the aisha of is, presented by Sasha John Technique and performed by Aisha Sasha John at the 2018 SummerWorks Festival, is one of those performance pieces that you just have to cheerfully admit is not created for you, and that’s okay.

The only thing is, I’m not completely sure who it’s for. Primarily, it feels like hallmarks of mystifying ritual that culminate in a cathartic experience for a committed performer; a ritual that, for the most part, I was only allowed to glimpse.

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From its title, you might expect fantasylover, presented by Rock Bottom Movement at the 2018 SummerWorks Festival, to be a fluffy, bright, shiny and candy-coated romp of a dance show. It’s not. It’s funny and quirky, but there’s a screaming, twitching violence beneath its veneer of butt-baring leotards; aesthetically, it’s the feminist dance equivalent of a Hieronymous Bosch painting. That artist, famous for his depictions of naked, contorted figures on a hellscape background, would have approved of these women who aren’t afraid to go grotesque.

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Truthteller, presented by Lady Janitor at the 2018 SummerWorks Festival, is one of the final two shows in a series of works (the other, also at SummerWorks, is The Reckoning). This was my first Lady Janitor experience, and I believe the work stands alone. It’s Performance Art, with a capital P.A., that walks the edge of taking itself too seriously, but doesn’t quite fall off the cliff.

Part salon, part physical trust exercise, part crystals and glitter and part singalong, it succeeds or fails primarily on how willing you are to go with it and participate in the experience. If you want and are prepared for that, it’s a good time. If you’re looking for cohesion and structure instead of vignettes and moments, you may have a rough trip.

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…And You’ll Never Believe What Happens Next, presented by Pressgang Theatre at the 2018 SummerWorks Festival, features Graham Isador telling us a story about stories. In showman’s jacket, he expertly recounts how he became Buzzfeed-ready, groomed as a purveyor of vulnerability by an editor named Sam (whose eye he caught via one popular article about overindulging at a Mandarin buffet).

Directed by Jiv Parasram, Isador details his failed and eventually successful attempts at storytelling spec work, as he gets closer and closer to the sweet spot that will elicit the most “clicks.” Wrapped up in all of this is an exploration and critique of narrative. In particular, it’s an argument about how the stories we tell and consume shape others’ perceptions of us, and our perception of our own identity. What is the face we show to other people? In Isador’s case, it’s a complex and thoughtful one.

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