REVIEW: John Fogerty Rocks Edmonton – With His Kids
A packed lower bowl down at Turtle Island was transported through time and space to a psychedelic 1960’s influenced evening of peace and love in the presence of a surprisingly hard-rocking old man named John Fogerty. It’s hard to imagine the 77-year-old CCR founder rocking out harder than he did at Rogers Place on Wednesday […]
FRINGE 2019: Good at Cults an insane story with an Edmonton connection
Good at Cults Stage 27 (The Buckingham) This is about a different kind of history – how in our personal histories we can learn the wrong ways to relate to others, and how we can get ourselves into trouble later in life when we aren’t even aware of it. It also left a real head-scratcher […]
FRINGE 2019: Black Albertan ponders his past in worthy, yet flawed play
Balance Board Stage 13 (Old Strathcona Public Library) This local piece by Bashir Mohamed tells the story of an Alberta youth motivated to discover his identity as a black person after being embarrassed in class during a racially and culturally insensitive exchange with a teacher. He ends up tasking himself to discover what exactly it […]
FRINGE 2019: 3 HISTORICAL plays
THE WALK IN THE SNOW: The True Story Of Lise Meitner Stage 3 (Walterdale Theatre) Jem Rolls is a great storyteller – that’s the most obvious conclusion one can draw from his 2019 Fringe production. It might boggle the minds of some, given the relative inaccessibility of the subject matter – but Rolls can make […]
FRINGE 2019: Zack Adams turns pain to mirth in inspiring one-man show
Zack Adams: Love Songs For Future Girl Stage 10 – (Acacia Hall) The last entry in our foreign Fringer sweepstakes is Australian Zack Adams in his one man comedic musical escapade, Zack Adams: Love Songs For Future Girl. Spoiler alert: This is a 10-year-old piece that’s been brought back into the future, retooled a bit […]
FRINGE 2019: Surreal Japanese satire soars
Are You Lovin’ It? Stage 5 (King Edward Elementary School) The Fringe program stole a bit of reviewer’s thunder in their capsule synopsis of this piece by Theatre Group GUMBO of Osaka, Japan: “A surreal romp” – there is no better term. You could add “zany, wackadoodle, looney tunes” … whatever. This is really out […]
FRINGE FOREIGNERS in our MIDST: 3 Plays from Artists not from Around Here
Since Canada is all about embracing cultures, attitudes and perspectives different from our own, here are three plays from non-Canadian performers for your 2019 Fringe consideration! No, You Can’t Return Discount Shrimp Stage 9 (Telus Phone Museum) You can’t get much more foreign to a Canadian Fringe audience than in this play by American writer […]
FRINGE 2019, a RANT: Boomer monologue reveals entire obnoxious generation
Tomatoes Tried To Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life Stage 2 (Big Rock Backstage Theatre) Boomers unite – your 2019 fringe play is ready, not just for your viewing enjoyment, but to reinforce everything you’ve been told about the world! Clearly enough of them saw this one coming a mile away as they nearly […]
FRINGE 2019: Marcus Ryan takes us on a Catholic Pilgrimage in engaging play
Marcus Ryan – Walk This Que Stage 13 (Old Strathcona Public Library) Any non-Catholics out there interested in doing the 800 Km Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Northern Spain in nearly 40-degree heat over the span of around 30 days? Thought not. There was an Australian kid named Marcus Ryan who did, for no earnest […]
FRINGE 2019: 3 plays chosen by the RANDOMIZER!
Let’s call these the random reviews – three plays brought to you by the 2019 Fringe website randomizer! So much entertainment choice. So little time. Fringe have given adventuresome (or indecisive, or lazy) theatergoers a way to simplify the selection process – requiring us only to forgive them for offering no refunds if the chosen […]
Grindstone on the nose! Comedy fest an off-Whyte hit
The Grindstone Comedy Theatre & Bistro is a lively little off-Whyte oasis in the otherwise boring squalor of the 81st Avenue area east of 102 Street – in the fringe of the Ritchie neighbourhood that wouldn’t be out of place in Stettler. But with this weekend’s inaugural Grindstone Comedy Festival, it’s clear this club is […]
Jim Gaffigan takes whitebread comedy to new heights at Rogers Place
Thousands of well-dressed suburban upper-middle class white couples in Edmonton decided to venture out in the cold for evening date Friday night in the company of fellow thoroughly white American comedian Jim Gaffigan – smack in the middle of his “Quality Time” Tour. They made a wise choice. Gaffigan reasserted his A-list status at Rogers […]
