A collection of everything to do with the Toronto Fringe Festival, including reviews, features, press releases etc.
Blue Moon Girls is a gem. The cast (Jessica Lea Fleming, Justine D. Moritz, and Christian Smith) is talented and works well together, The play – by Jessica Lea Fleming – is well written and has my requisites, plot and character development. Continue reading Blue Moon Girls (Fruitful Productions) Toronto Fringe Review 2013
Hailing from the western reaches of Vancouver, Hip.Bang! Improv is comprised of Devin Mackenzie and Tom Hill, two guys who definitely get along enough to create some truly precious comedy. And aren’t we lucky to be able to catch them in town at the Toronto Fringe Fest.
I’m always torn when reviewing improv shows, mostly because I know that the show I saw will never again be seen by anyone else and that every night will be a completely different experience. So let me instead elaborate on the dynamic of this tall, lanky duo. (Seriously, why is every Canadian indie comic a bean pole person?)
Continue reading Hip.Bang! Improv (Hip.Bang! Improv) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review
In Jesus Freaks, the crisis in the Vatican finally reaches boiling point. The church is facing financial disaster, with less than a year before it goes completely bankrupt. What can be done to save it?
The answer: stage a Second Coming. Not the Second Coming, but a Second Coming. Get some theatre-school dropout to dress up as Jesus, wave his hands around and bless some stuff; you know, reinvigorate the faithful, do a few magic tricks, smile for the cameras. That’ll fix things, right?
Right?
Offensive to Some by Tickahdeeboo Productions is the one-woman show gracing the Annex Theatre for Toronto’s Fringe Festival. The seats were packed and the the crowd was pumped for the star Suzanne Roberts Smith to hold our attention. It’s a difficult task, commanding the attention of an audience for an hour, but Smith made it look like a piece of cake.
The play was written by Newfoundland and Labrador playwright Berni Stapleton. Stapleton was inspired by Catherine Mandeville Snow who was the final woman in Newfoundland to be hung for killing her spouse. Stapleton created a modern version of Snow. Smith plays the contemporary representation of a woman driven to murder her husband, along with a Newfie accent.
Continue reading Offensive to Some (Tickahdeeboo Productions) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review
Emily, played by Jacqueline Byers, sits in front of the projection screen watching dancers stretch, jump and turn. The dance sequence on the screen grabs all her attention. Nothing else seems to matter. As an audience member walking into the Randolph Theatre, this image of Emily in the front of the screen is the first thing I see. Intrigued by what will happen next, I sit down comfortably to watch Here presented by Fulcrum Theatre as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival.
Video on a projection screen, some good lyrical dancing and a little suspense is a great way to start a show and get the audience’s attention right away. The story is centered on the character of Emily (who incidentally really resembles the actress, Keira Knightley). Emily is a small town Sudbury girl who dreams of being a dancer when suddenly an accident changes her fate forever. When she finds out she can’t dance, Emily is forced to face reality and start again.
Continue reading Here (Fulcrum Theatre) 2013 Toronto Fringe Festival