FRINGE: 2 SCARY horror shows
Meet Daniel, a typical working man exhausted after a hard day at the office. Alone and sad, he tromps into his ratty apartment and slumps into his cheap armchair. He is lonely, restless, with only his memories to keep him company. So he has a cocktail, or two, as he does every night. He drinks […]
FRINGE: 4 plays for short attenti …
In the mood for a quickie? Not that kind of one, mind you, but Dentures (Stage 28) is a 32-minute square-on-the-nose production works well for those short in attention spans. This production is a comic farce of a tale of what happens when two homeless bros in their 20s move into an old folk’s home […]
FRINGE: 2 marvelous MUSICALS
Last year, a 100-year-old songstress was the best-selling recording artist of the year in Britain – beating Adele, among others. With her clear pop soprano voice, Dame Vera Lynn became inextricably woven into the matrix of defiance that sustained Britain in the gloomiest days of World War 2 – as the beleaguered country stood (mostly […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Blues, brothers and sisters!
Will it be possible to eat a green onion cake at the Edmonton Blues Festival while simultaneously listening to Green Onions performed by Booker T himself? Might we offer the visiting organsmith a sample of Edmonton’s favourite festival food? The answer is, sadly, no: No one’s selling green onion cakes down in Hawrelak Park this […]
FRINGE: 2 SPOOKY TEEN plays
These kids today – with their “fire” and their “wheel.” There’s going to be trouble, mark my words. Mark them, I say! Many uniformed opinions have been offered about modern teenagers, but few people (some parents included) have taken the time and effort to truly understand what it means to be a kid today. Some […]
FRINGE: 3 IMPROV! plays
Everybody’s favourite game show has returned! Edmonton’s renowned Rapid Fire Theatre presents another year of The Big Stupid Improv Show (Stage 17). The ever-changing cast of the Fringe’s most talented improv artists are Edmonton’s hidden gems of underground comedic culture. Among the cast is the frequent Fringer Mark Meer of Gordon’s Big Bald Head and […]
FRINGE MASTERS (Part 3): Bravo Brio! T.J. Dawe!
Stewart Lemoine’s main offering this year is unlike anything he has ever written before. He calls it A Lesson in Brio (Stage 12). It’s not really a lesson. It’s not a play. Or a musical. At times, it’s quite funny – but it’s not a comedy. The playwright gives a few clues as to what […]
FRINGE: 4 plays about SEX
It used to be that a guy could grab a brewski and check out some gratuitous female nudity at the Fringe festival – and not have to think about what it meant. Not so much anymore. Times have changed. For the better! From harbouring “shameful” secrets, we are in a modern age of lively and […]
FRINGE: 3 hilarious COMEDIES
The program notes for Blarney Productions’ Tragedy: A Tragedy (Stage 3) suggest a take on how a modern TV news organizations might report on the end of the world. It quickly becomes apparent that it’s not really the end of the world at all – just the usual coming of night. As a reporter observes, […]
FRINGE: 2 plays from UNEXPECTED artists
Walk (Stage 17) is unexpected because it is a new method of expression from one of Edmonton’s best writers – the Edmonton Journal’s Liane Faulder, and this is her stage version of a true story. The results demonstrate that she is a promising playwright. About 10 years ago the columnist wrote a book, The Long […]
FRINGE: 2 great STORYTELLING shows
AWKWARD HUG (Stage 11) is the perfect show to see if your family was a little weird, and you always felt a little out of place. Actor and playwright Cory Thibert takes you back in time to 2009 when he was just 19 years old. His story recounts his family’s move from their old house […]
FRINGE 5 out of 5: Xanadu a spirited send-up on wheels!
Xanadu: The Musical – at the Edmonton Fringe on Stage 25 (Strathcona High School) – was a daring Broadway experiment. The original reference is to a favourite Victorian poem. The verse inspired a 1947 Rita Hayworth movie, Down To Earth. The story is about a gorgeous Greek Muse who descended from Mount Olympus to thwart […]
