Fringe Festival
Gravestone Posse (The Canadian Space Opera Company) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
By Keira Grant
The truth of the matter is I had a hard time focusing during Gravestone Posse. My mind went on a walk-about, straying to supper decisions and weekend diversions.
Perhaps this has more to do with the format of the work than the substance. This is not a play, but rather a radio faux-drama that was recorded live for future broadcast. The performers wore costumes appropriate to their caricaturized roles but the script was read into microphones. Read the rest of this entry »
The Last Rock N’ Roll Show (Charcoal Sketch Productions) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
By Samantha Wu
I’m going to start by saying I can’t be unbiased in this review. There’s not much for me not to like in Jeff Jones’ The Last Rock N’ Roll Show, especially as a writer who counts one of her favorite moments in life as the day she won tickets to see Rammstein four hours before the show. Am I typing with my right hand while my left hand curls into metal horns at the memory? Yes. Read the rest of this entry »
Cendrillon (LastName FirstName Productions & Common Descent) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
By Sonia Borkar
My last show of this year’s Fringe was Cendrillon; a modern re-telling of Perrault’s popular fairy tale.
This piece caught me completely by surprise in the best way possible. There is very little dialogue; in fact, Cendrillon only says two words through the entire show. However, there are a lot of booming sound effects and purely acoustic musical pieces that are a mix of punchy pop and classical opera. All of these sounds create the perfect mood for the show. Read the rest of this entry »
Fringe for Free! Toronto Fringe ticket giveaways for shows playing on Sunday July 17th
By Sonia Borkar
Wow. We’re here already. The last contests post for the last day of the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival!
This is your last chance to win a pair of free tickets to a Fringe show.
You can enter to win a pair of tickets to one of 5 final show (or enter all 5, who knows, maybe you’ll win an entire day of free Fringing. The shows up for grabs for Sunday are:
Through the Tulips, To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 1pm show at the Factory Studio Theatre (Venue 13) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Through the Tulips contest” by 7pm on Saturday, July 16, 2011.
MonaRita, To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 1:45pm show at Bathurst Street Theatre (Venue 3) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “MonaRita contest” by 7pm on Saturday, July 16, 2011.
Bloom, To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 3:30pm show at Bathurst Street Theatre (Venue 3) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Bloom contest” by 7pm on Saturday, July 16, 2011.
Radioactive Drag Queens from the Year 3000, To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 5:15PM show at Factory Theatre Mainspace (Venue 12) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Radioactive Drag Queens contest” by 7pm on Saturday, July 16, 2011.
We Few They Many, To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 7pm show at Factory Theatre Mainspace (Venue 12) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “We Few They Many contest” by 7pm on Saturday, July 16, 2011.
See below for details on each show, how the contest works:
Read the rest of this entry »
The Sods (WSM Productions) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
By George Perry
I’m a big guy and not much scares me. I’ve walked through “bad” neighbourhoods in Detroit when that town was more dangerous than Baghdad. To be honest though, I was afraid to see The Sods before entering Theatre Passe Muraille Backstage.
death: THE MOVIE (Human Warnings) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
In death: THE MOVIE Greg Scala plays a film director intent on creating the most controversial movie ever made. The premise is this movie is: a man finds out he’s dying, he struggles with it, and then he dies. This is all explained in a very engaging opening monologue. The catch, we are told, is that the character will actually die. There will be no last minute medical miracle, no afterlife, no magical return from the grave, and that will be unlike any other movie in existence. Read the rest of this entry »
Fringe for Free! Toronto Fringe ticket giveaways for shows playing on Saturday July 16th
By Wayne Leung
This is it folks, the final weekend of 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival! If you you’ve procrastinated and haven’t been out to a show yet this is your last chance! And, what better way to see a show than for free? In today’s edition we’ll be giving away tickets to the Saturday, July 16 performances of five shows.
The shows are:
Go F#$% Yourself - To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 12:00pm show at Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (Venue 8 ) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Go F#$% Yourself contest” by 7pm on Friday, July 15, 2011.
Pat Burtscher’s Waffle House - To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 4:30pm show at The Solo Room (Venue 5) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Pat Burtscher’s Waffle House contest” by 7pm on Friday, July 15, 2011.
death: THE MOVIE - To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 5:15pm show at St. Vladimir’s Theatre (Venue 7) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “death: THE MOVIE contest” by 7pm on Friday, July 15, 2011.
Wishes Are Horses - To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 5:15pm show at the Theatre Passe Muraille (Venue 10) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Wishes are Horses contest” by 7pm on Friday, July 15, 2011.
Cellar Hotel - To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 11:00pm show at the Bathurst St. Theatre (Venue 3) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Cellar Hotel contest” by 7pm on Friday, July 15, 2011.
See below for details on each show, how the contest works:
Heart Strings: The Musical (MOLE productions) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
There is some very good singing in this play. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much more about it to enjoy.
I assume the performers have been trained and/or are experienced in singing. I can’t tell though, as the program has no information on them. Bewilderingly, it does list the playwright’s accomplishments as an automotive mechanic and devotes a whole page to summarizing the plot of the play itself.
Channel One (James & JF) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
James & JF are Emily James and Ishah Janssen-Faith, a self-described “comedy super duo” from Brooklyn, NY. Their training and credits seem impressive, and some of the audience seemed to enjoy them, so I guess I was missing something.
It’s not that I’m unfamiliar with clown or physical theatre. Perhaps it’s that I prefer my clowning on the darker side. The description of the show made it seem likely to appeal to my mordant taste: it’s the end of the world and James & JF are the last two women on earth, battling the prospect of imminent doom by entertaining themselves, and us, with a series of television programs they have devised. Read the rest of this entry »
Desperate Church Wives (Under the Blood Productions) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
By Keira Grant
Grandma Word (Diane L. Johnstone) greets you at the door with cookies and a dish of gossip. I am inclined to give any production that begins by feeding me cookies a warm reception (I really love cookies).
I have to confess though, one-handers have always been a tough sell for me. There are notable exceptions of course (d’bi.young’s Dora award winning performance comes to mind) but in general, I think holding an audience’s attention all by your lonesome for an hour is an ambitious undertaking.