Fringe Show Reviews

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

ONEymoon (A Honeymoon for One)

Written by: Christel Bartelse & Jimmy Hogg

Presented by: Dutch Girl Productions, Toronto, ON

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Our Rating: Your Average Rating:

07/22/2011 8:40 PM | Comments: 0

Aqua Books (Venue 20), to Saturday

Caroline has speed-dated, online-dated and blind-dated herself into oblivion, so she decides to ditch the whole futile enterprise, proclaim her independence and marry herself in a real, white-dress wedding. Then she decamps to a beach resort for her solo honeymoon.

Toronto’s Christel Bartelse gives a fun, intensely physical performance, and her show is energetic and smartly paced, swapping between wedding scenes and her oneymoon, where her commitment to herself wanes. But Bartelse is at her best with the small, vivid, comedic details, like her annoyance at a boorish date who orders hot wings then leaves sticky, balled-up napkins all over the table. You said it, sister.

Trouble is, even I, her target audience, am totally bored with the whole woe-is-me-single-lady-can’t-find-a-man thing. And the show feels like an elaborate ruse Caroline has set up to persuade herself she’s better off alone, so it’s not convincing as a genuine defence of female independence. If you’re going to rehash a decade of chick flicks and the entire run of Sex and the City, it’s got to be mind-blowingly original, and this isn’t.

Some gentle audience participation.

— Mary Agnes Welch

From the official Fringe Festival program:

'A solo tour-de-force comedy about a woman who marries herself, starring "human fireball" performer (See Magazine) and Canadian Comedy Award nominee Christel Bartelse. Humour, heart and tap dancing too!

"A showcase for Bartelse's many talents, an evening of laughs and memorable moments" - nytheatre.com

"True showbiz pizazz" - NOW Magazine "Overflowing with charisma, impeccable comic timing, a manically gifted actor" – Vancouver Terminal City Weekly

Recommended For: Mature Audience

Length: 60 MIN

Tickets: $10

Discount Tickets: $8 for Students, Seniors

Warnings: Very mild language Licensed Venue – Under 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian

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History

Updated on Sunday, July 17, 2011 at 1:51 PM CDT:
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Updated on Friday, July 22, 2011 at 8:40 PM CDT:
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