Fringe Show Reviews

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Sudoku Fever

Written by: Ron Blicq

Presented by: R-G Productions Winnipeg, MB

$content.venue

Our Rating: Your Average Rating:

07/17/2010 2:30 PM | Comments: 0

It’s every middle-class family’s worst nightmare: their well-behaved teen, who spends her free time tinkering alongside her loving grandpa, dreams of going into engineering. Horrors!

Actually, that could make a funny satire. But Sudoku Fever isn’t satire. This locally made attempted dramedy is as genuine a play as you will see at fringe. It’s also awful.

Blame the rambling, pointless script, which forces the generally able actors to stand around a clunky set for an hour, yapping about nothing. There’s that inane conflict (engineering? Really?) and a plot “twist” so obvious you want to scream it from your seat while the characters blather on, oblivious to the extremely obvious thing that’s about to occur in 30 minutes.

There are also attempts at humour slightly sharper than a wooden spoon, involving Sudoku metaphors for bathroom activities, and a crisis that confronts a cutting-edge question: can women do men’s jobs? I dunno, but I do wish soldiering through this dreck had been a man’s job.

— Melissa Martin

From the official Fringe Festival guide:

George escapes to the family’s unique Sudoku room whenever he feels he is suffocating from the overwhelming presence of the three generations of women with whom he lives. This frustrates the women because they also want to use it!

The play has a wry sense of humour that will appeal to the whole family.

RECOMMENDED:
General Audience

60 min

MTC Up the Alley (Venue 2), to Sunday

Tickets: $8
Discount Tickets: $6 for Seniors, Kids (12 & under)
Under 3 not admitted.

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Fringe Show Reviews

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.