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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
A Phoenix Too Frequent
Our Rating: 
If you’re the kind of literate fringer who appreciates Shakespeare and classics like The Trojan Women, make haste to catch this wonderfully poetic — and deliciously funny — local three-actor production, helmed by seasoned fringe director Nancy Drake.
Penned in 1946 by Christopher Fry, best known for The Lady’s Not for Burning, the faux-Greek tale (which ran about 10 minutes under its 75-minute billed time) requires the audience’s patience as it gathers steam.
But it builds into a captivatingly sexy comedy, demonstrating how much sizzle two actors can generate while keeping their clothes on.
Dynamane (vibrant Nan Fewchuk) is keeping vigil in the tomb of her dead husband with her maidservant (comically lusty Jane Burpee). Both are waiting to expire and follow “the master” to the Underworld.
But the forces of life have another fate in store. When a soldier (the irresistibly charming Omar Khan) arrives — charged with guarding six dead bodies — he and Dynamane are drawn to each other and an intoxicating romance starts to bubble.
Full of suggestive physical business and clever double entendres (could the title be a joke about something rising?) this is a thinking person’s romp. Fewchuk and Khan not only handle the dense dialogue with aplomb, they have such great chemistry, you might need a beer to cool off after this midsummer night.
— Alison Mayes
From the official Fringe program:
A Greek…comedy? Romp on with strangers in the night! The daylight of the moon cheerfully offers you lust, love and life in a darkened tomb -Grecian style. But is death a dead loss?
Featuring Omar Khan, Jane Burpee and Nan Fewchuk. Directed by Nancy Drake. Warning: Audience courted by the brilliant lyricism of Christopher Fry.
Venue #9
RECOMMENDED: General Audience
75 min.
Tickets: $9
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