Day 3: We just can’t stop reviewing fringe shows

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This article was published 22/07/2023 (791 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A IS FOR ANXIETY APPLES

B12 Theatre Productions

CCFM — Antoine Gaborieau Hall (Venue 19), to July 30

This dramedy directed by Winnipegger Kennedy Huckerby aims to educate its audience about mental illness via a series of vignettes that attempt to skewer the adage “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Apples aside — the fruit metaphor feels forced at times — the show has a lot to say about the realities of young people living with anxiety, eating disorders and other mental illnesses. For the most part, it delivers its message clearly, with room to grow. Huckerby and collaborators Elena Modrzejewski, Maggie Davidson and Brooklyn Alice Lee have managed to inject some levity with creative needle drops, dance moves and literal bursting of bubbles. But the darker moments are often the show’s strongest, particularly an interpretation of seeking mental-health care within a traditional hospital setting. A few minutes shorter than its listed 45-minute runtime, the show ends with a personalized surprise for some audience members. ★★★

— Katie May

THE BARN IDENTITY

Other Erika Presents

Creative Manitoba (Venue 28), to July 30

Erika MacDonald, a fancy-fan-wielding storyteller from Kentucky, has seen her share of old barns during years on the fringe circuit, including stops in Winnipeg beginning in 2015. She’s obsessed with “falling-down barns,” and a certain film that once put her in the emergency room.

The charming MacDonald meanders her way through an hour-long musically enhanced tale to get to the poignant crux of The Barn Identity, much in the same way falling-down barns defy gravity for generations before their beams give way and crash to the ground. ★★★ 1/2

— Alan Small

BARRY POTTER AND THE MAGIC OF WIZARDRY

Dirk Darrow Investigations

PTE — Colin Jackson Studio (Venue 17), to July 30

Calling all Potterheads! Australian magician Tim Motley is back to charm your red and gold socks off. The fringe veteran, best known at past festivals as Det. Dirk Darrow, has conjured up a new character that’s suspiciously similar to your favourite young wizard.

For one hour, Motley cracks open the Hogwarts spellbook, waves his magic wand, and performs traditional card and coin tricks with a Potteresque twist. Most of the spells are pretty standard. Some are too convoluted. But the Muggles at Barry Potter’s debut ate them all up — especially the youngest ones.

Consider yourself warned: If you don’t like audience participation, put on your cloak of invisibility and disappear into one of the back rows. ★★★★

— Kaj Hasselriis

BROADWAY AT THE BLUE ELEPHANT

7 Ages Productions

Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 3), to July 30

Four local vocalists — Dylan Woodcock, Kitrina Plante, Joe Plante and Erin-Brie Warwick, joined by keyboardist Holly Walker — celebrate all that makes the world go ‘round in this 65-minute cabaret about love. Their setlist features 19 Broadway hits (and when was the last time you heard Oklahoma! belted out at the fringe?) that showcase each of the singers, who take turns (mostly) performing solos and duets.

The cast, who at first were like proverbial deer in the headlights, definitely got stronger and became more at ease as the show progressed, with highlights including Woodcock’s Send in the Clowns and Plante’s heartfelt As Long as He Needs Me from Oliver!.

However, even more lighter/fresher/joyful selections would have helped balance out the darker, lonelier numbers, with this cabaret often feeling as blue as the stuffed elephant watching from upstage. A little smiling onstage also works wonders, as does actual physical connection between performers in a show that trumpets human relationships. ★★★ 1/2

— Holly Harris

THE CASE OF THE MYSTERIOUS MYSTERY: A NOT QUITE SHERLOCK MYSTERY

Chris Gibbs

Centre cultural franco-manitobain (Venue 4), to July 30

Fringe vet Chris Gibbs, who debuted in Winnipeg back in 1997 (!) returns from his Toronto homebase to première his latest solo Antoine Feval caper. The master detective is, as the title asserts, “not quite Sherlock.” But his partner Barnaby Gibbs is definitely cut from the same tweed as Sherlock’s Dr. Watson, specifically the fatuous boob essayed by Nigel Bruce in the Basil Rathbone-era movies.

In their latest comedy adventure, Barnaby confronts the troubling question: What does a genius like Feval need with a “bumbling fool” like Barnaby? The answer comes over an hour on a bare-minimal set as Gibbs/Gibbs unravels the story with a dazzling array of characters, piquant details and eccentric diversions. Suffice to say, Gibbs – the performer – is precisely the bumbling fool we all need at the fringe. ★★★★

— Randall King

THE COMABACK KID

Lykos Theatre

Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 3), to July 30

Many people likely have a story about confronting a new outlook on life as they reach their 30s, but Mike de Jong has a doozy. He missed it altogether when he fell into a diabetic coma. This memoir by the Winnipegger (by way of Montreal and Saskatoon) sees de Jong in boxing gloves and protective gear, describing an absolute nightmare of a life experience.

As a kind of sidebar, de Jong discusses how the heroic Canadian scientist Frederick Banting once claimed “Insulin belongs to the world” … before greedy pharmaceutical companies figured out a way to circumvent Banting’s benevolent intent. There is doubtless a better way to integrate this material into the main narrative, but de Jong hasn’t quite nailed that down.

Considering this is mostly a guy talking about his health issues for 40 minutes, this is more interesting than it should be. But de Jong is not a theatre professional, so expect a few rough patches. ★★1/2

—Randall King

FLOURISH

Yours Queerly Arts Collective

CCFM — Salle Pauline-Boutal (Venue 4), to July 29

There are new kids on the block. Yours Queerly, a group of young theatrical movement artists, create a series of vignettes that see life as a backyard nursery/forest where nutrients and tenderness allow things to grow and flourish, while inattention and a lack of care causes things to wither and die.

There is some dialogue but much of the show is just movement and playful gibberish; in a few spots, the troupe are reminiscent of more fluid Teletubbies. The sets and cues are well-executed. It might take a few fringes for this young company to land on a more solid and captivating hour of entertainment but like small saplings, the potential is there and the show is certainly not pedantic. ★★1/2

— Lara Rae

FRINGE OPEN MIC

HUNK Productions

Exchange Event Centre (Venue 27), to July 29

“None of us know what’s going to happen,” host Tim Gray said before kicking off the first of nine Fringe Open Mics. ”Shouldn’t we embrace the chaos?”

Best of luck to those willing to take the plunge for this pay-what-you-can free-for-all. On Thursday night, the water was tepid at best and frigid at worst.

Some established local comics stopped by, including Paul Rabliauskas. But the star of CTV’s Acting Good was only on stage for the length of a commercial break. Newer comedians, including 18-year-old Brady Holm of Stonewall and 24-year-old Jay Vanjani of Winnipeg, got some quality reps in. Some fringers took the open mic as a chance to promote their own shows, an enterprising idea but one met with slight confusion by an audience not expecting to sit through a commercial.

As always, it’s best to go into an open mic with no expectations, so don’t let this review dissuade you from closing out your night with a game of comedy roulette in this comfy, air-conditioned venue on Princess Avenue. ★ 1/2

— Ben Waldman

GOD IS A SCOTTISH DRAG QUEEN

Mike Delamont

MTYP — Mainstage (Venue 21), to July 29

God, the all-knowing diva-deity, has returned to the Peg with the world première of new material.

The cheeky, profane drag queen played by Victoria’s Mike Delamont is still enormously likable and scores some solid laughs. Denying that her profuse sweating is brought on by menopause, for instance, the supreme being offers to wring out her suit to produce holy water.

But the 55-minute solo show is more disjointed than the almighty queen’s past offerings. It fires at targets ranging from Jeff Bezos to Ron DeSantis, but doesn’t stay firmly anchored in the comic premise of assigning God’s power, authority and judgment to a mouthy member of an oppressed minority.

God is understandably appalled by the current right-wing Christian opposition to LGBTTQ+ rights and drag performers. But it’s as if Delamont and co-writer Chantelle Delamont haven’t had enough time to process their shock and anger into sustained comedy. The Lady Lord even turns completely serious at times, which might be OK with some fans, but rattled this member of the flock. ★★★1/2

— Alison Mayes

(IN)DECISION

Drawing Board Productions

MTC Up the Alley (Venue 2), to July 29

Toronto’s Tamlynn Bryson absolutely shines in this 60-minute one-woman comedy about making decisions, and tests the very limits of the pro and con list.

It has been 2.7 seconds since Tess (Bryson) was proposed to by her boyfriend, Steve. She doesn’t know whether she should say yes or no. She’s got lots of reasons for going either way, which is why she’s called this meeting in her mind.

Bryson uses a chalkboard to illustrate and annotate Tess’s many, many lists, which fill the board and then spread out onto every available black surface — including her shirt — like a frantic game of Pictionary. With deft comedic timing and physicality, Bryson immediately lets us know exactly who this anxious, overthinking woman is — but she’s somehow not exhausting to watch, which is a tricky needle to thread. A gem of a performer in a gem of a show. ★★★★★

— Jen Zoratti

INFLUENCED

Theatre Enthused

Alloway Hall — Manitoba Museum (Venue 5), to July 29

Like, subscribe and prepare to be uncomfortable. This hour-long cabaret, created and performed by Toronto’s Sam Chaulk, scrolls through the many problematic pitfalls of life in the social media age. Wellness influencers, conspiracy theorists, cancel culture vultures, Elon Musk — they’re all here and hungry for audience engagement.

Joined on stage by a disembodied artificial intelligence assistant, wearing clownish makeup and a nude bodysuit, Chaulk takes on a bevy of characters designed to call attention to the impact and absurdity of online personas, communication and connection. The goal is to make viewers squirm with questions about their own internet and device use. Sharing in public, irl, suddenly feels very vulnerable. It’s a clever and effective way to mimic the sensations of life online.

Chaulk has a solid singing voice that shines during some traditional, cabaret-style musical numbers — though her harsh interactive style won’t be for everyone. The internet is a cruel place. ★★★1/2

— Eva Wasney

INGÉNUE: DEANNA DURBIN, JUDY GARLAND, AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD

Melanie Gall Presents

MTYP — Mainstage (Venue 21), to July 30

Melanie Gall’s previous works, which combined knitting and the Second World War, were the gateway to appreciating the fringe for this reviewer.

Ingénue, an hour-long musical, is Gall at her best. Focusing on the Winnipeg-born singer and actress Deanna Durbin and her time toiling in Hollywood during a career that parallelled Judy Garland’s, the St. Albert, Alta., performer tells Durbin’s story to a reporter after the Garland’s death. (Gall has penned a book on the subject, so she knows her stuff.)

Gall’s musical histories always seem like sitting with an old friend you’ve known for years: her warm camaraderie makes it easy to fall into the world of Durbin — so much so that the few technical hiccups can largely be overlooked. Go for the singing alone. ★★★★★

— Sonya Ballantyne

THE MERKIN SISTERS: DEUX

Stéphanie Morin-Robert

PTE — Mainstage (Venue 16), to July 30

Ingrid Hansen (Epidermis Circus) and Stéphanie Morin-Robert (Blindside) are back with their saucy, transgressive, ginger-wigged sibling act in a 60-minute show that elicits gasps and giggles in equal measure. It’s cheeky (literally), bizarre and gloriously gonzo. (Warning: audience participation.)

The gobsmacked factor is obviously lessened a bit the second time around, but with unlikely props, puppets and dramatic lighting, these physically deft, theatrically savvy performers pull off some jaw-dropping moments that blur the lines between graceful and grotesque. One scene sees the women encased in red fabric tubes, somehow managing to combine the conflicting esthetics of car-dealership waving man and writhing, Cronenbergian nightmare womb.

Set to a soundtrack of subversive pop tunes co-written by the duo, Deux does feel more scattershot than its predecessor, with a couple of parts that drag (the rather alarming ab-tastic male drag scene is not among them). ★★★★

— Jill Wilson

THE PERFECT PANTS

Blanket Fort Theatre

MTYP Mainstage (Kids Venue), to July 30

As Giggles the Clown, Winnipeg’s own Shy Pattie attempts a 45-minute ode to Peter Pan syndrome in her new comedy, co-written with Joanne McDowall. Giggles leans into physical comedy as she bemoans growing out of her favourite bottoms — a pair of blue and purple leggings — and her mother’s advice to dig through the hand-me-down box.

When her friends, including Stinky the Clown (Amelia Pattie), request her help to track down the forest fairies they believe to be responsible for their growth spurts, she sets off on a camping trip. The characters are convinced pixies are sprinkling dust on them in their sleep.

Colourful costumes and props are plentiful in this family-friendly performance, during which Giggles appeals to the audience for advice on multiple occasions.

While the concept is clever, the execution is clunky. Still, the storytelling is strung together with enough cutesy quips, sing-alongs and circus tricks to keep viewers engaged. This work is sure to elicit giggles from all ages. ★★★

— Maggie Macintosh

PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER

Hiljames Movement

Rachel Browne Theatre (Venue 8), to July 29

Local dance artists Naomi Wiebe, Brooke Hess and Brianna Ferguson explore the power and the peril of the lowly lipstick in this 45-minute (billed as 60) contemporary dance show inspired by Elizabeth Taylor’s famous quote, “Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick and pull yourself together.”

The trio performs a series of eclectic dances, ranging from funky hip hop to sassy jazz sequences à la Bob Fosse, as they deconstruct the mythology surrounding lip colour with its darker, inherent societal pressure on women to confirm to a certain ideal. Lipstick tubes morph into pistols and knives, they are used to paint garish clown-like makeup on faces, and rolled across the floor, as the women ultimately break free of its waxy power. Flashes of quirky humour (mostly) work, although ginormous inflatable lips (as well as nifty jackets replete with glittery lips) are incorporated all too briefly.

Hilary James’ dynamic choreography, including intricate movement vocabulary and body isolations interlaced with spoken text, is performed with conviction throughout, marred only slightly by other cryptic sections as opaque as a tube of Ruby Red. ★★★1/2

— Holly Harris

A SERIES OF CARD TRICKS DONE IN A ROW

Brad Micholson Magician

MTC Up the Alley (Venue 2), to July 30

Brad Micholson is a straightforward kind of magician. You probably gathered that from the name of his show. Over the course of 45 minutes, the sleight-of-hand aficionado conducts — you guessed it — a series of card tricks, done in a row. There’s little pomp and barely any flourish to Micholson’s tricks, but each reveal has the audience leaning in, oohing and aahing, at the seeming impossibility.

Somehow, certainly not through any form of harmless deception, each card ends up exactly where it should, even after the performer repeatedly paints himself into a corner. Micholson also feigns surprise when things happen to work out. He’s no showboat.

Ticketholders will get a two-for-one experience: magic and a pre-show acoustic set by the man of the hour (foreshadowing for the dexterity about to unfold). Select card-trick enthusiasts will also get an opportunity to join Micholson onstage for an up-close view of the shuffling. If stoic sleights of hand strike a chord with you, there’s lots to enjoy here. ★★★1/2

— Eva Wasney

SIX CHICK FLICKS

PKF Productions

PTE — Mainstage (Venue 16), to July 29

Ladies: How many of you — like Rose in Titanic — experienced a rip-roaring orgasm the first time you had sex?

While acting out goofy abridged versions of beloved chick flicks, New York’s K.K. Apple and Kerry Ipema constantly interrupt the action to mock the plots, tropes and characters, as in that Titanic question hilariously directed at the audience.

This smart feminist spoof, co-written by Ipema and fringe star T.J. Dawe, is so infectiously funny that you can love it without chick-flick literacy. But the better you know Titanic, Legally Blonde, Pretty Woman, Beaches, The Notebook and Dirty Dancing, the harder you’ll laugh. The cheap costumes and lack of a set only enhance the show’s playful spirit.

The exuberant Ipema and Apple throw themselves into a whirlwind of over-the-top actor impressions (Apple’s Jennifer Coolidge is a wonder) and dance up a storm. There’s a moment involving a tampon that is Amy Schumer-worthy.

The duo really doesn’t need to interrupt Dirty Dancing’s abortion plot with a serious explanation of Roe v. Wade (we’re Canadians, but we’re aware). That said, Six Chick Flicks is parody gold and deserved its shrieking standing ovation. ★★★★★

— Alison Mayes

TEACHING SHAKESPEARE

Doctor Keir Co.

Planetarium Auditorium (Venue 9), to July 30

Just when you thought it was safe to return to the lecture hall.

Solo performer Keir Cutler brings the most dreaded of all Shakespeare professors to the Winnipeg fringe for the first time since 2014; once again he’s on his self-destructive quest for tenure. He defends the Bard to the very last second of this 45-minute soliloquy — or is it a monologue? — and uses the scenes and sonnets as a suit of armour against the fools who fail to realize Shakespeare is infallible, even when he is not.

While there are myriad Shakespearean characters the Montrealer can lean on, he most resembles the indefatigable Wile E. Coyote, using a Shakespeare text rather than an Acme catalogue to attain the same comical results. ★★★★

— Alan Small

TWENTY FOUR

Wind Flower Dance Company

Tom Hendry Warehouse (Venue 6), to July 30

At first blush, the prospect of seeing 24 dances presented in linear style within a single hour is enough to give anyone the willies. However once things settle in, this premiere performed by four dancers from the School of Contemporary Dancers flows as seamlessly as clockwork, with the 60-minute production chronicling the “story of a single day,” in this case, one beginning at midnight. There’s some fine dancing, including gravity-defying lifts, rolls and tumbles, and many magical moments, including several enthralling solos performed to an effective pastiche score are matched equally by sophisticated lighting effects.

The printed program — a rare specimen in fringe land — details the theme for each dance representing one hour (I got lost at 4 a.m.), although in the end, it doesn’t really matter, as the collective’s abstract choreography becomes a dreamlike wash.

It’s an ambitious show, and the energy and momentum lag at certain points. There’s a false ending. Still, it’s a clever concept that allows a peek into this imaginary, 24-hour world while pondering one’s own. ★★★★

— Holly Harris

WORLD’S FAIR 1876: THE CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION

JHG Creative

The Gargoyle Theatre (Venue 25), to July 30

It’s 1876, and the world’s greatest inventors have descended on Philadelphia to vie for the Ulysses S. Grant (Grant). Among them is a young Ethelbert Watts (Monique Gauthier), who must go up against the likes of Henry Heinz (Cuinn Joseph), Alexander Graham Bell (Ben Krawchuk) and Thomas Edison (Connor Joseph) on idealism alone in this delightful, tightly paced 60-minute musical comedy.

The songs are all bangers. The performers are all bell-clear singers with snappy comedic timing. The script is laugh-out-loud hilarious and, surprisingly, touching. But the show is stolen by Krawchuk and Connor Joseph, who have incredible chemistry as “Alex” Bell and “Tommy” Edison, who have been imagined as conniving yuk-yuk gangsters. Don’t miss this one. ★★★★★

— Jen Zoratti

1 STAND-UP COMEDY SHOW, PLEASE

Dana + Tim Productions

Exchange Event Centre (Venue 27), to July 29

The pandemic hit some of us like a runaway van. During the pandemic, a runaway van hit Tim Gray like a runaway van. He’s had a rough go. Yeah, there was that van, but he also fell off a roof, was diagnosed with depression, and caught a pesky case of shingles.

He also did the unthinkable: he bought a ventriloquist’s dummy.

For normal people, that’s cause for concern and a possible intervention. For a standup comedian, that’s a 45-minute solo set.

Gray, a former Winnipegger and former-former Stonewaller, was a mainstay on the local standup circuit for more than a decade before moving to Toronto, where he and his wife — the comic Dana Smith — have been making good on achieving their dream “of giving all their money to landlords.”

Goofy, raunchy and a tad disgusting — stay tuned for, and prepare to wince at, his “gym rat” joke — Gray hasn’t let the big city change him too much. Just our luck. ★★★1/2

— Ben Waldman

A WPG STAND-UP COMEDY SHOW

Gray Productions

Exchange Event Centre (Venue 27), to July 29

Fair warning: the lineup changes every night, so this review might not be too useful, unless you’ve never seen standup before. On Thursday night, one man named Don actually was watching his first-ever comedy show, he told host Tim Gray.

Well, Don, don’t let Thursday’s middling performance — which ran 75 minutes and featured Benji Rothman, Matt Nightingale, Andy Noble and Mike Green — discourage you from seeking out a second.

The usually excellent Rothman struggled to get a read on the fringe audience and never settled into form. Ditto for Nightingale, who after delivering back-to-back-to-back duds, asked whether his microphone was on and if the crowd was OK. (If the audience doesn’t laugh, it isn’t necessarily technology’s, or the patrons’, fault). Batting third, Noble was able to adjust, earning huge laughs for a Tim Robinson-esque run-on bit about Winnipeg Transit. Green’s tried-and-true tales about running an Airbnb for couples having illicit dalliances was also well-received.

Future editions won’t only feature male comedians between the ages of 35 and 40. ★★

— Ben Waldman