By Sam Mooney

I went to see Leacock Live! because it’s presented by Act 2 Studio for Seniors – a program at Ryerson. It’s good to see older actors on the stage, I think we need to see more. And in a wide variety of roles, This isn’t just because I’m ‘older’. Older people bring a depth of life experience to the stage that young actors can only achieve by living for a long time.

The audience at today’s performance was older than the usual fringe audience and – judging by the applause – they loved the show.

Continue reading Leacock Live! (Act II Studio from Toronto) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →

By Amber Landgraff

When I saw that Die Roten Punkte were going to be in this year’s Fringe with Die Roten Punkte – KUNST ROCK (ART ROCK) I was so excited. I saw them perform during their Super Musikant Tour in 2008 and instantly became a fan. KUNST ROCK may be more arty than Super Musikant but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t just as much fun.

The show involves a rollicking performance by brother and sister duo Otto and Astrid Rot. Orphaned at a young age when their parents were killed by a train on the way to the zoo, they only have each other and their music.
Continue reading Die Roten Punkte – KUNST ROCK (ART ROCK) (Die Roten Punkte) – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →

By George Perry

Does this train go to Afghanistan and Bathurst?

Wet, playing at Theatre Passe Muraille is a nasty play. It is also a brilliant play.

It’s not easy to watch our good people go away to weird countries. It is even harder to watch them come back home more screwed up than Charles Manson.

Continue reading Wet: (WORKhouse) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →

By Sam Mooney

Prepare to laugh. A lot. Nose snorting, thigh slapping, stomach hurting, pee your pants laughing. What is The Carnegie Hall Show!? Very funny improv comedy. And improv piano.

Matt Baram, Naomi Snieckus, Ron Pederson, Chris Gibbs and pianist Jeff Raimondo present an hour of amazing improv. Starting with a suggestion from the audience they present a history of the greatest improvised scenes of that event or item. Of course there is no history. They just make it up. They’re very fast, sometimes so fast that they surprise each other – and make each other laugh. Or try to.

Continue reading The Carnegie Hall Show! (The National Theatre of the World) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →

By Amber Landgraff

The thing about performing comedy is that audience response is a big part of the overall experience of a show. I am assuming this is as true for the performer as it is for an audience member. Tonight I went to see Wisdom: Part One, presented by Jimmy Hogg, and I found myself spending a lot of the performance marvelling at my fellow audience.

The 60-minute show features the comedy stylings of Jimmy Hogg. Hogg is best when he is being self-aware of his performance. He begins the show with a dialogue about the pitfalls of presenting comedy at the Fringe, making jokes about the possibility for small or inattentive audiences. He also describes the very real problem of telling a joke that falls flat, and then trying too hard on the next joke in order to make up for it, only to succeed in making that joke fall flat as well.
Continue reading Wisdom: Part One (Jimmy Hogg) – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →

By Amber Landgraff

The thing about Fringe shows is that often you find yourself picking shows to see based on short descriptions. These descriptions of course can never do justice to the intricacies and layers that are possible in a show. I have to admit that the description of Raven for a Lark, presented by quoi quoi quoi, had me picturing a very different play than the one that I experienced this afternoon.

The description of the play stated two actors are sucked into the twisted world of Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy. I have to admit I was imagining a play where two actors were physically sucked into the world of the play. Perhaps it was the use of the words darkly funny that had me picturing such a wacky scenario.

Continue reading Raven For a Lark (quoi quoi quoi) – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →

by Michelle Barker

Reaching a higher state of mind in Rochdale circa 1969

The plot of Rochdale: Livin’ the Dream at Tarragon is established pretty quickly when you walk into the Main Space; the set is made up of a radio station in one corner, some egg crates, and a graffiti wall featuring pictures of all things psychedelic: flowers, poetry, and lots of drugs. Continue reading Rochdale: Livin’ the Dream (Hey, How Ya Been?) – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →

by George Perry

Improv is alive and well at Toronto Fringe

The Making Of is a fantastic play being staged at Theatre Passe Murail. It’s part of Fringe Toronto, and it hijacks the word “synergy”. It brings the word back from a garbage truck travelling west on the 401, dumping it at Queen and Bathurst. In other words, there’s a new comedy troupe in Toronto, and this is it.

This is what Saturday Night Live should be. This is what SCTV was in its prime. Seeing these six people on stage together is like licking a cool ice cream cone on a 35 degree day. All of the people onstage are caricatures of people we all know, people we all love to hate, or love to love.

Continue reading The Making Of (by The Ensemble ) 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →

By Crystal Wood

If Mooney on Theatre had our own Pick of the Fringe system in place, I think I would nominate The Naked Ballerina for it.

Continue reading The Naked Ballerina (Sarah Murphy-Dyson) – 2010 Toronto Fringe Review →