plays before the Fringe opens, and every year I end up not having enough time to do it. For the original Knight of the Bat and then the sequel last year I felt like I could follow along from my knowledge of the Batman films and my familiarity with Shakespeare alone, but I really wish I’d seen The Justice League (2017) before I saw Knight of the Bat 3: the Fringe of Fate. If you’re like me, but have time to watch the film, especially if you’re not as familiar with Superman, I would really recommend doing so first. If you want a deeper dive, it’s also beneficial to know a little about Nightwing and Mercy Graves from the DC comic books as well.

We open in London Town. Bill Shakespeare (Ira Henderson) and Clark “Kent” Marlowe (Deivan Steele) are competing for audiences at the local Fringe theatre festival. Shakespeare is trotting out one of his Henrys and Marlowe is premiering Dr. Faustus. Shakespeare is very sullen and aggrieved, and as is his superhero counterpart the Knight of the Bat. They have both been abandoned by their sidekicks (Dick Son of Grey/Robin Goodfellow played by Rachel Lloyd), and they miss the unwavering love and council they once received from their Cockney nurse Alfreda Halfpenny (Colleen Arcturus MacIsaac), who was sadly killed in the previous instalment. Knight of the Bat is also annoyed and threatened by a new superhero on the scene Superb-Man, who looks a bit like Kent (only without the glasses). Will Shakespeare/Bat’s jealousy of Marlowe/Superb-Man lead him to conspire with the dark side of Lex Lutheran (Pasha Ebrahimi) or will justice prevail? 

*Bill Hader’s Stefon voice from Saturday Night Live* Dan Bray’s script has everything: Lutherans, Hamilton, restorative justice, spandex, Tessa Pekeles, a plunger, a ghost, Stoo Metz as a portrait painter, an Amazonian, Ikea, a plague doctor mask, Pasha Ebrahimi’s booming voice… Dan Cortese. Okay, maybe not that last one, but if you have seen any of Dan Bray’s rollicking comedies you get the idea. I think this is likely Bray’s most saturated comedy yet; it is every joke, pun, and clever reference possible to cram into a narrative. 

There is a lot to love in the way that Bray stages his action sequences, especially the fight scenes between Rachel Lloyd’s Robin and Ira Henderson’s Knight of the Bat. Obviously adapting, even in pastiche, a multibillion dollar franchise to the Halifax Fringe stage Bray leans in to how he can use silliness to replace an entire special effects department. 

The cast are all throwing every ounce of their energy, their hearts, and their funny bones into creating these characters and the Elizabethan London Town/DC hybrid universe. 

Since I wasn’t as familiar with the comic book references in this piece I may have been overthinking the Shakespearean aspects. I know in the earlier plays we have already established that Shakespeare was at the height of his fame and writing prowess, but with the introduction of Marlowe in this one it nagged me a smidgen that (historically) Marlowe would have been the more established of the two, especially because I think that also would have been an interesting dynamic. I was waiting for Bray to make use of the fact that Marlowe really was killed in a drunken knife fight in a tavern, and that there are persistent theories about his death, and the subsequent authorship of Shakespeare’s plays. But, I did like how when you strip away the layers and layers and layers and layers of wordplay and shenanigans ultimately the play is about the relationship between Shakespeare and Dick Son of Grey and a playwright coming to embrace the complexities and contradictions of the world rather than seeing things in absolutes, and how that, presumably, influences the stories he will come to tell in the future. 

I would love to see the Bus Stop Theatre filled with real comic book aficionados for this play. Judging from the audience response last night, I really think there are a lot of jokes that are delightful easter eggs for the folks who know this universe well, and I think the Early Modern theatre aspects in this play are easier for those who don’t know Shakespeare as well to follow along with: so certainly don’t let Shakespeare intimidate you. 

There’s a million jokes ere it is done. But just you wait, just you wait. 

TWISI Fringe Rating: Two Thumbs Up!

Knight of the Bat: The Fringe of Fate plays at the Bus Stop Theatre (2203 Gottingen Street) at the following times:

August 30th: 7:45pm

September 1st: 9:00pm

September 2: 5:00pm

September 2: 10:30pm

Hello City Improv’s newest Halifax Fringe serial story is Galaxy Pals: A Space (Odd)essy. The conceit is that this is a science fiction television show that you watched throughout your childhood- the one with a thousand episodes or more that was probably already in syndication before you were born. For five evenings during the Fringe Galaxy Pals super fan (played by Liam Fair) will take you back to revisit one of the television show’s most iconic episodes based on the audience’s suggestions.

Last night the audience suggested the episode where the crew of the SS Space (Odd)yssey visits Slimetown, where the creatures there procreate asexually. They were also given the line “That’s MY bunkbed” to work into the action somehow. Then we were off! 

We were introduced to the crew of the spacecraft: Captain Bay Radbury (Henricus Gielis), Cadet Kid (Gil Anderson), Moem the Empath Mystic (Colin McGuire), Dr. Bondara Hex (Beth Poulsen), P.A.L (Shahin Sanjari) and Deb Tucker the Space Trucker (Jamie White). The episode began with a barrage of technical spacecraft jargon at breakneck speed as the crew attempted to navigate an astroid field, and the proficiency with which this was done was jaw-dropping, even for someone well-versed in long-form improv. Hello City are operating at the top of their game here. 

The cast deftly divided into three interweaving storylines: Dr. Hex, a mad scientist character, took insecure space trucker Deb to do intergalactic speed dating with the slime people of Slimetown (all played by Liam Fair) in attempt to raise her confidence and learn to accept the compliments she receives. The Captain took former orphan Cadet Kid to explore Slimetown in search of games, but instead they came face to face with the horror demon of their nightmares: the Slimeta Claus (also Liam Fair). Cyborg P.A.L, meanwhile, needs to release fluids into the ship to create a larger fleet, but needs some help from the kind and gentle mystic Moem. The arcs of all three storylines were clear and moved logically, and also in ways reminiscent of this kind of episodical television, especially those shows where each episode is self contained so all the action has to find its conclusion within forty-two minutes. 

The cast is all excellent at creating strange but endearing characters that we care about nearly immediately, and their deft and vivid imaginations, and also their skills at profoundly listening to one another, ensure that the play feels structured and written even though it is magically coming together before our eyes. I really enjoyed watching newer cast member Jamie White, who was giving me young Maya Rudolph vibes as Deb, she has Rudolph’s ability to make something very small and understated very funny. Watching the lightbulb come on in Henricus Gielis’ lighting sharp brain as he figured out how to defeat Slimeta Claus with logic was one of the most magically satisfying moments I’ve had at the theatre in a long time. The weird chemistry between McGuire and Sanjari is excellent and I’m sure will make for a lot more wild fun in subsequent episodes. Poulsen and Fair did a lot of quick narrative switches in this episode in response to dialogue from another cast member, which is always impressive to watch, and seeing Gil Anderson play a wide-eyed child is always just an absolute treat.       

Hello City has all the makings of another Fringe hit with Galaxy Pals. Make sure to get your tickets for the shows early before they sell out- and if you’re able to catch more than one show- they’re all guaranteed to be wildly different, but just as out of this world. 

TWISI Fringe Rating: Two Thumbs Jump!

Hello City’s Galaxy Pals: A Space (Odd)essy plays at the Bus Stop Theatre (2203 Gottingen Street) at the following times:

September 1st: 10:30pm

September 2: 2:30pm

September 4: 9:00pm

September 6: 7:00pm

September 7: 8:30pm.

If I had realized I had a hot first date with Montréal-based singer Lou Laurence I would have worn a different outfit- but that’s the conceit of Love, Sharks & Frenching. Laurence has been conducting love and romance experiments and is testing her hypothesis on how to guarantee success in romance and dating with three simple steps. To test her theory she must go on as many first dates as possible- and so she has roped in some fringe audiences in the hopes of dating Halifax en masse. If audience participation scares you, don’t be worried- the audience is encouraged to call out answers (but don’t have to!), and there is an adorable sing-along component, but the lights are off, you are safe, she will not drag you up onstage. 

I enjoyed this show a lot because it is so different from all the other Fringe shows I have seen. It has elements of a confessional sort of solo show- Laurence begins with a self-deprecating story about the time she was in love with a boy in high school who was only using her to get cigarettes. But then as she gets into the depths of her romance equation she begins to perform beautifully charming improvised songs based on the audience’s suggestions while accompanying herself on the guitar. As I mentioned, Laurence is a professional singer and she has a gorgeous jazzy voice, but her ability to rhyme on the fly and to riff humorously on a theme from the audience without veering into chaos at all is really impressive. She tells us about some of the challenges of dating in general and some that are specific to dating in multiple languages in Montréal, but throughout she remains hopeful that her theory will prove successful with each audience, and that she can go out into the world confident that she has the recipe for success in love. 

I recommend getting freshened up for a first date because Lou Laurence, and her amazing hair (sorry, Lou, I HAD to!), are very easy to fall in love with.  

TWISI Fringe Rating: Two Thumbs Jump!

Love, Sharks & Frenching plays at the Bus Stop Theatre (2203 Gottingen Street) at the following times:

August 31: 10:00pm

September 1: 6:00pm

September 3: 10:30pm

September 7: 4:30pm

September 8: 1:45pm

My Day 1 of Halifax Fringe ended with Around-Out Theatre company’s production of Jessie Walker’s new play Horse Girls and it was one of the best Fringe shows I’ve ever seen in any city. Stop reading this right now, buy your tickets first, and then come back: this show is going to be a super Fringe hit.

We are introduced to two teenagers Missy (Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre meets High School aged Sheldon Cooper) and her former best friend, Bridget, at the AHA Provincial Hobby Horse Grand Prix. Hobby Horses, as Dr. David Nicol explained to me when I was in Dramaturgy at Dalhousie as an undergraduate student and I have never forgotten, are those plush horse heads on sticks that children play with more, I think, in cultural theory than cultural practice (at least in North America). However, in Finland especially, competitive hobby horsing among teenagers and adults is a serious sport where athletes leap over fences while straddling their hobby horses as though they were really the animal doing the jumping. In the dressage component the hobby horses are authentically trotted around to be judged. It is beautifully strange. Missy is determined to win the Grand Prix and has the razor-focus and the talent to do so. We also learn the stakes are especially high as she is coming back from an unfortunate “incident,” which is also the reason she is harbouring intense rage towards Bridget. The girls now only really speak pleasantly to one another (haphazardly and only when absolutely necessary) through their horses, Buttercup and Daisy. When a new competitor from Finland arrives, however, all Missy’s dreams are put in jeopardy and she becomes desperate: will this unexpected hurdle bring the girls closer together or tear them apart forever? 

Everything about this play is so solid, so funny, and so beautifully constructed by the delightful imagination of Jessie Walker and the clarity of space and movement of director Luciana Silvestre Fernandes. Walker plays Missy as both someone who is clearly wildly smart with a photographic memory, a classic overachiever, but also a chaotic teenage mess that the audience immediately connects with and roots for. Bridget, played by Riley McGill, is more put together, and oscillates nicely between being genuine in her desire to reconnect with Missy, and the ways that she is acting out as a bully and in selfishness, which seems to be more of a protective façade or phase she is going through. Ella MacDonald, who looks easily five years older than Missy and Bridget, stunning in an adult way that stands in stark contrast to their combined cuteness, plays Anja the Finnish newcomer, who exudes a sort of unnerving sweetness and wide-eyed openness that is so funny and so weird, and has a payoff that you do not see coming even though it actually does make logical sense- which makes the payoff all the sweeter and funnier.

The puppets by Logan Robins are incredibly detailed and imaginative, the costumes beautifully capture so much about the girls’ personalities, and the way that Fernandes has the girls’ move on their hobby horses really evokes how both serious and how perplexing this sport really is. There is also great choice of music throughout that always roots us in the world of these two teenage girls. 

The play reminded me so much of Claire Barron’s play Dance Nation, which was recently produced by Keep Good (Theatre) Company at Alderney Landing. I found Walkers’ teenagers to have a similar chaotic energy. At one point Missy is fantasizing graphically about sex with the Finnish president, and the next she is referencing her pediatrician. I actually found Walker’s ability to thread this line with Missy and Bridget between being children but going through puberty and being full of hormones and developing their own sexuality to ring even truer than in Dance Nation. There is room, I think, for Walker to expand a little bit on Bridget’s backstory. We see that she loves hobby horsing and that it is something that connects her to her mom, but we also see her feeling isolated and acting out, so I was curious what the stakes were for her in the competition in connection with her mother that might be leading to her rebellious behaviour. 

I don’t know what the rules are about strong language when it comes to plays that tour to schools, but if it were up to me Horse Girls would go to every High School in the province. The play isn’t about a real moral lesson, but plays targeted to teenagers don’t have to be. It is a delicious example of how funny and strange and creative and nerdy and cool theatre can be, and I think that’s exactly the kind of show that will make teenagers excited about getting involved in theatre themselves, or even more importantly, becoming avid theatre audience members. That is the sort of work I would like to see touring High Schools, besides, this play captures a similar spirit of how Shakespeare’s plays would have originally been performed much better than the works being read aloud in an English class. Horse Girls has real “Exit, Pursued by a Bear” energy.

Add Horse Girls to your Fringe Festival MUST SEE list and gallop on down to the Bus Stop Theatre for an unforgettable theatrical experience. 

TWISI Fringe Rating: Two Thumbs Jump!

Horse Girls plays at the Bus Stop Theatre (2203 Gottingen Street) at the following times:

August 30: 9:15pm

August 31: 3:00pm

September 4: 7:30pm

September 6: 11:00pm

September 7: 7:00pm

Halifax Fringe runs until to September 8th, 2024 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.

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 last year I started 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, who came up with this phrase when she was a young kid reviewing films on YouTube.