I just got back from the show Little Pricks by RUBE CO. at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse for the 2016 Toronto Fringe Festival. Little Pricks, directed by Rosanna Saracino and written/performed by Denise Norman, is about Norman’s experience with the chronic condition MS (Multiple Sclerosis). The show, dubbed an absurdist reality, was an emotional hit. I left the theatre in tears, and I know I was not the only one.

Continue reading Little Pricks (RUBE. CO) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review →

In Ring A Ding Dong Dandy, Ryan Beil and Graham Clark narrate an hour-long curated collection of classic wrestling clips, combining encyclopedic knowledge of the sport with Mystery Science Theatre 3000-style riffing. Its been wowing audiences in Vancouver, and now you can see it at the Toronto Fringe Festival. (And you should!)

Continue reading Ring A Ding Dong Dandy (Sexy Boy) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review →

Tarot Live! is not a play. It’s a one-man show but it’s not about his story. It’s about your story. Jesse Stong is here at this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival to give you further insight and clarity into your life through the wisdom of numerology and the tarot.

In case you couldn’t tell, this show requires audience participation.
Continue reading Tarot Live! (AAAtarot) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review →

Right off the bat, Goodbye To All That  (playing in the Passe Muraille Mainspace at the Toronto Fringe Festival) has a great name going for it. It also sports some great dialogue and fantastic acting.

The show tells the story of a wayward man who falls in with a ragtag group at the Cabaret Voltaire in the midst of WWI. Through them, he learns of Dadaism as a form of expression. The show’s timeline is non-linear, but the plot is still concise and easy to follow. This play is a perfect example of dramedy, with an even balance of both the comedic and dramatic in it.

Continue reading Goodbye To All That (Mirabilis) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review →

In Coyote Collective’s Like A Generation, a Friendly Giant-ish children’s TV host learns that his show will be coming to an end. Assisted by his two biggest fans, he uses his final episode to prove that he still matters: that his legacy is worth upholding; that his gentle, nurturing approach still has value; and that he’s ultimately been a force for good in the world.

But those adult fans are no longer the impressionable children they once were, and when they start talking back to Mr. Flowers — bromides about sharing and working hard don’t always cut it in the real world —  Generation transforms itself into the darkest and most challenging thing I’ve seen on a Fringe stage this season.

Continue reading Like A Generation (Coyote Collective) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review →