I’ve been lucky enough to see some great shows at Fringe so far. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel that way about The Editor. There were some great parts to the show that could have been developed further to form a more cohesive storyline but sadly I felt like it fell flat. Continue reading The Editor (Brain Box Productions) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
Mary’s Wedding is more somber and an actual narrative than most of the other Fringe shows I’ve seen this year. Presented by Brantbury Fair, the World War I love story of Mary and Charlie was in equal parts charming, moving, and sad.
It is the night before Mary’s wedding and the entire sequence is a dream. It’s not just any dream, it’s a recurring dream that Mary has had since losing the love of her life to the Great War.
Memories and fantasy blend together, as Mary’s subconscious combines the actual experiences they shared with secondhand accounts of letters he wrote her. Some experiences in her dream are completely made up. Peter, for his part, sees Mary everywhere and in everything he sees and does.
Continue reading Mary’s Wedding (Brantbury Fair) 2011 Fringe Review
Sonnets for an Old Century is a play with no linear narrative. Via 16 monologues there are 16 narratives that are told, each sharing what their last thoughts are before they die. If they simply have a story to share or if they have something to say to someone in particular. As these individuals grapple with death, so does the audience. Continue reading Sonnets for an Old Century (Clownfire) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
William Shakespeare’s Beauty and the Beast sounds like a children’s show, but it’s not. A parody of Shakespeare’s body of work, “tales as old as time” – hence the Beauty and the Beast title reference – Matty McCready’s witty script comes alive thanks to its talented and very funny cast.
This was the first Fringe show I’ve seen with a larger cast. I enjoyed the dialogues that all these characters were able to have with one another; a nice change from the one-man-shows I had been watching all week.
Misprint (1st Issue) is an interesting concept, and an enjoyable musical. It takes place in a homogenized suburb in 1962 called Sunnydale, where it is pre-Beatles, pre-Viet Nam, pre-civil rights, pre-ERA… I suspect that even the chocolate chip cookies taste bland in Sunnydale.
It may seem odd, but the name Sunnydale reminds me of Sunnyvale Trailer Park, the location of Trailer Park Boys. The characters obviously come from different sides of the tracks. They are quite unlike everyday people, but they are fascinating to watch.
Continue reading Misprint (1st Issue) (Spiel Players) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review