Results tagged “fringe2009”

After twelve days, this year's edition of the Fringe has drawn to a close. While most performers return to their day jobs or plan their next theatrical endeavour, seven lucky productions will be remounted as part of the "Best of the Fringe" series running at the Berkeley Street Theatre from July 15 to 25.

There are a lot of funny shows at the Fringe this year, but Morro and Jasp Do Puberty might just be the funniest. The two red-nosed clowns (whose shows are typically semi-educational and meant for young audiences) get bold and ballsy in this adults-only show that is basically all about menstruation. And it's popular. So popular, in fact, that even though its Fringe run is technically over, it won the coveted Patron's Pick spot at its venue (the Tarragon Extra Space) and will be doing an extra performance tonight at 6:45 p.m. (For a complete list of Patron's Pick shows, see here.)

Last night's performance of In a Magic Kingdom was, in a sense, an archetypal Fringe experience. Having just missed entry into the show we had been aiming for we simply decided to roll with the theatrical punches and see whatever was playing next. The audience was small in number (fourteen in all), but made up for in camaraderie. (Upon hearing the clatter of a dropping piece of gum a woman in the first row turned around to see what was up. The stovepipe hat–wearing clumsy culprit leaned across two rows of empty seats and promptly offered her a piece.) It is moments like this—an actor facing a nearly empty house, an audience relaxed enough to start chatting—which reveal both the frustrations and the charms that are found at the festival.

As we approached the Glen Morris Theatre for one of the early showings of BAGS: Obsessions of a Hoardaholic, an intense, sinewy man with earbuds jammed in his ears strode across our path, half singing, half screaming. Only when he bypassed the ticket lineup to enter the back door did we realize it was Lee Michael Buckman, actor and writer of the one-man show we were about to see. With energy like that we thought, "This has got to be good."

One of the best things about this year's Fringe is that it’s the first to be fully Twitter-enabled. Using the #FringeTO tag, anyone can easily get announcements from the official Fringe office (@Toronto_Fringe) as well as real-time reviews from audience members and press alike. What’s also super fun is peeking into the tweets of performers as they prepared for and live through Fringe week. They're tweeting about everything from pre-performance jitters to post-show euphoria. Here are a few of our favourites.

Candida is, without question, one of the hits at this year's Fringe. The show had picked up some buzz before it even opened, and the raves have been rolling in ever since. And, more or less, we agree.

It's official: Fringe has taken over the city. And while we aren't sure about numbers yet, attendance this year has seemed especially high. In past years, getting tickets during the opening weekend of the fest has been a cinch; this year, we noticed a ton of shows that were opening-night sellouts, and many have continued to pack houses, even in tough time slots such as weekday afternoons and Sunday nights. Once again, Drama Club forsakes its usual format to bring you a special Fringe edition to tell you what's been going on in the Fringe venues (and at the beer tent).

To paraphrase a legendarily misquoted Oscar speech, the Fringe likes T. Berto, they really like him. A Singularity of Being marks the second time the playwright has won the festival’s Best New Play award (the first was bestowed upon Bash in 2000). The play follows the life of a scientist with a passing resemblance to Stephen Hawking and his relations with others over the course of his degenerative disease. While the script ventures into discussions on how far one should quest for the secrets of the universe without arousing the wrath of a higher being, it is the human relationships that stand out. The all-too-mortal connections between the characters create an emotional richness that draws the audience into the action onstage, from the scientist’s small physical triumphs to his wife’s ultimate heartbreak.

Due to the climate-controlled museum that shares a wall with St. Vladimir's Theatre, the event space was as chilly as sea air or the review Bert and I received from Eye Weekly on Friday. This must account for the low attendance on Saturday night because the performance surely does not. John E. Nelles, accomplished performer and Hollywood drama coach to the stars (Sam Neill, William Hurt, Jude Law, etc.), can act circles around anyone at Fringe, and he poured his heart and soul into the script, which he adapted from 50s-era humouristic stories centred around the Maine lobster fishery.

Shadows in Bloom is one of the best, and certainly one of the bravest, shows you will have the chance to see at this year's Fringe. A woman alone on stage, in street clothes, without scenery or significant staging, with just a single prop—this is the kind of performance where there is literally no place to hide. Fortunately, Gemma Wilcox doesn't need it.

At the end of Tim Buck 2, the audience is invited to participate in a brief debate over a motion that asks for the right to suspend the civil rights of a few to protect the security of everyone else. The opening night crowd appeared nervous to take a direct part in the proceedings, as many Toronto Fringe audiences often are when given the opportunity, but their applause for those arguing the “no” side showed where its sympathies lay. Given the piece’s base focus on a rehearsal of a play in support of jailed 1930s Communists, it was doubtful there were going to be too many viewers on the right side of the political fence.

"Shaun would like you to sign the guest book, and please don't sit in the first two rows...especially if you're family," a sweet-faced young lady told us as we filed in for the Fringe debut of Baggage - A Non-Musical Romp Through One Catholic Gay Man’s Dating History (With Breasts for the Straight Men). This being Fringe, we thought the instruction meant there were projectiles involved, necessitating that everyone (family, in particular) take two giant steps back. The real reason turned out to be much more dear.

“Farce” is one of those love/hate words in the theatre. Done well, a farce can provide an evening of light-hearted entertainment and belly laughs, with the occasional touch of commentary on morality and human behaviour. Done poorly, the audience is subjected to tired jokes and situations that strain the limits of credulity. Because I Can falls in the middle, its energetic performances countered by a script that might have been stronger as a five-minute sketch than as an hour-long production.

Don't try to fool us, Canada Day! While this Hump-Day Holiday means a day off work for some, it means the exact opposite for tons of theatre folks, since it also happens to be the opening of the twentieth annual Toronto Fringe Festival. Gadzoooks! Drama Club is abandoning its usual format today to bring you a special Fringe edition, with all the hot tips and cool buzz we can muster. Check back during the festival for Torontoist's coverage of the festival, running until July 12, where our team will be bringing you fresh reviews daily.

Each week, Drama Club looks at Toronto's theatre scene and tells you which shows are worth checking out.