Fringe reviews #14: You’ve earned extra lives

2.0 WORLD PEACE THROUGH HUMOUR: A GERMAN 101

Paco Erhard/German Comedy International

Tom Hendry Warehouse (Venue 6), to July 26

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Fringe vet Paco Erhard — a Berliner now living in America — offers a comedy set filled with smart, funny (and, sure, a few groan-worthy) observations about politics, capitalism, nationalism and religion — you know, the stuff you aren’t supposed to talk about at the dinner table. The core message is actually very sweet: world peace is within our grasp if we could only realize we’re all more alike than not.

Comedy is not just what is said, but how, and Erhard’s breathless, high-energy delivery sometimes ends up robbing his punchlines of their punch. This set could also afford to be tightened and brightened into a sharp 60 minutes. Some sections are particularly rambly, and at 75 minutes, it starts to get repetitive. Comedy specials are typically limited to an hour for a reason.

— Jen Zoratti

69, EMIL AMOK: LESS NEWS, MORE LIFE

Emil Amok Productions

Aceartinc (Venue 24), to July 26

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Filipino-American journalist Emil Amok Guillermo, a former host of NPR’s All Things Considered, is back with a retooled version of the one-man show he debuted last year, with updated observations about these wild times in which we live — though we could probably do with even less news in Less News, More Life.

His headline-pegged jokes are often quite cringey, and his frenetic, breakneck pace also makes them hard to follow; no one will ever say the man doesn’t have energy. But when he eschews stand-up for storytelling in the second half, he finds his stride, offering moving insights into the Filipino-American experience, being the son of immigrants and the father of a trans daughter in Trump’s America. Even more life, please — it’s clear he’s had an interesting one.

— Jen Zoratti

ERIKA MACDONALD: TEA TIME

Erika MacDonald

Aceartinc. (Venue 24), to July 26

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It might seem as if Erika MacDonald is doing nothing but making endless cups of (properly prepared!) tea in this utter delight of a solo show, but the Kentucky-based writer and performer is doing so, so much more.

The preparation of tea is about ritual and, as such, is steeped (sorry) in metaphor. This show is really about time and how important it is to take yours — especially if you are prone, like MacDonald, to finding yourself in the bottomless ocean of depression.

Don’t expect straight-ahead storytelling; this show’s magic is in its quirks. There’s call-and-response. There’s an audience Q&A. There’s even a sneaky mindfulness meditation. MacDonald herself is such an engaging, warm and naturally funny presence — “Do you like how I used the word “steep” to bleep out the word f–?”— that you’ll relish spending these moments with her. A true original.

— Jen Zoratti

EVIE & ALFIE: A VERY BRITISH LOVE STORY

Stéphanie Morin Robert Performance Society

PTE — Cherry Karpyshin Mainstage (Venue 16), to July 26

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In a pair of beautifully calibrated performances, British-born fringe veterans Alex Dallas of Sensible Footwear and Jimmy Hogg (Mashed, Venue 16) portray the titular couple in this absolutely lovely, moving 60-minute two-hander about a long marriage.

We meet the couple in their retirement, peaceably reading together, gently bickering over birds and biccies; Evie tells her husband to put them on a plate rather than bringing the whole tin. “You know how you are.”

We’re then taken through their relationship — meeting, courtship, marriage, childbirth, middle age, dotage — with all its joy and pain and boredom and bumps in the road (Dallas’s portrayal of a 50-year-old woman’s impotent rage and regret is something to behold).

It’s a pitch-perfect portrait of imperfect, abiding love that’s larded with laughter and full of familiar domestic detail that sidesteps stereotype.

“You know how you are,” Evie says, but what she means is “I know who you are, and I’m the only one who does.”

— Jill Wilson

THE LATE GREAT MORMON DRAG QUEEN

Steven Morton

Centre culturel franco-manitobain — Salle Pauline-Boutal (Venue 4), to July 26

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Returning to the fringe for a second year following his hit autobiographical musical Drag Me to the Opera, Calgary’s Steven Morton delights in this one-man musical based on the true story of Brigham Morris Young.

The talented opera singer and performer tells the story of the 35th child of Mormon prophet Brigham Young, who lived a double life in the late 1800s as a devout churchman by day and famous drag star by night.

Morton delivers vaudeville-style original musical numbers with impressive vocal range and playful, old-school theatrical energy. His physicality and characterization are distinct for each role, and his command of the stage makes it easy to get lost in the story.

Young’s Mormon storyline is interesting, but it’s his drag alter-ego, Madam Pattirini, who really steals the show. The story is more of a conduit for the musical numbers, where Morton shines brightest.

If the standing ovation was any indication, you’re in for a revelation.

— Jeff Vallis

MENNONITE METAMORPHOSIS: HOW TO BECOME A SECULAR MENNONITE IN 500 YEARS OR LESS

BirdsEye Productions

West-End Cultural Centre, ACU Hall (Venue 27), to July 26

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This expertly crafted seven-step self-help program is here to help free you from the chains of religious trauma bound to you by hyper-spiritual parents.

During this one-hour presentation from Toronto, you’ll be in the hands of Sandra Banman as she re-enacts her religious upbringing and the events in her life that would make her question everything she knows.

Banman gives a vulnerable performance as she tells you in detail about the lowest moments of her life and her family’s intergenerational trauma from escaping Ukraine and travelling through Nazi Germany during the Second World War to get to Canada.

Her sarcastic delivery and loud outbursts add some comedy to the performance while illustrating the roller coaster of a journey she went on to find herself.

Her story of learning to have independence while maintaining a relationship with her heavily religious mother is a relatable tale everyone can appreciate.

— Tiago Resko

PANIC — A LIVE RADIO MUSICAL

Panic Players

Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 3), to July 26

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Attention, viewers! The following musical is NOT a re-creation of the legendary War of the Worlds radio broadcast. It’s more of a satirical guess at what happened behind the scenes.

Orson Welles (Jordan Phillips) is an egomaniac who demands everyone appreciate how great he is. (Sound familiar?) He coerces a junior writer, Howard (Rich Smith), into creating an edgy script with news reports describing Martians invading the country.

“Americans aren’t that dumb!” Howard objects. (Sound familiar?)

The broadcast causes public panic. But then Welles reframes his public apology as proof of his genius for making everyone aware of the possibility of “invading enemies” (Sound too familiar?).

All the actors are equally strong, with special mention to Smith for his live vocal sound effects.

A bit much at times, with some “fictional facts” too farfetched, and a few “real facts” incorrectly stated (radio broadcasts weren’t “taped” in 1938 — that technology didn’t exist.)

But overall, clever songs, social commentary, and worlds of fun.

— Janice Sawka

QUALIA

(in)sight Dance

Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 3) to July 26

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As bizarre verse plays, a woman dressed in black and red, with claws on her gloves, comes onstage. She takes a sort of helmet, studded with little plastic baby faces, and lowers it over her head. We never see her face.

Disjointed snippets of discordant music start playing on a loop: Tap dance, bump-and-grind striptease and electronic sounds. She begins dancing. She doesn’t stop moving for the next 45 minutes.

So, what is it? Fitness test? Performance art? Or perhaps a subtle plug for “chemically enhanced” theatre viewing? (Hey, it’s legal now!)

Co-creator (and mysterious dancer) Ella Steele laughs as she admits the “chemical” notion had in fact occurred to her, but insists her real inspiration for the piece was David Lynch, along with the “Radiator Lady” character from the cult film Eraserhead.

This is undoubtedly an acquired taste, very niche in its appeal — but isn’t that part of the fringe experience?

— Janice Sawka

SOLOVELA, AN IMPROVISED SOLO TELENOVELA

Diane Jorge

Planetarium Auditorium, (Venue 9), to July 26

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Ever wondered what would happen if a gay Winnipeg curler met a guy online from Kentucky and fell in love during the pandemic? Neither had Miami’s Diane Jorge, until she mined the story from the audience and built a one-hour, one-woman improv show around it — one she admits might be the “most Canadian show ever.”

Jorge transforms one audience member’s real-life love story into a Latin soap opera jam-packed with secrets, betrayals, villains, slow-motion fights and eye patches.

Bouncing among six-plus characters with overlapping storylines and competing motivations sounds like a recipe for disaster. But Jorge has so much fun with it all that you can’t help but go along for the ride.

Even when a character gets mixed up or the car literally veers off the road (gasps in Spanish), Jorge seamlessly folds it into the dramatic and hilarious storyline. That’s a skilled performer at work. In telenovelas, the hero always triumphs. And in Solovela, Jorge does too.

— Jeff Vallis

YOUR BORING STORY

Tectonic Improv

School of Contemporary Dancers (Venue 7), to July 26

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Scott Angus, Kim Laberinto, Brittany Lagassé and Dewey Parker of Winnipeg’s Tectonic Improv proudly present 60 minutes of … boring!

The show opened with a request for an audience member to name an everyday, mundane event. Saturday’s show used “parking in a parking lot,” and then the troupe paired off to create short skits: A homeless man offered to watch another man’s car. Costco employees eyed the big sale crowd outside while breaking in a new employee. A gay couple shared time in a sensory-deprivation tank.

It took the audience a while to realize there was a through-line and these little scenes were actually linked. And some of them got a little weird: Turns out there’s a bit of cult in Costco!

Some bits were stronger than others, and this “slow build” style game is hardly the stereotypical wacky image of improv. It wasn’t spectacular, but it wasn’t boring. It was a decent show demonstrating solid improv skills and applications of the techniques.

— Janice Sawka