Fringe Reviews: FETCH and BUYER AND CELLAR

Fetch (by Cat Walsh)

Interloper Theatre

Venue 28 - The Playhouse

My first show of the 37th Fringe was a good choice. A fascinating tale of two Hannah Morgans that plays with possibility and probability. The Hannahs (Lora Brovold and Cat Walsh) narrate their eerily similar yet significantly different lives to relate a story that leaves you wondering what really happened. Guided by an interpretation of the Schrodinger's Cat Theory and a mysterious stuffed dog called Mr. Anderson, you will be drawn into the parallel and diverging stories. It's great story-telling that is unpredictable and engaging. The writing is excellent and the performances compelling. 

Buyer and Cellar

Next Stage Productions

Venue 10 - Have Mercy Acacia Hall

I was fortunate to be invited to a Preview of this one-man show about the mall in Barbra Streisand's basement. Gregory Caswell plays the fictional lone employee of the mall which is used to display the many things that Barbra has collected over her life. It's full of funny, laugh-out-loud moments with humour specially designed for the musical theatre lover and for anyone who is a fan of Streisand.  Caswell is charming and believable as the 'real person' in the presence of the larger than life diva and he is the perfect guide to the world of the superstar's mall. He also deftly channels several other characters from boyfriend Barry, to James Brolin, to the great Babs herself. 

FRINGE PREVIEW: Interesting Pairings... Choose a couple of shows that may or may not go together...

I've been spending a lot of time on the Fringe website, researching and reading about the different shows. It will be terrific to buy my program today, but the website has given me a lot to think about, in particular, that there are some shows that seem like they might 'go together' either in contrasting or in comparative ways... Here are some suggestions for some elegant pairings:

Why not pair 50 First Dates with F*ck Tinder: A Love Story? Both are journeys through the world of dating to find love but told from different perspectives. As one who escaped the advent of online dating apps, I think both would likely give me insight into a world that somewhat terrifies me. For those who are  little younger than me, I am pretty sure that both these shows would  resonate for you and no doubt you would have similar stories to share.

If you like Sketch Comedy, why not pair Marv n' Berry Presents: Everyone Panic, Please with Blackout Presents: Show me the Goods! Both are locally based sketch comedy groups with proven track records. I'm sure that bother are guarenteed to make you laugh! I like both Improv and Sketch, but sketch can tend to be a little more consistent as the artists can really craft their show and it's not so dependent on the suggestions from the audience.

There are two shows about polygamy at this year's Fringe. It might be worth seeing both to compare approaches, especially if you are fascinated by this kind of world. I think Bountiful is more of a play, and The Progressive Polygamists is more of a satirical presentation, so they are bound to discuss the issue differently.

If you are a fan of detective stories, you might want to check out The Real Inspector Hound and 2 Sherlock Holmes Mysteries. The former is the highly acclaimed, wild and wonderfully absurd murder mystery farce brought to the Fringe from Edmonton's Bright Young Things and featuring some of Edmonton's brightest and funniest (Belinda Cornish, Mat Busby, Andrew MacDonald-Smith, Louise Lambert, Garret Ross, Troy O'Donnell, Jenny McKillip and Ashley Wright). The second comes from "Masters of the Fringe" John D. Huston and Kenneth Brown who play everyone in this 60 minutes Sherlock Holmes extravaganza.

Family stories? Check out these two one-man shows about Grandmothers: Nonna's Story and My Grandmother's Maid. Stories that look at the lighter side of death? How about Let's Talk about Your Death and Five Stages of Death?

There's at least a hundred more ways to pair shows - but hopefully this has given you a few ideas about where to start! Enjoy your fringing!

FRINGE PREVIEW: Escaped Alone - “It’s hard to imagine you’ll come across a more brilliant play this year.”

Director Amy Defelice completed the Fringe Preview email interview about her 2018 Edmonton Fringe offering, Caryl Churchill's Escaped Alone. Featuring some of Edmonton's finest actresses, it's sure to please...

Describe your Fringe show in 10 words or less. A comedy-drama about longtime female friends, confessions and catastrophes.

Now the longer description... what else should people know about it? This production is the Canadian premiere of a 2016 Caryl Churchill play, after productions in London and New York.  Churchill is considered of the best playwrights in the world, a dynamic innovator.  She wrote Top Girls and Cloud 9.  Time Out Magazine wrote of Escaped Alone that it is “It’s hard to imagine you’ll come across a more brilliant play this year.” There is a stellar cast for the Edmonton production Vivien Bosley, Judy McFerran, Holly Turner and Alison Wells. It is a surprisingly funny play.

What makes Escaped Alone a great choice for the Fringe? It is a 55 minute gem that both amuses and gives the audience much to think about.  It is brilliantly written - our preview audience related to the characters and how they talk.

Okay, you're in rehearsal with an amazing group of people...
    a. Who makes you laugh the most? They all have different senses of humour that amuses me in different ways, but Marion Brant (our Stage Manager) has a fabulously dry sense of humour. 
    b. Who makes you groan? Alison Wells has the most wicked sense of humour (so she gets the prize for making me groan).
    c. Who is most likely to give you a massage? This is  group that can make a great Gin and Tonic at times of stress, rather than giving a massage.

The Official Description: Three old friends and a neighbor. A summer of afternoons in the backyard. Tea and catastrophe. The future. Domestic and wild. [Ms. Churchill is] "the most dazzlingly inventive living dramatist in the English language." She is the author of Cloud Nine and Top Girls.

Click here for tickets.

FRINGE PREVIEW: Vancouver's Hip.Bang! presents Surveil

Devin Mackenzie from Vancouver's Hip.Bang! answered my Fringe Preview Questionnaire about their Edmonton Fringe production Surveil.  Check out more about this show that's sure to make everyone laugh!

Describe your Fringe show in 10 words or less. A comedy show about being watched.

Now the longer description... what else should people know about it?
Award-winning comedy duo Hip.Bang! (Just For Laughs, Comedy Central, The Irrelevant Show) returns with a new immersive comedy about modern surveillance and invasion of privacy. Please arrive early to sign the mandatory waiver and to prepare your belly for some deep, satisfying laughs. ***** -National Post/Edmonton Journal

What makes Surveil a great choice for the Fringe? This show has it all. A comedy from two trusted veterans, a subject matter that affects us all, and some theatrical techniques that we believe have never been done before.

 Okay, you're in rehearsal with an amazing group of people...
    a. Who makes you laugh the most? We were lucky enough to work with Peter Carlone from Peter n' Chris (Canadian Comedy Award Winners Best Sketch Group) so needless to say he made us laugh constantly and hard
    b. Who makes you groan? We were unfortunate enough to work with Peter Carlone from Peter n' Chris (Canadian Comedy Award Winners Best Sketch Group) so needless to say he made us groan constantly and hard.
    c. Who is most likely to give you a massage? We were fortunate enough to work with Peter Carlone from Peter n' Chris (Canadian Comedy Award Winners Best Sketch Group) so needless to say he constantly gave us massages with his strong, dextrous hands.

Hip.Bang! presents Surveil

Returning to Edmonton are Best-of-Fest winners Tom Hill and Devin Mackenzie in this groundbreaking new work of comedy which fuses the duo's signature style with live technology and surveillance used directly on and with the audience, creating a theatre experience unlike anything seen before. Surveil explores, deconstructs and celebrates the ways our world is watching us in an immersive, multimedia theatre experience that will scare and delight audiences in equal parts.

Click here for tickets.

FRINGE PREVIEW: Adopted at the Edmonton Fringe!

Olivia Latta, Co-creator and Director of Adopted, took some time to answer my Fringe Preview Questionnaire about the show!  Enjoy!

Describe your Fringe show in 10 words or less. Like a rural Albertan "This Is Us", with more ketchup. 

Now the longer description... what else should people know about it? Adopted is a one-man storytelling show about the realities of being adopted. What makes a family? Is blood really thicker than water? And who are my parents anyways? Equal parts hilarious and heart-wrenching, Adopted explores serious themes about childhood and family, and a love of ketchup.  

What makes Adopted a great choice for the Fringe? You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll definitely want to go for hotdogs. Oh, and remember MSN messenger and all the pop-punk bands you used to listen to in Junior High. Well get ready, cause we'll be bringing you back to those awkward days. Also, this will be the perfect show to bring your dad to, trust us.  

Okay, you're in rehearsal with an amazing group of people...    
a. Who makes you laugh the most? Adam
b. Who makes you groan? Also, Adam.
c. Who is most likely to give you a massage? Gino, my family's cocker spaniel who will sometimes watch the show, sometimes run into your lap, and almost always steal the end of the show by barking at absolutely nothing.

The Official Description: Adopted is a one-man storytelling show about the realities of being adopted. What makes a family? Is blood really thicker than water? And, most importantly, who are my parents anyway? Both hilarious and heart-wrenching, Adopted explores serious themes about childhood and family through both drama and comedy. Minors welcome to shows starting before 9pm.

Click here for tickets.

FRINGE PREVIEW: Cult Cycle presented by Straight Edge Theatre

I email chatted with Director and co-creator of Cult Cycle, Bethany Hughes.  Here are her answers to our Fringe Preview Questions!

Describe your Fringe show in 10 words or less. Hot. Sweaty. Hilarious. 'Spin'cere Spoof. 

Now the longer description... what else should people know about it? This production is amazing and has been such a gift to work on, write, and direct. This insanely talented group of spinners, alongside the INCREDIBLE support from Jeff and Jordan Law (SpinUnity) have been awe inspiring to work with. We have had so much fun to building and creating and spinning.  The hidden secret of this show, is that this entire team had to learn how to spin, actually spin and each actor took multiple fitness classes (barre, conditioning, running, endurance etc.) and attended spin classes to prepare. The work on the character, vocals and lines is hard enough, but this show is also very physically demanding. 

What makes Cult Cycle a great choice for the Fringe? Cult Cycle is a great fringe show because it evokes all the things that make the #yegfringe festival so wonderful to be a part of. It is a new work, it is a different kind of show in the way it is staged and the topic and content are also perfect for a Fringe audience. 

Okay, you're in rehearsal with an amazing group of people...

    a. Who makes you laugh the most? This cast is full of characters, each one of them is hilarious and has had me on the floor at one point. I am torn. I have to say Mark Sinongco and Jaimi Reese are probably the two who make me laugh the most.
    b. Who makes you groan? Shoshana, Stephen's puppy. She has been our unofficial rehearsal mascot for the last few weeks. She manages to bark along to the lyrics
    c. Who is most likely to give you a massage? Jordan Campion. She is an incredibly supportive and generous Stage Manager, and would give anyone her spin tank on her back, if you asked for it, let alone a massage. 

The Official Description: There is a new spin studio in town! Welcome to Cult Cycle where you will burn fat and arise a new you from the ashes. This original musical gives a new meaning to the statement "That spin class was torture". Be prepared to "Get FIT or DIE trying!"

Click here for tickets.

Photo Credit: Taylor Pitman

FRINGE PREVIEW: Some of my Fringe Favourites onstage this year...

Fringe for many of us is always a challenge because there are so many thngs to see and since Edmonton is blessed with such a fabulous theatre community, it also becomes a chance to see our favourites... The trouble is I have so many!!!

Here are a few:

PUNCH UP

The Description: The Most Pathetic Guy Ever kidnaps the Funniest Man Alive to make the Saddest Girl in the World laugh.
Who are my favourites: Ever since I saw Merran Carr-Wiggin and Evan Hall in Gruesome Playground Injuries a few Fringes ago they moved to my Fringe Favourites list! They have wonderful chemistry together and I can't want to see what this show is all about!
Click here for tickets.


TRAGEDY: A TRAGEDY

The Description: A local news team bravely stands in front of an unfolding catastrophe prepared to bring unflinching coverage. But as the night wears on and answers can't be found... they flinch. From the Sterling Award-winning company behind "Never Swim Alone" (*****) and held-over hit, "Legoland."
Who is my favourite: I have never been disappointed by Blarney Productions Fringe shows. This one also features the delightful Luc Tellier and Cody Porter (who always makes me laugh - even when not onstage).
Click here for tickets.

A LESSON IN BRIO

The Description: Teatro returns to the Fringe with a Lemoine premiere, his first all-new full length offering at the Festival since The Euphorians in 2014. Starring Rachel Bowron, Patricia Cerra, Mathew Hulshof, and Jenny McKillop- all abundantly well-equipped to flourish in this sizzling demonstration of mind over matter and vivacity over adversity.
Who's my favourite: Always fun to see the new Lemoine! And Bowron, Hulshof and McKillop are among those I love to see in a crisp comedy!
Click here for tickets.

BUSHES IN THE BASEMENT

The Description: Catherine Ballangagger's life was a perfect Summer day; until her father was killed in a horrible car accident! Now she is forced to share a basement room with her brother Christopher, under the watchful eye of their cruel grandmother! A parody of "Flowers in the Attic" by V.C. Andrews. Warnings: Religious Content, Sexual Content, Adult Language, Cartoonish Violence
Who is my favourite: I'm a big fan of Lilith Fair/Zachary Parsons-Lozinski ever since I first saw him at a Fringe long, long ago! Expect this to be wildly inappropriate.
Click here for tickets.

FOR SCIENCE!

The Description: The Professor and her Lab Assistants need YOU for their research. An absurd investigation of instant gratification and celebration of the scientific method. From the one of the minds behind Toy Guns Dance Theatre *****, Ask Aggie****, and official hold-over, Fools for Love *****. For Truth! For Glory! FOR SCIENCE!
Who is my favourite: How can you not love Christine Lesiak - smart and funny!? Plus it's science-related - I love science!
Click here for tickets.

ONE MAN WALKING DEAD

The Description: The Dead walk! Society has crumbled and ravenous corpses rule... Can a ragtag band of survivors make their way in an undead world? Mark Meer bites into a script co-written by Fringe festival favourite T.J. Dawe. A one-man parody of the zombie TV series spawned by the zombie comic book.
Who is my favourite: Those who know me, know of my love for The Walking Dead, but this also has the man of a million voices, Mark Meer! Sounds like a zombie-riffic show!
Click here for tickets.


Stay posted for more! So many to choose from!