Remembering the Farewells, part of this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival, takes the audience on a journey through the past. But hold on to your hats, because nothing is merely what it appears to be at first glance.

Olga Barrios reconstructs her past through a series of dances. A simple object, a dress, a sound, or even the tiniest movement can send her sailing through time, reliving the intensity of each moment. Continue reading Remembering the Farewells (Olga Barrios Contemporary Dance) 2012 Toronto Fringe Review →

Do not let this title fool you! If you initially have the image of snug bugs hiding in rugs dancing in your head, wipe it out of your mind! Snug Harbor is the story of a harsh reality that sends many to an eternal slumber long before their time.

Tracy Erin Smith (of Burning Bush Productions) has come to the Toronto Fringe Festival to share her personal story, and help audiences become aware of the signs of suicide. In a theatrical public speaking manner, Tracy recounts the events that led to her father’s suicide, and the details that surrounded it. Continue reading Snug Harbor (Burning Bush Productions) 2012 Toronto Fringe Review →

There’s no sure-fire formula for success at Fringe, but the festival’s best plays have at least two things in common: they prize character over plot, and they deliver on whatever promises they’ve made the audience.

Bear Production’s Speare at the Factory Theatre Mainspace is an intelligent, ambitious idea – an interesting thought experiment given life by a talented cast. But it fails on both these counts.  Continue reading Speare – Part II (Bear Productions) 2012 Toronto Fringe Review →

Me and Snow White raises some serious expectations, calling their Toronto Fringe show The Princess of Porn: The Musical. And it’s nice to see that they can deliver on those, too, against the backdrop of the glorious space that is the Randolph Theatre.

The princesses of Disney legend have been snubbed by their Fairy Godmother. A sassy Scottish lass, with the voice of an angel, she’s offered these fine ladies their dreams in exchange for perverting and giving away their stories. Well, they’ve had enough. They want revenge, or recompense, or something… And they’re going to get it by stealing the very last story Fairy Godmother has, the very one she’s never told a living soul. Until now…

Continue reading The Princess of Porn: The Musical (Me and Snow White) 2012 Toronto Fringe Review →

In the back corner of the Fringe Club lies an enchanted crackhouse. Hand the creative reins of Fred Penner’s Place over to Seth Macfarlane, and you’ll get a rough approximation of the Enchanted Collective’s inventive, sometimes cringe-worthy work of genius.

The play stars Virginia (Kristin Mueller-Heaslip), a virtuous young woman with the innocence and vocal chords of a seasoned soprano, on a quest to rescue her sister – “Well, she’s my twin sister, only she’s a prostitute addicted to crack” – from the clutches of the Kralk (Daniel Krolik), a greaseball human-rodent hybrid. Continue reading The Enchanted Crackhouse (the Enchanted Collective) 2012 Toronto Fringe Review →