Fringe Play Reviews
Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
The Seven Lives of Louis Riel
16/07/2009 5:07 PM
| Comments: 1
Our Rating: 
The life story of Louis Riel isn’t exactly a comedy gold mine, especially in these parts. But fringe veteran Ryan Gladstone strikes an unlikely motherlode in this one-man show.
Having mined history for recent productions, the Vancouver-based Gladstone explains that in this case, his research failed to turn up a definitive portrait of the Manitoban legend. In fact, Riel was such a tough nut to crack, Gladstone claims he finished writing the script just three days before opening night, which found him calling on a friend for the occasional prompt.
The Seven Lives of Louis Riel
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And he still killed, spinning a story from seven different perspectives inspired by seven books that paint Riel variously as a hero, outlaw, murderer, madman, traitor and prophet.
Playing a multitude of characters, including a bison and a dangerous dame named Dominica — Dominica Canada — Gladstone goes a step further and adapts the tale to seven different movie genres, from western to horror and noir.
In one segment, Riel is a fey comic supervillain in the vein of Batman’s Joker, riding a pet buffalo and dining on "a meal of fresh puppy." In another, he’s an action hero who hooks up with Gabriel Dumont — a.k.a. Mr. D of the May-team. And just for good measure, we get a wisecracking God and one particularly sparkling moment of bleeping profanity.
Irreverent? You bet. But tempered with a massive dose of salty humour, Gladstone’s play is, ultimately, a tribute. And a terrifically funny one at that.
— Pat St. Germain
From the official Fringe program:
A Canadian Cowboy Comedy!
Monster Theatre’s 10th year of irreverent, hilarious, intelligent Fringe classics.
(The Canada Show, The Shakespeare Show, Napoleon’s Secret Diary)
"Relentlessly clever, action-packed, utterly contemporary!" – *****
"Nothing short of a comic miracle!" - *****
"Wildly funny, wonderfully crafted and brilliantly acted! Flawless" – ***** CBC
"Gladstone’s script is a lesson in crowd-pleasing wit!" – ***** SEE Magazine
www.monstertheatre.com
Warnings: Subject Matter, Language,
RECOMMENDED: Mature Audience
60 min.
Venue#14 The King's Head Pub 120 King Street (2nd Floor)]
Tickets: $9
Under 18 not admitted.
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1 User Reviews
Posted by: Sanjuro
July 17, 2009 at 9:06 AM
Good premise, but this play is more of a workshop: lines are forgotten, music is miscued, and Gladstone breaks the fourth wall for advice about keeping or cutting jokes. The result is very uneven.
Gladstone is very funny and quite personable, but the rough edges are all too apparent. His previous efforts (Napoleon, Shakespeare) have been so polished that this show was a bit of a disappointment. I suspect the show is about 5 or 6 performances shy of being ready.