Follow Your Fear, playing at Tarragon’s Solo Room as part of this year’s Fringe Festival, is an endearing piece. The title is very apt. Follow Your Fear is Todd Charron following his fear of performing a one-man unscripted show.

This means that every performance he will stand up alone in front of the audience with nothing prepared, other than (it seems) a roster of sound effects that tech might work into his piece. And he will stay there for 45 minutes to an hour. Continue reading Follow Your Fear (Follow Your Fear) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review →

The lights dim and the door through which the audience entered slams OPEN. A grubby young man (Allan Turner) barks at the attendant outside. He’s followed by a clown-faced sidekick (Chloe Payne), whose responses are limited to squeaks and gestures. The odd couple bounce around, play tricks, engaging all sorts of shenanigans. They break more than just the fourth wall, if there are any after the fourth. And then some.

This is Sour Grapes, put on by The Aft End. It’s the beginning of the play. No, the middle of the play. No, no, the beginning of some people playing. No, no, no, characters beginning to play.

Right, characters fooling around in association with the Toronto Fringe Festival.

Continue reading Sour Grapes (The Aft End) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review →

Peter n’ Chris are Chris Wilson and Peter Carlone, a sketch comedy duo from Vancouver and Peter n’ Chris Explore Their Bodies is their latest show. I saw them last year at the Toronto Fringe Festival and was so excited to see them again this year. If you haven’t ever seen them you owe it to yourself to go to their show. Continue reading Peter n’ Chris Explore Their Bodies (Peter n’ Chris) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review →

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis HAS left the building. Sure, he’s not on your playlist on your phone, but The King is in your armrest. Elvis is Water examines the early days of Elvis, when he was just getting started at Sun Studios in Memphis.

Those were incredible times. White people were starting to figure out that black people are cool, and music was unbelievably cool for a decade or fifteen years.

Continue reading Elvis Is Water (Scotty’s Boys Productions) 2013 Toronto Fringe Review →

The title of this production was the first thing that made me want to see this show. It piqued my curiosity, stimulated my senses and to be honest, made me want to eat a little hot wasabi. With some sushi ofcourse.  Kent Lam’s Fringe show, Drowning in Wasabi, had me smiling throughout. The show was a collection of creative monologues delivered by talented actors who really embodied their characters.

There is nothing that makes me happier than watching a show that has a well-written script and actors with great comedic timing. With all the rain pouring down today putting a damper on people’s spirits, the cast of Drowning in Wasabi sure knew how to lighten up the mood and provide us some great entertainment!

Continue reading Drowning in Wasabi (actwright theatre) 2013 Toronto Fringe Festival →