How do you find the best shows at the Vancouver Fringe Festival? Start by reading these reviews. They'll give you an idea about 16 of the 19 acts that are travelling from the Victoria Fringe to Vancouver this week. Consider both Colossus and Legoland highly recommended. Tippi Seagram's Happy Hour and The Chinese Clown Cabaret are also definitely worth catching.

Edmonton's Fringe overlapped with Victoria's this year, which prevented us from seeing JEM ROLLS off the tongue and Drama Queen—both of which did well at the big Alberta festival—and dancer Jolene Bailie's SWITCHBACK, which, based on our past experience of Bailie's work, is pretty much guaranteed to be a sensual, sophisticated treat.

COLOSSUS
There's not a single predictable moment in this 90-minute program of some of the most original, inventive, and virtuosic sketch comedy I've ever seen. The Cody Rivers Show's Mike Mathieu and Andrew Connor display wicked imaginations, superlative timing, and breathtaking physical skill in these supremely weird sketches. Each is a world unto itself, touching on everything from cloned superheroes to difficult people. They dance, recite poetry, play percussion, speak French, and constantly exploit the tension between stillness and frenzy so that we never know what's going to happen next—but when it does, it's always funny. Nothing short of genius. At Stage 4, Waterfront Theatre, on September 9 (3:15 p.m.), 10 (5 and 11:15 p.m.), 14 (8:15 p.m.), 15 (11 p.m.), and 16 (9 p.m.) > Kathleen Oliver

LEGOLAND
In this hilariously dark take on adolescence and pop culture, Penny Lamb (16) and brother Ezra (12) recount the tale of their difficult adjustment to Legoland, the world outside the hippie commune where they were raised. When their pot-growing parents are imprisoned, the young Lambs subsidize a trip across the U.S.—to meet Penny's boy-band idol—by selling the Paxil and Ritalin they've been prescribed. Jacob Richmond's wildly original script features a Jeffrey Dahmer puppet show and a description of sex as “the Devil's Pilates”. Amitai Marmorstein adopts a wonderful deadpan as Ezra; nerdy and nihilistic, he looks like Woody Allen's abandoned love child. Celine Stubel's Penny is so charismatically complex—such a vixen yet so innocent—that you can't take your eyes off her. Best line: “Wrestling is real. It's the world that's set up.” At Stage 3, Arts Club Granville Island Stage, on September 9 (7:15 p.m.), 11 (5:15 p.m.), 14 (5:15 p.m.), 16 (2 p.m.), and 17 (7:45 p.m.) > Colin Thomas

TIPPI SEAGRAM'S HAPPY HOUR
Welcome to Utippia. Colette Kendall is a fearless performer who's found a perfect alter ego in this outrageously irreverent aging starlet. Tippi deigns to let us bask in her martini-swilling company while she flirts with audience members and muses on topics like husband-hunting, menopause, and foster children. Her candour is often shocking, but it's also hilarious: she believes that God intended for us to wear fur, otherwise “He wouldn't have made such easily clubbable animals”, and she calls her aging mother daily because “nothing lowers the value of property like a dead body.” Our glamour vacuum has been filled. At Stage 1, Pacific Theatre, on September 8 (6 p.m.), 9 (2 p.m.), 10 (10:15 p.m.), 11 (8 p.m.), 14 (5:45 p.m.), and 16 (9 p.m.) > Kathleen Oliver

THE CHINESE CLOWN CABARET
Mother-daughter team Tair and Jane Chen offers an act that's rife with silliness: ukulele songs, 2-D puppets, and stories of smelly sheep. But there are lots of surprises, like Mom's touching story of a childhood singing competition in Taiwan, and Jane's astonishing skill with an aria. Best of all is the interplay between them: Tair's naturalness is a lovely complement to the frenzy of Jane's hyperkinetic, childlike clown. They drive each other crazy as only a parent and child can. (When Jane pleads with her mother to let her do what the popular kids are doing, Mom says, “I don't believe in popularity” and Jane retorts, “But it exists!”) Yet they also share an unbreakable bond, and some of the show's most magical and moving moments come when their voices join in harmony. At Stage 1, Pacific Theatre, on September 8 (7:45 p.m.), 10 (8:30 p.m.), 11 (5:30 p.m.), 14 (10 p.m.), 16 (10:45 p.m.), and 17 (9 p.m.) > Kathleen Oliver

THIS MAY FEEL A LITTLE FUNNY
Raconteur Randy Rutherford's tale of his sexual reawakening within California's ongoing hippie scene begins and ends well, mostly because Rutherford is a sweet singer and he's appealingly vulnerable. The section in which he recounts being accepted by a group of contact improvisers is a lovely evocation of community. The central sexual story is ill-defined, though; we don't know enough about why he's cautious at first, and the portrait of his lady love is never more than a sketch of a flake. Rutherford also spends far too long telling us about his colon cleanse. He seems to think this bit's supposed outrageousness makes it entertaining, but it doesn't. At Stage 6, Playwrights Theatre Centre, on September 7 (9 p.m.), 9 (1:15 p.m.), 11 (7:45 p.m.), 14 (5:30 p.m.), 16 (7 p.m.), and 17 (5:15 p.m.) > Colin Thomas

BOLLOXED
Playwright Darren Barefoot doesn't do anything fancy in terms of form, but his script contains ingredients that too many of this year's Victoria Fringe shows lack: an original story and charming characters evoked through quirky details. Barefoot tells the tale of Jack, a Canadian computer programmer living in Dublin who falls in love with Aoife at almost exactly the same time that he develops worrying pain in his testicles. Some of the humour—including the chats his balls have with one another—is too obvious to be funny. It's sweet watching Jack and Aoife explore each other as they explore their cultures, though. There's humble intimacy in the moment when Aoife recites the tube stops of the city she loves, for instance. The heart, like the testicle, is such a tender organ. At Stage 6, Playwrights Theatre Centre, on September 7 (5:30 p.m.), 9 (9 p.m.), 10 (1:30 p.m.), 12 (5:30 p.m.), 16 (11 p.m.), and 17 (7:30 p.m.) > Colin Thomas

AUDIBLE
At times it seems more like a vehicle for information about deafness—and indie music—than a play, but Audible, in which a hip young couple grapples with the wife's sudden hearing loss, still moved me. Writer Cayman Duncan plays a lot with style and form, and although there's technical skill in these scenes, they sometimes feel gimmicky rather than essential to the story. Terri Runnalls's grounded performance nicely counterpoints Duncan's fidgety self-consciousness, though, and the ample wit and terrific soundtrack mean the show is never boring. It also packs a sneaky emotional punch. At Stage 3, Arts Club Granville Island Stage, on September 8 (9 p.m.), 9 (3:45 p.m.), 14 (7:30 p.m.), 16 (12:15 p.m.), and 17 (9:30 p.m.) > Kathleen Oliver

JOE: THE PERFECT MAN
This show has the madcap energy of really imaginative kids playing in someone's basement. Rachelle Elie plays Joe, an unemployed teacher who's decided to audition for a role in Macbeth. Clad in mismatched plaids and armed with a suitcase full of props, including Silly String, Q-tips, and a toy xylophone, Joe takes enormous liberties with both the audition format and William Shakespeare's text, insisting that all the tragedy needs is more love to make the ending happy. It's incredibly goofy, but as a performer, Elie is always fully in the moment, and her exuberance is infectious. At Stage 7, Performance Works, on September 8 (5:45 p.m.), 10 (5:45 p.m.), 11 (7:15 p.m.), 13 (5:30 p.m.), 16 (7:15 p.m.), and 17 (3:45 p.m.) > Kathleen Oliver

CASSANDRA
In this self-penned solo show, Briana Brown plays a soon-to-be-10-year-old girl who's trying to come up with self-help strategies for succeeding in life. Cassandra could be believe-in-your-dreams coy but is saved by a charismatic performance and some great lines, including: “I guess life is kind of like home schooling, but without the shame.” At Stage 1, Pacific Theatre, on September 7 (9 p.m.), 9 (3:45 p.m.), 11 (9:45 p.m.), 15 (9:30 p.m.), 16 (5:45 p.m.), and 17 (10:45 p.m.) > Colin Thomas

THE BIG KISS OFF
In Angus Kohm's stylish script, a throaty lounge singer who's been to the dark side and back tells us her story as she performs her last gig; her song-studded tale features heartbreak and plenty of intrigue. Stefanie Wiens tidily captures the nameless heroine's ennui, tossing out hard-boiled lines like “I would've passed out standing here if the applause wasn't so sporadic,” and her smoky voice wraps nicely around Kohm's often-witty lyrics and pleasant melodies. Visually, it's a little static, because Wiens never leaves her spot at the mike, but Kohm paints some nice noir images with his words. At Stage 7, Performance Works, on September 7 (7:30 p.m.), 9 (7:30 p.m.), 11 (5:30 p.m.), 15 (10:45 p.m.), 16 (3:45 p.m.), and 17 (7:15 p.m.) > Kathleen Oliver

DRUMHELLER
This is supposed to be a creepy comedy about mysterious disappearances in Alberta, but it's just an uncomfortable way to fall asleep. Leah Bowen's characterizations are varied and basically credible. Darcy Bruce's aren't. The material isn't funny—unless you think a queer guy staring at a straight guy's butt is hilarious. And there's nothing challenging about it—unless you find the mere mention of multiple murders transgressive. At Stage 7, Performance Works, on September 7 (5:45 p.m.), 8 (7:30 p.m.), 10 (11 p.m.), 13 (7:15 p.m.), 14 (5:30 p.m.), and 17 (2 p.m.) > Colin Thomas

SPLIT SECOND
Mik Kuhlman explores various intersections between movement and text in these four short pieces. In the strongest, “Red Coat”, she creates some beautiful images that capture both the freedom and fear in a child's-eye view of the world. In “Rosa, Rosa”, an overly long silent tribute to Rosa Parks, Kuhlman indulges in too much vague mime, though, and in “Fat”, based on a Raymond Carver story, her overly broad vocal characterizations seem to work at cross- purposes to the striking physical business. At Stage 4, Waterfront Theatre, on September 7 (9 p.m.), 9 (1:15 p.m.), 11 (5:30 p.m.), 14 (5:15 p.m.), 15 (9 p.m.), and 17 (7 p.m.) > Kathleen Oliver

THE PACKAGE IT CAME IN
Are you aware that unnecessary packaging is an environmental no-no? Did you know that corporations can be disingenuous when they market themselves as green? Do you sometimes find environmentalist academics depressing and pious? If you answered yes to all of these questions, you can save yourself some time and skip this show. Everything it has to say is like the truths in the American Constitution: self-evident. The actors in this British company deliver performances that are sometimes witty, but I can't imagine why they're doing this show— unless they're looking for a cheap way to tour Canada. At Stage 2, Studio 16, on September 8 (8:45 p.m.), 10 (3:15 p.m.), 12 (5:30 p.m.), 13 (7:45 p.m.), 16 (3:45 p.m.), and 17 (5 p.m.) > CT

CAUGHT IN THE ACT
It's dull—for 90 minutes. The actors deliver their sketch-comedy material crisply, and video sequences provide some variety, but almost nothing is surprising or genuinely witty. Characters are stereotyped. Situations are familiar. And sorry, but talking about poo just isn't shocking or original. How funny is it when a woman strains, not to have a baby but, predictably, to take a shit? If your answer is “very”, then this is the show for you. At Stage 4, Waterfront Theatre, on September 8 (11 p.m.), 9 (9 p.m.), 12 (5:15 p.m.), 13 (10:15 p.m.), 15 (5 p.m.), and 17 (9 p.m.) > Colin Thomas

REBEL WITHOUT A NICHE
In his self-penned solo show, Kurt Fitzpatrick tells us about the weird jobs he's had in New York City. He shows us some wild characters, including a psychotically paranoid security guard, and delivers an energetic performance. There's nothing particularly satisfying about the form of the storytelling, though, and the series of incidents never adds up to anything thematically larger. At Stage 6, Playwrights Theatre Centre, on September 7 (7:15 p.m.), 8 (11 p.m.), 13 (10:15 p.m.), 15 (5:30 p.m.), 16 (9:15 p.m.), and 17 (1:15 p.m.) > Colin Thomas

ANXIETY
Reg Rowe's stories, songs, and sketches are ostensibly linked by the theme of genetic modification in food, but it's a weakly explored premise that doesn't add to his best material, like the comically detailed recounting of his siblings' attempt to scatter his mother's ashes. Rowe's a capable storyteller, but his performance is rough in places and his tendency to mug, English music hall–style, works against his natural charm. At Stage 7, Performance Works, on September 7 (9:15 p.m.), 8 (11 p.m.), 9 (9:15 p.m.), 10 (4 p.m.), 12 (10:15 p.m.), and 17 (5:30 p.m.) > Kathleen Oliver