Fringe reviews #1: It all started when you chose seat B7

2 MAGIC RUBIES, 1 PRIVATE EYE: A DIRK DARROW INVESTIGATION

Racing Sloth Productions

MTYP Mainstage (Venue 21), to July 27

⭐⭐⭐⭐½

It was a hot time in the old MTYP opening night (the air conditioner was down), but the heat shouldn’t keep you away from this gem, a 60-minute grab-bag of magic, mind reading and mile-a-minute quips delivered by the titular gumshoe.

Tim Motley shone like a diamond as he effortlessly handled the standard opening night technical difficulties. Despite a slightly too-warm crowd, Motley was able to get the audience in on the gags and tricks for a delightful show.

A master of both sleight of hand and quickness of feet, the charming performer keeps you enthralled and rolls with the punches when encountering an unexpected snafu, such as his Dollarama gun being out of bullets.

— Sonya Ballantyne

ACTION MOVIE MAD LIBS

SensibleChuckle Theatre

King’s Head Pub (Venue 14), to July 27

⭐⭐⭐

One has to admire the ambition of this three-person comedy troupe from Dufresne, setting out to parody a big-budget action movie from the cramped confines of the King’s Head Pub, with a little help from their (presumably imbibing) friends in the audience.

Opening night, trio Alex Coates, Tim Coates and Sarah Guindon presented a Casino Royale-like action-fest in which the audience supplies 19 keywords that will factor into the show, which is why Guindon’s character was named Boobs Galore and Tim Coates’ designated villain had the non-threatening sobriquet “Le Tinkleberries.”

A drink or three may be de rigueur for this hour-long sketch/improv hybrid. Go in sober and the comedy feels like a pretty standard spy spoof, inspired audience participation (Tinkleberries) notwithstanding.

— Randall King

THE AUNTIE SHOW

Broken Record Productions

MTC Up the Alley (Venue 2), to July 27

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This 60-minute sketch comedy show follows three Aunties as they gab about normal Auntie things: dating uncles, Bigfoot sightings and saving the world. (It was first presented in workshop form at the Kiyanaan Indigenous Theatre Festival in January.)

Despite a few technical hiccups and this reviewer sitting near a rowdy Auntie and her man, there were genuine laughs from the sold-out crowd and the chemistry between Jo MacDonald (the playwright and one of the leads) and Tracey Nepinak is always a delight, particularly in the section taking place in a haunted house.

The transition from workshop presentation to fringe production has been a positive one regardless of opening-night glitches. Broken Record Productions continues to put on quality shows; it’s good to see another Indigenous production in this year’s festival.

— Sonya Ballantyne

FRINGE FAMILY FUN SHOW

Comedy Illusions of Greg Wood

Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 3), to July 27

⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you’re looking for a good old-fashioned magic show, this is it. Fringe Family Fun Show offers nearly 60 minutes of magic tricks, illusions, sleight-of-hand and delightfully cheesy jokes. Dressed in flashy sequined outfits, magician Greg Wood and his wife/counterpart Oonaugh Wood, along with their assistants and granddaughters Victoria and Jasmine, perform a variety of tricks that will have you wondering, “How did they do that?”

This is the kind of classic magic you’ve probably seen before, but Wood and company deliver it in such a fun and endearing way you’ll be glad you brought the kids. It is especially well suited to the toddler-to-under-10 crowd, who may even get the chance to take part in the fun onstage.

From disappearing objects to silly banter, the Fringe Family Fun Show is exactly what it promises to be — family-friendly fun with a magical twist.

— Shelley Cook

🙂 FOOL’S GAMBIT

James & Jamesy

PTE — Cherry Karpyshin Mainstage (Venue 16), to July 20

⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Fringe faves James & Jamesy have teamed up with Nayana Fielkov of Ragmop Theatre for an improv show as unpredictable as it is endearing. On the way in, attendees were given a slip of paper and asked to write down something that would be found in their basement; said papers were then put into a jar for potential improv fodder.

The trio, decked out in overalls and long-sleeve tops, slunk out on stage, hilariously grunting and moving like the yep-yep-yep aliens from Sesame Street, before eventually working up the courage to pick one slip out (on opening night it was “Lego”).

Over the course of the next 50 minutes the three, armed only with a stool and the suggestion jar as stage props, acted out (with the help of a few audience members) a wedding, selecting a Christmas tree and more. The physicality of the trio’s movements, as well as the ability to quickly pivot into new scenarios, was enthralling, leaving audiences in turns awed and offering raucous laughs. Catch this limited-run show while you can.

— Ben Sigurdson

NO TWEED TOO TIGHT: ANOTHER GRANT CANYON MYSTERY

RibbitRePublic Theatre

King’s Head Pub (Venue 14), to July 26

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It’s been six years since Ryan Gladstone performed his ode to two-fisted Mickey Spillane-style mystery and maybe that’s what’s been wrong with the world. The absence of boozing insurance investigator/human meatball Grant Canyon has left a chasm in our lives.

But he’s back with a literal vengeance in this lightning-paced comedy from Vancouver’s RibbitRePublic Theatre. Gladstone alone on a small stage somehow manages to impress as a technical marvel as he puts the pedal to the metal unravelling the mystery of the purloined Bombay Sapphire.

Riffling through a dozen or so disreputable characters and a dazzling barrage of light/sound cues, the 60 minutes speed by like a Corvette with the brake lines cut. Gladstone delivers deep, satisfying belly laughs.

— Randall King

A ONE HUMAN BEING, POTENTIALLY COMEDIC PERFORMANCE OF BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Living the Dream

Gargoyle Theatre (Venue 25), to July 27

⭐⭐⭐ ½

Local schoolteacher Alli Perlov’s one-person satirical odes to well-known musicals — in this case, Disney’s 1991 version of Beauty and the Beast — are a venerable fringe tradition by now.

As her writeup reads, “Can she sing? Not really. Can she act? That’s debatable.”

Perlov does both with confidence. She knows how to grab an audience. The humour is a tad raunchy, but not so outrageous it’s inappropriate for older kids.

But millennials seem like the intended the audience here, with the comedy’s Buzzfeed and Evanescence references and its affectionate deconstruction of 1990s Disney tropes.

Perlov commits so manically to the bit — with quizzes, songs, audience participation and vaudevillian levels of scenic, character and prop changes — that it’s impossible not to be entertained by this one-hour campy romp.

— Conrad Sweatman

PARASOCIAL

Metanoia Theatre Co.

Gargoyle Theatre (Venue 25), to July 27

⭐⭐⭐½

Parasocial is a collision of two mediums on opposite ends of the analogue-digital spectrum: live theatre and video game streaming. In it, our protagonist Mia is stalked and harassed as she attempts to build an online following. Meanwhile, her feckless boyfriend, a more successful streamer, vacillates between acting like a wimp and gaslighting her.

It’s possible older audiences who didn’t grow up online will read her dilemmas as a little confusing (“What’s streaming? Get a real job!”). But the 45-minute dramedy effectively explores the creepy realities of those who did grow up that way: the erosion of private and public boundaries, the toxicity of so many online cultures and the unique threats they pose to women.

The play’s central conflict could be more taut and the conclusion feels underdeveloped, but Rebecca Driedger — who wrote and directed the production, as well as designing its detailed, captivating visuals — is clearly a talent to watch.

— Conrad Sweatman

THE PUPPETS OF PENZANCE

Backyard Broadway Theater

Creative Manitoba (Venue 22), to July 27

⭐⭐⭐ ½

Pairing the inherent silliness of Gilbert & Sullivan with cute puppets seems like such a natural match it’s a wonder it isn’t done more often. In this fun musical adaptation, a cast of nine pares the original operetta down to one hour while keeping the plot points and (abridged) songs intact.

Puppeteers are in full view, manipulating the puppets and also clearly enjoying relating to them and the audience. They perform all the songs (some impressive voices here!) and have all had varying types of formal music training.

While familiarity with G&S isn’t absolutely necessary to enjoy this production, it will definitely enhance your experience to know the signature style and satire.

There is some uneven singing — understandable for a large cast — and while the bargain-basement set playfully contrasts the opulence of a professional G&S presentation, it is inadequate for nine players and unfortunately distracts from other good points.

Still, first-time director Lisa Chartrand manages a lot of charm.

— Janice Sawka

RED DIRT/RED STORM

Second Star on the Right

WECC — Ventura Hall (Venue 26), to July 25

⭐⭐⭐½

Before she became the face of corporate space exploration, Ess grew up on Mars — its first native. Clark, her ambitious engineer boyfriend who works under her, seems to be using her fame and position as he pushes towards exploring beyond Mars.

This 60-minute drama grapples with some big ideas: the hidden costs of progress and the all-too-human foibles of humanity’s explorers and titans. It’s also capably acted, full of feeling and funny zingers. Red Dirt/Red Storm’s primary inspiration seems to be high-concepts sci-movies. We accept its repetitive Hans Zimmer-esque score and adjust to its Christopher Nolan-like competing timelines, but we may get lost in space following other plot points, which can be confusingly understated.

Expensive sci-fi movies have the advantage of a range of visual cues to convey narrative details in place of exposition. A BYOV play does not and this one sometimes struggles to bring things home.

Still, there’s the stuff of a strong story here and the fringe is an ideal setting for workshopping what might one day become a stellar watch.

— Conrad Sweatman