Fringe Show Reviews

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

The Tracey Fragments

Written by: Gislina Patterson, based on the novel by Maureen Medved

Presented by: Squeezebox Mama Productions, Winnipeg

Venue 5: Son of Warehouse

Our Rating: Your Average Rating:

07/19/2012 4:48 PM | Comments: 0

Is Tracey Berkowitz genuinely insane, or just another self-centered teenager dramatizing to get attention? By the end of this hour-long drama you won’t know — and you won’t mind.

Gislina Patterson is mesmerizing — and downright exhausting — in the title role. Her rants propel the show, recounting a succession of horrors (rape, death, a family history of madness) and neglect (“Mom crawled into the TV set and never came out again”). The barrage is punctuated by interludes of shadow puppetry and some clever optical illusions. Patterson is ably supported by Arthur MacKinnon, who convincingly portrays a gamut of supporting characters of varying ages and sexes.

Occasionally exasperating, but good and disturbing. And disturbing that disturbing can be this good.

— Janice Sawka

From the Fringe program:

Fifteen-year-old Tracey Berkowitz is naked under a shower curtain at the back of the bus, looking for her little brother whom she turned into a dog.

"...an eerie glimpse of a raging adolescent psyche...a cohesive portrait of a teenager on the verge of imploding" - Publishers Weekly

Based on the novel The Tracey Fragments by Maureen Medved, published by House of Anansi Press www.houseofanansi.com

Directed by Debbie Patterson

Candy From a Baby 5 STARS

Molotov Circus 4 STARS

Recommended For: Mature Audience

Length: 60 min

Tickets: $8

Discount Tickets: $7 for Students, Seniors, Unemployed, Equity members, Fringe performers, valid bus pass holders

Warnings: Subject Matter, Language, Gunshots, Herbal Cigarettes

History

Updated on Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 4:48 PM CDT:
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