The Royal Foundry melts down genre
Edmonton’s next big thing is getting a little tired of being pigeon-holed. If you want to call The Royal Foundry anything, call them a pop band – and if you’ve been paying attention to pop radio you’ll know it encompasses all genres of music: Rock, folk, punk, electronic dance, jazz, Latin, Caribbean, hip hop, classical, […]
FRINGE: Drag deity does deadly Devil
Mike Delamont: The Devil By Mike Delamont, Victoria, Venue 37 (La Cite Francophone) Veteran comic Mike Delamont has once again elevated stand-up comedy into a high art form at the Edmonton Fringe festival. In contrast to his other hit show, God is a Scottish Drag Queen (returning to Edmonton in October), this time he’s that […]
2 more UNEXPECTED Fringe hits
The Superhero Who Loved Me By Blarney Productions, Venue 28 (The Playhouse) “It all started with the invasion …” are the terse words that blast off Chris Craddock’s first new Fringe play in six years. As quick as a photon torpedo we are ensnared in this galactic tale. Observes Superhero Samantha (The Governess), matter of […]
3 Fringe plays on MODERN LIFE
Leash Your Potential By Ryan Gunther, Vancouver, Venue 10 (Acacia Hall) If you’ve ever worked in a heavily bureaucratized, stolidly corporate environment, you know exactly what Ryan Gunther is talking about in his new play Leash Your Potential. Through the vehicle of the “seminar” – a format as insipid as it is ISO-9000 compliant – […]
FRINGE: Dark office comedy in deep Kafka
The Receptionist By Desperate Theatre Productions, Venue 14 (Holy Trinity Anglican Church) Adam Bock’s The Receptionist may not seem like a comedy, but it is billed as such. If it is, it’s the blackest of black comedies. You can make up your own mind. Not that it begins as black – that comes later. The […]
FRINGE: Andrea House delivers the full Willie
Chasing Willie Nelson – A Tribute By Stardust Players, Venue 39 (CKUA building) The Stardust Players are a group of like-minded professional artists who, in recent years, have gathered together to create original works that play to their specific talents. Their latest is billed as a tribute to Willie Nelson. But it goes much farther […]
3 Fringe DRAMAS
Slack Tide By parts&labour with Blarney Productions, Edmonton, Venue 8 (Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre) This new work from young playwright Bevin Dooley pulls no punches in tackling weighty subjects. It’s set in Killer’s Cove, a local teenage hangout on the beach outside a small fishing village. The exact location isn’t named, but through clues […]
3 Fringe ZOMBIE MUSICALS
Evil Dead: The Musical By Straight Edge Theatre, Edmonton, Venue 36 (La Cite Francophone) You know fandom has gotten completely out of hand when the fan fiction is as good if not better than the original work it’s supposed to be inspired by. For those who don’t know, Evil Dead is a campy low-budget 1981 […]
REVIEW: Beck where it’s at in Edmonton
If you’re expecting the unexpected at a rock concert, is having it fulfilled still a special thing? What if the focus of your high un-expectations does something surprisingly normal – like rocking out four-on-the-floor with a great rock band for a rockin’ old school rock concert at the Jubilee Auditorium, for instance – and says […]
Dead Troll homecoming a Fringe triumph
Get Me the F*ck out of Edmonton, and other ramblings of a Fringe has-been By Wes Borg, Victoria, Venue 8 (Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre) Sure, Wes Borg did manage to get the f*ck out of Edmonton, but the most important thing right now is that he’s back in town with a new Fringe show […]
3 Fringe MUSICAL COMEDIES
Urinetown: The Musical By Grindstone Theatre, Venue 16 (Holy Trinity Anglican Church) Be careful not to laugh too hard at this musical that cheerfully subverts some of our most basic functions. It may lead you to a need to pee and, as the rather bizarre Urinetown: The Musical points out, that could lead to dire […]
3 ALCOHOLIC Fringe plays
Alcohol is a staple of the Fringe festival, whether it’s the on-stage subject matter, or the libations we enjoy before, after and – at some very civilized venues – during. At two of the three venues hosting the following triptych of shows you can enjoy a beverage while watching – which may sometimes feel a […]
