Fringe Show Reviews

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Heartbeets

Written by: Sara Massey

Presented by: Anomia Productions / Winnipeg, MB

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Our Rating: Your Average Rating:

07/17/2011 12:48 PM | Comments: 0

The Playhouse Studio (Venue 3), to Saturday

Recent University of Winnipeg theatre grad Sara Massey puts big agribusiness in the crosshairs in this one-woman show, which bills itself as a comedy but is really just a promo for organic farming.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but Massey isn’t telling us anything new here. She resorts to tired stereotypes — the greedy, unscrupulous CEO and the hay-chewing farmer — to make her timely and relevant point: that we’re losing control over what ends up in our grocery stores.

The David-and-Goliath plotline (obviously based on Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser’s protracted legal battle with Monsanto), references to imported “diseased produce” and fresh water shortages make it obvious that Massey is passionate about the subject matter and has researched it well. (The subplot about the young girl waiting for a heart transplant pushes the vilification of agri-business thing a bit too far.)

There’s a lot of fertile ground there. Too bad it didn’t produce a more substantial theatrical harvest.

— Carolin Vesely

From the official Fringe Festival program:

A weathered organic farmer, a tyrannical CEO of a multi-national agricultural corporation and a young girl with a computerized heart.

This dark comedy explores the struggles of staying organic in an industry driven by money, greed and genetic modification. This play is 100% certified natural organic.

Recommended For: General Audience

Length: 45 MIN

Tickets: $8

Discount Tickets: $6 Students, Seniors, Unemployed

Warnings: Language

History

Updated on Sunday, July 17, 2011 at 12:48 PM CDT:
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