Fringe reviews #11: Your only way out is through the lighting booth

100% UNTRUEBADOUR

Paul Strickland Presents

RRC Polytech (Venue 11) to Sunday

⭐⭐⭐⭐

It sounds like the setup for a bad joke: a guy from Kentucky walks into a college classroom singing silly songs… But in the case of fringe favourite Paul Strickland, it’s more like a guy strumming an acoustic guitar while surrounded by old friends.

The storytelling songster has a wonderful rapport with his audience. Maybe it was his praise for the Winnipeg fringe scene (‘It’s very special here”) or his self-deprecating humour, but the sedate, mostly middle-aged crowd at Friday’s afternoon performance adored it.

The songs are hit-and-miss, but what’s most impressive is how Strickland can go from surreal to sentimental, and make it all work (“My Dad turned into a pile of wool. Mama sewed him into a sweater … Whenever I wore it, it felt like a big hug.”)

His longtime director Erika MacDonald also joins him onstage in character as a surprise guest. A relaxing respite from some of the fringe craziness.

— Janice Sawka

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER

B12 Theatre Productions

CCFM — Antoine Garborieau Hall (Venue 19), to Sunday

⭐⭐⭐½

Kaycee is a heavyset woman, unhappy with her body and her life, failing her university classes and going downhill fast. Ally is her dependable, goofy galpal since childhood. And Dee is younger, slimmer, cuter, but strangely driven to make friends, even if by forcing herself into someone’s life.

Winnipeg writer/director Kennedy Huckerby created this dramedy out of her background in mental health support and a desire to showcase stories of female friendship.

All actors give commendable performances: Elena Modrzejewski (Kaycee) has the standout scene of the play, as she cries over her dying grandfather’s bedside, but needs to project more in other scenes. Avery Mittermayr (Ally) is just plain fun. Maija Buduhan (Dee) is appropriately enigmatic. David Lange ably contributes a variety of male supporting roles.

The 60-minute run time forces Kaycee’s crisis to escalate unnaturally quickly, and the final explanation of Dee’s hold over her, while unexpected and clever, is resolved too easily.

Definitely geared towards women, but with valuable lessons for all regarding toxic friendships.

— Janice Sawka

CACTUS

Cactus Theatre

Tom Hendry Warehouse (Venue 6) to Sunday

⭐⭐⭐

The local Cactus Theatre was formed to present the late Manitoba playwright Daniel Gilmour’s dark comedy Cactus. At 60 minutes, it is perhaps a touch too long, since it seems scattered at first, but the play soon shapes itself into a funny and moving piece about confronting death and subsequent grief.

Tom is visited by the angel of death. He is there to guide Tom through his life’s episodes — A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life are noted comically — before his demise.

There is a lesson to be learned but it isn’t what one expects. Tom faces his grief in a gut-wrenching way that makes you gasp at the work’s theatrical daring. Gilmour avoids sentimentality with intelligence, while his humanity shines through the sometimes messy structure.

The production balances the play’s comic and dramatic intentions well. It honours Gilmour, whose death at age 38 in 2023 was a loss to the local playwriting community.

— Rory Runnells

DAREDEVILS

Corael Productions

MTC Up the Alley (Venue 2), to Saturday

⭐⭐⭐ ½

The names of daredevils Charles Blondin and Maria Spelterini may not resonate much today, but they were once called out by roaring crowds as they stepped into some of the most treacherous tightrope stunts of the 19th century.

Winnipeg playwright Ellen Peterson’s comedy imagines them as frenemies in Niagara Falls, where they are attempting to traverse its river gorge. Blondin is Spelterini’s teacher and would-be lover, though the student appears to be overtaking the master, much to his chagrin.

Nearly every line of dialogue seems dedicated to driving home Blondin’s flamboyance and chauvinism — part Inigo Montoya, more Pepe Le Pew — and the younger Spelterini’s pluck and intrepidness.

This becomes repetitive. Nevertheless, the actors make solid use of the material and there’s real craft elsewhere in Peterson’s script. The language, by turns bawdy and highfalutin’, is a lot of fun. Moments of vulnerability by Blondin in the play’s conclusion add a welcome sense of discovery and dramatic depth.

— Conrad Sweatman

THE GALLERY WALL

Evens and Odds

Son of Warehouse (Venue 5), to Saturday

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½

A painter and an aspiring journalist meet and, almost by chance, begin to open up about the past experiences that have shaped who they are today. What each of them learns from each other, and about themselves, propels a deeply engrossing, character-driven theatrical treat.

The script for this 60-minute dramedy is a star in its own right. The dialogue is natural and fast-paced, driving meaningful character growth through a combination of sassy banter and reflective musings. The tone shifts effortlessly between humour, tenderness and tension that drives real depth.

Ella Cole and Kirstin Caguioa deliver exceptional performances — you can feel the chemistry between them, and both bring relatable charm to their characters. It’s easy to sympathize as they struggle to navigate the uncertainty in their futures.

There are a few areas where the narrative wanders slightly, but this performance ultimately delivers a strong, character-driven experience.

— Matt Schaubroeck

RIOT!

Monster Theatre

King’s Head Pub (Venue 14), to Sunday

⭐⭐⭐ ½

It’s 1849 in New York City. The streets smell of urine and class tensions are mounting. In steps the thespian Macready, the toast of the elite, to perform at the exclusive Astor Place. Conflict with his rival Forrest, a working-class theatre hero, help to spark a bloody theatre riot. Vancouver-based brothers Jeff and Ryan Gladstone’s retell this history as a rapid-fire one-hour comedy. They swap characters, accents and insults with brilliant skill. It’s little wonder this touring show has been a hit in so many other cities.

The Gladstones tell us that they hope their show will help the politically unaligned better come to understand the value of dialogue. This is nice, but caricatures of 19th-century WASPs and theatre culture have very little to do with today’s political polarization. More importantly, they don’t seem particularly daring either — for all its F-sharps, the comedy feels a little low-stakes to crackle.

— Conrad Sweatman

THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

Mad Tom Theatre Company

Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 3), to Sunday

⭐⭐⭐

In the theatre world, the “curse of Macbeth” has it that if actors say the very name of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, they’ll invite toil and trouble. This local 75-minute comedy (not 90) written and produced by young local actors imagines this curse befalling a high school theatre production.

It often feels like an affectionate send-up of theatre kids. Woe to the teen today who posts an overly earnest skit online and finds himself trolled by legions of edge-lords in the comments.

One character in Show seems to embody this comment section: he calls everyone “gay” and — we hesitate to say — gets some of the show’s funniest lines.

Show makes the mistake of having him succumb to the curse too quickly, because the show’s best stuff is the repartee between opposing types rather than the wilfully ludicrous plot.

But there’s no point scrutinizing things too closely. It has the novice feel of a show by kids fresh out of high school, but also it has an infectious energy. It’s a bit long, but it’s fun.

— Conrad Sweatman

STORIES I WON’T TELL THE KIDS / DES HISTOIRES (PAS) POUR LES ENFANTS

TiBert inc.

Le Studio at Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 20), to Sunday

⭐⭐ ½

Rob Malo has made a name for himself through a long career as a storyteller and children’s entertainer. This 50-minute series of stories, targeted towards a more mature audience, tries to welcome in a new demographic for the longtime entertainer. Unfortunately, the cohesion of the show falls a little flat.

There is definitely some adult content at the show — too risky, apparently, for even ChatGPT — and does earn some genuine laughs. But Malo also spends a significant amount of time of his stage time on a kid-friendly historical tale that, while interesting, does not thematically match the rest of the more risqué humour.

Malo is a passionate and polished raconteur, and each of tales would likely have a rapt audience at any bar table or kitchen party. As a stage performance, this one is still falling a little flat.

While most upcoming shows are in English, Thursday’s performance will be en français.

— Matt Schaubroeck

WHERE DOES BOB BELONG ?

Super Duper Productions

Centre culturel franco-manitobain (Venue 4), to Sunday

⭐⭐ ½

In this quirky 45-minute show (not 60 as listed), Toronto-based red nosed clown Christopher Bugg presents the story of a clown and his life-size puppet friend/lover Bob.

The best of the show is Bugg bringing Bob to some kind of life. Romance, longing and uffering follow as the two go through a chaotic relationship. The worst is when the clown indulges in a frenetic unconvincing bit involving genitalia props. In some way, which seems unclear, this tiresome vulgarity has to do with Bob.

There is, finally, a Bugg-Bob reconciliation and a satisfying happy ending.

The rake-thin performer has impressive control of his body, which he subjects to harsh treatment with many — perhaps too many — props. Bugg appeals to the audience, as clowns will, but it only stalls the action, rather than enhancing it.

Maybe even 45 minutes is too long for the material Bugg offers.

— Rory Runnells

WHEREVER YOU MAY BE

Reis’ Pieces Theatre Co.

Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 3), to Sunday

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Sunday Passages

Sundays

Kevin Rollason’s Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba.

Sign up for Sunday Passages

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

⭐⭐ ½

Hilde is the spunkiest resident in her personal care home. She came to Canada as a Ukrainian refugee and raised a family. Now she’s an old wit with a bone to pick with her pious, nosy neighbour. She likes beer, salty foods and reviewing mistakes in the newspaper. A natural protagonist of a fringe show, then.

Wherever You May Be is essentially community theatre. It deals with Mennonite community themes, and its sizable cast will probably continue to draw a big crowd of friends, family and fans. Erin Essery is strong as Hilde, but big amateur casts tend to have weak points (and, in this case, some weak characters).

Wherever You May Be is a cosy play in search of a dramatic conflict. It flirts with punchy premises — populist Mennonite anger about “elites” and taxes; religious tensions; memories of Soviet persecution — but these are carted off or resolved almost as quickly as they’re introduced. The cast can sing though. More of this, please.

— Conrad Sweatman