Space is really freakin’ big, and the space pirate Vega pretty much rules it all. But when a secret message draws her back to a ship from her past, she’ll have to arm herself with enough finger-lasers to confront more than one shadow of her past. The Pirate Queen of the Stars (megnpetemakecoolstuff) is a rollicking space adventure that’s currently playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Continue reading The Pirate Queen of the Stars (megnpetemakecoolstuff) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review
A giant white sheet stretches from one end of the Factory Mainspace to the other. Two overhead projectors sit in front of it. When the lights go down and the title card for Curious Contagious flits across the sheet and a city stretches out in cut-out shadows, it’s evident that something special has come to the Toronto Fringe Festival.
More accurately, something special has come back. Continue reading Curious Contagious (Mind of a Snail Puppet Co.) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review
This afternoon, amidst a roaring thunderstorm, #MannequinGirl: The Musical (Ready Set Go Productions) opened to an enthusiastic audience and a semi-standing ovation at the Toronto Fringe Festival.
The premise is really funny: Kelsie, your average adorable type millennial, achieves internet fame overnight when a video of a mannequin falling on her goes viral. Seizing on her newfound unearned fame, she attempts to expand her fifteen minutes in the spotlight into an internet empire. Continue reading #MannequinGirl: The Musical (Ready Set Go Productions) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review
What if Lena Dunham had written Little Woman? That’s the basic premise of Martha Rose Productions Inc.’s Women, playing at the Annex throughout the Toronto Fringe Festival. It’s an adaptation, but not a traditional one: the March sisters are all modern girls trapped in the bodies of their 1860s counterparts, and therein lies the gag.
It’s the kind of thing that could go wrong and get irritating so easily. Thankfully, Women is a total blast, mostly due to a clever core script and strong comedic performances across the board.
Continue reading Women (Martha Rose Productions Inc.) 2016 Toronto Fringe Review
From press release:
The Gods of Ancient Greece didn’t just fade away – they relocated! The Olympians have been hanging out in the New World after emigrating in hopes of staging a glorious comeback. But the bizarre circus that is the 2016 Presidential Election is causing no small amount of alarm. They convene for a “Special Emergency Meeting Of The Gods,” charged to impose a divine decision on the American mortals. Will they be able to reach a decision without unleashing an apocalypse?
A sharp and topical political comedy, IN GODS WE TRUST stars nine real-life lawyers, doing what they do best — playing God(s)! IN GODS WE TRUST runs July 1-9 at the Al Green Theatre as part of the 2016 Toronto Fringe Festival. Tickets are available beginning June 9 via www.fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062 ext. 1, or at the door.
The Premise: The Gods of Ancient Olympus moved to the New World at the birth of the United States, lured by the prospect of a bountiful source of worship, offerings, and glory. Instead, they’ve spent the past two hundred years hanging out on “New Olympus” (aka Mount Rushmore) as the US both evolves, revolves, and revolts — while they themselves quarrel, squabble, and occasionally interfere. Now, as the 2016 Presidential Election unfolds below, Zeus commands they intervene to bring this earthly political chaos to an end. Who will the Gods declare to be the next American president, and why? And – Gods help us! – what will happen once they do?
The creation of IN GODS WE TRUST has been an example of lawyerly and writerly cooperation. The original treatment for the play was written by practising lawyers Satinder Besrai and Kerri Salata, with further material written by Gavin Magrath and Diane Baker Mason, with much creative and writing input from all the Company. Based on an idea by Chris Leafloor. Directed by E. Llana Nakonechny. All of the performers are veterans of Nightwood’s Lawyer Show productions, as well as the 2014 Fringe hit, Watching Seana McKenna Watch Paint Dry.
Showtimes:
Venue: Al Green Theatre (750 Spadina Ave)
Details:
Photo: Peter Hamiwka as Bacchus, Brent Vickar as Zeus, Diane Baker Mason as Hera, Melanie Herbin as Eris, Ajay Krishnan as Apollo, Kerri Salata as Aphrodite, Gavin Magrath as Poseidon.
Photo by Jason Crowtz.