Erotic Tales from the Old Testament from Inque & Quille Productions begins with a very sexy man and a very sexy woman dancing an intense seduction/repulsion scene. At that point I didn’t know who in the Old Testament these characters were supposed to be but the sexiness compelled me to watch, transfixed, and to hoot and holler as the clothes came off.
Unfortunately, not many other people were doing that along with me. Perhaps many of them were Fringers who were unaccustomed to burlesque. Perhaps the lack of a bar played a part, as alcohol tends to aid in hooting and hollering. And I know from personal experience that the more raucous the crowd, the more empowered a burlesque dancer is to strut their stuff.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream…A Puppet Epic! Put on by Shakey-Shake and Friends at The Palmerston Library Theatre as part of FringeKids, combined my love of both Shakespeare and puppets. I have been working with puppets for the past year and have fallen in love with these furry and odd creatures. To see new ones of different shapes, sizes and colours, created by Tom McGee, was like meeting new friends. Walking into the theatre I was surrounded by very young children and their parents. I sat beside a wonderful little girl wearing pink hippo rain boots, quite darling.
Fracture opened at the Randolph Theatre to a small audience. Granted it was three in the afternoon on a Friday, so this did not leave a bad impression. Though it was a sparse crowd, the Women’s Dance Collective commanded attention for their first performance at Toronto Fringe 2013.
Fracture is a combination of two contemporary dance performances laden with different emotional meanings. The first act “Pod” is choreographed by Alida Nyquist- Schultz, who is also one of the two performers, along with Ainsley Hillyard. The second act is “Shatterstate,” where Ainsley Hillyard returns with Kate Stashko and Alison Kause, the choreographer.
There is nothing I don’t like in the brief synopsis of Adventure!, produced by Your Good Friends, that’s posted on the Toronto Fringe website, but I have to say I was not expecting what I ended up seeing at the Factory Theatre Thursday night. What I saw, was better.
Tired and weary of domestic bliss, Sir Godfrey departs from his castle in search of excitement and knightly endeavours. With his trusty squire Osric, his journey brings him face to face with a slew of interesting characters, somewhat worthy foes and a monster that’s more than meets the eye.
