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Get Happily Unhinged at the Fearless Fringe

September 16, 2004

The overall quality at this year's Vancouver Fringe Festival is the highest it's ever been. We've listed the following reviews in descending order of excellence and we strongly recommend the first dozen, which are a feast by any standard. And don't forget the productions we liked last week, especially Patti Fedy in... The Hunt and The Year of the Panda .

Some are yet to be confirmed, but as of press time, solo shows dominate 2004's Georgia Straight Pick of the Fringe, six plays that will run in rep at the Waterfront Theatre from next Thursday to Sunday (September 23 to 26). For the record: this paper sponsors the Pick of the Fringe, but we don't make the selections. Chosen monologues include One Man Lord of the Rings , Cactus , The Reefer Man , Father's Day , and Patti Fedy in... The Hunt . A two-hander, so to speak, rounds out the program. That's The Wet Spots in: "Sing Your Way to Better Sex".

A warning: this is the final weekend of the festival and tickets will get hard to find, so book now and Fringe your faces off.

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KILLING CAESAR Wow. Director Katrina Dunn and a dozen of Vancouver's finest actors create a knockout with Charles Marowitz's cubist adaptation of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar . Marowitz cuts up scenes, redistributes dialogue, and drastically reduces the playing time. Dunn ramps up the revisioning by dressing the paper-clutching Romans in dust-covered power suits, instantly evoking a more recently threatened empire. The acting and design are stellar, and Dunn creates breathtaking images with her large cast. You'll want to see it twice. At Stage 4, Waterfront Theatre, on September 16 (5:30 p.m.) and 19 (4:45 p.m.) * Kathleen Oliver

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JOB II: THE DEMON OF THE ETERNAL RECURRENCE Fringe gold. Virtuosic rappers Eli Batalion and Jerome Saibil are back with the sequel to last year's hit, JOB: The Hip-Hop Musical , posing the big Nietzschean question in the context of the music industry: how do you make the right choices if the autocratic record exec, J. Hoover (Jehovah) is removed from power (i.e., if God is dead)? Their exploration is hilarious; just wait till you meet Eleanor, Hoover's nihilist niece. Go wide awake; don't miss a syllable. At Stage 4, Waterfront Theatre, on September 17 (9:45 p.m.) and 18 (2:30 p.m.) * Colin Thomas

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HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE Director James Fagan Tait and his fellow artists deliver an exquisitely restrained production of Paula Vogel's intelligent, compassionate, and frequently funny text. Li'l Bit is 11 when Uncle Peck, the only father she has known, starts sexually molesting her. Vogel presents a complex picture of the dangerous intersections between approval and seduction, liberating sensuality and exploitation--those corners where a child's need for parental intimacy can be misconstrued for sexual consent and an adult's past can numb him to the torturous legacy he's passing on. As Li'l Bit, Eileen Barrett travels from 11 to 40 with transparent honesty. At Stage 1, Masonic Hall, on September 16 (11:15 p.m.), 18 (5:45 p.m.), and 19 (6:45 p.m.) * CT

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7 SINS James Judd would be the first to call himself a drama queen. His lust for the spotlight fuels a hilarious series of sinful confessions, from envy of a fifth-grade classmate to slothful habits at his first job. Judd acquired his penchant for histrionics as a child, when his working mother paid him to watch her soap operas and report back. We can thank her for his exuberant stage presence and wildly digressive storytelling. At Stage 3, Elliott Louis Gallery, on September 16 (11:15 p.m.), 18 (6:15 p.m.), and 19 (7 p.m.) * KO

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THE BACK KITCHEN RELEASE PARTY This humble show deserves to be a sleeper hit. Musicians from a St. John's party band reunite to play at a former band member's memorial in Vancouver. As they gig their fumbling way across Canada, their East Coast sound stretches to accommodate a Star Trek salute, musical influences from New Delhi, and a little Bachman Turner Overdrive. Charming performances, especially from Jonathan Teague and playwright Trevor Devall. Bonus: a moving narrative twist. This one has a big, big heart. At BYOV G, Carousel Theatre, on September 16 (8 p.m.), 17 (10 p.m. and midnight), 18 (10 p.m. and midnight), and 19 (8 p.m.) * CT

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FATHER'S DAY Kahlil Ashanti's autobiographical show tells the story of a young African-American man who works as an entertainer in the U.S. air force while he's trying to locate his birth father. It's about growing into manhood despite vicious brutalization at the hands of men. Ashanti's characterizations--a flaming queen, a recruit with Tourette's syndrome--are colourful but lack context, and he sometimes loses his theme in an incident-thick, relationship-thin narrative. But his entertainment-oriented style could be an expression of his protagonist's survival strategy (i.e., his own), and Ashanti is so ingratiating and such a pro that it works. At Stage 4, Waterfront Theatre, on September 16 (11:15 p.m.), 18 (6 p.m.), and 19 (7 p.m.) * CT

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FIREBIRD: 220 HORSES OF THE APOCALYPSE Nicole Zylstra has crafted a funny, literate revenge tale with a winningly weird heroine. Once a famous fortuneteller in Toronto, the oddly accented Holly Hallelujah has been reduced to living in a trailer park and consulting a Magic 8-Ball, thanks to her estranged husband. The script is infused with sardonic wit ("My father was just like the Buddha: dangerously obese and always asleep"), and Zylstra's strained voice and facial gymnastics are consistently hilarious. At BYOV G, Carousel Theatre, on September 16 (11:45 p.m.), 17 (6 p.m.), 18 (6 p.m.), and 19 (4 p.m.) * KO

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FRINGE SHOW: A LOVE STORY Monster Theatre has successfully compressed big topics (Canadian and world history) into small packages. Here, its focus is tighter as Bruce Horak, the Mentor, offers a primer on Fringe theatre conventions to Ryan Gladstone, the Hero. Their straight-man/fool dynamic works beautifully: they look like they're having so much fun on-stage that their enthusiasm is irresistible, whether you're new to the Fringe or a veteran. Fringe Show features songs, stunts, suggestiveness, and a big dose of love for the audience. At Stage 8, Performance Works, on September 16 (9 p.m.), 18 (9:45 p.m.), and 19 (1 p.m.) * KO

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AMERICA VS. CANADA This story of an American woman's conflicted feelings about her homeland is also a love letter to the Fringe. Alix Sobler's introduction to Canada came through a Fringe tour, and she combines family history, boxing metaphors, and the mutual misperceptions of citizens on either side of the 49th parallel into a tight, entertaining solo show. Sobler treads some familiar territory--9/11, the disease of Republicanism--but her winning combination of candour, charm, and sassy New York attitude keeps things fresh. At Stage 8, Performance Works, on September 17 (6 p.m.) and 18 (6:15 p.m.) * KO

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DOES THIS MONOLOGUE MAKE ME LOOK FAT? The show with the best title in the Fringe lives up to its promise. Amy Salloway delivers a series of short, personal monologues, ranging from a menstrual prayer to a reflection on the grocery-shopping habits of lonely single women. The centrepiece is a cleverly structured and side-splitting account of her weekend plunge into lesbianism at a Women of Substance conference. These monologues make Salloway look smart, funny, fearlessly candid, and generously endowed with talent. At Stage 5, Festival House, on September 17 (6:30 p.m.), 18 (3 p.m.), and 19 (6:45 p.m.). * KO

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LIVING ROOM Codependence can be entertaining. Gid and Lil are two agoraphobic lovers nearing the end of their relationship. "This is burning the toast and eating it anyway," says Lil. "This is goodbye." But leaving is a struggle, filled with head games, oblique and sometimes funny, dialogue, and terrific physicality, all delivered with engrossing precision by Billy Marchenski and Heather Lindsay in an enviably intimate venue: a dome structure zap-strapped around the trees and benches on the edge of Granville Island. At BYOV I, the amphitheatre behind Performance Works, on September 16, 17, 18, and 19 (7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. nightly) * KO

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TOXIC SALIVA A strange and wonderful show by first-time playwright Jill Johnson, with sharp direction by Aaron Craven and a sparkling performance by David Nykl as the nerdy boyfriend, mad-scientist father, and perky girl nemesis of geeky Fiona (Jeny Cassidy), who discovers that she's half human, half insect. No Cronenbergian SFX here, just a fly fatale and the love that dare not spit its name: "We dated, we mated, he died." This one has real buzz. At Venue 6, Lind Hall, on September 17 (6:15 p.m.) and 18 (7 p.m.) * Jerry Wasserman

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A CLOUDLESS SKY The first half is thrilling. In Adam Cowart's new script, a married couple falls through the air; they've bailed out of the airplane they call "home". This metaphoric evocation of the preciousness of the present moment and its lost opportunities--especially the chances to love--is lyrically, wittily moving. Unfortunately, the long third movement of Cowart's musically structured text repeats information to the point of dullness. What a shame. Almost genius. At Stage 4, Waterfront Theatre, on September 17 8 p.m.) and 18 (4:15 p.m.) * CT

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AWKWARD Some bits in this solo show about gracelessness work better than others. The video clips of the Awkward Olympics rarely amuse, but the Testicle Monologues section is very funny and so is the 12-step program for recovering socialites. Jackie Blakemore is an engaging performer, especially as her theme of geek self-acceptance starts to emerge. At Stage 1, Masonic Hall, on September 17 (7:30 p.m.) and 18 (4 p.m.) * CT

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MORE Two women are floating on a raft in the middle of the ocean. One's neurotic, the other glibly calm. They eat popcorn with a fork, tell pointless jokes, and utter pithy reflections on loneliness, freedom, and coupling. ("If people had four arms, non-monogamy would flourish.") Performers Angela Chalmers and Michelle Field pump real life into their abstract characters, and the script's absurdism is often witty and never repetitive. That's no small feat. At BYOV G, Carousel Theatre, on September 16 (10:15 p.m.), 17 (8 p.m.), 18 (8 p.m.), and 19 (6:15 p.m.) * KO

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JEM ROLLS Not, as it might sound, a new product from Tim Hortons, but the name of a tremendously likable British performance poet. His take on the world is by turns satirical (the English view of history: "We won we won we won we won because we were the best and Johnny Foreigner was rubbish!"), personal ("We Broke Up 'Cause the Sex Was Too Good"), politically ferocious with subtle comic colours ("Cheap Labour"), and metaphysically upbeat. An utterly charming poetic brain massage. At Venue 3, Elliott Louis Gallery, on September 17 (9:45 p.m.) and 18 (2:45 p.m.). * JW

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GOOD MORNING GAYTOWN! Gender gets bent every which way in this queer send-up of TV talk-show conventions. Hosts Daddy Rex Rexington (Morgan Brayton) and Miss Cookie LaWhore (Michael V. Smith) engage in empty chitchat, welcome special guests, and offer a same-sex weather report, forecasting the status of human rights for gays. The show is a bit rough around the edges and some of the jokes misfire, but there are lots of laughs, and Brayton's jovial butch Daddy Rex is an especially memorable creation. At BYOV E, the Lick Club, on September 16, 17, 18, and 19 (8 p.m. nightly) * KO

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PERSEUS Luan de Burgh and Michelle Seton make inventive use of minimal props--dolls, hats, puppets, a teapot--to bring the Greek myth of the Medusa's slayer irreverently to life. Their characterizations could be more distinct vocally, and some of the humour--like the Harry Potter references--feels a bit forced. But Lizzie Hopley's breezy script is full of deft touches, from the Delphic Oracle's poetic narration to the musings of a deliciously narcissistic Cassiopeia. At Stage 2, Studio 16, on September 16 (11 p.m.), 18 (5 p.m.), and 19 (8:15 p.m.) * KO

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BUSS A MOVE The main character, Andy Fulton Jr. Jr., is a professional busboy and personal motivator. This "introductory lecture" borrows from yoga and Buddhism, reframing everything in terms of busboy experience; the asanas are done while holding clearing trays. Writer Lyle St. Goddard plays sincerity against irony--without awareness, I suspect. Goddard told me after the show that he wants to spread love, but the busboy jokes feel condescending and his ironic stance makes it look like he's ridiculing the values he claims to hold. Intriguingly unsettling, but what's the point? At BYOV F, Culinary Capers Catering, on September 16 (8 p.m.), 17 (8 p.m. and 10 p.m.), 18 (8 p.m. and 10 p.m.), and 19 (8 p.m.) * CT

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A DOG CALLED BITCH If you'd rather be watching TV than theatre, here's your show. This Young Offenders production is slickly packaged, with across-the-board superb acting and great design elements. But Michael P. Northey's script, about an escaped serial child murderer and the cops and psychiatrist who try to find him, is like a cut-and-paste small-screen crime drama, with clichéd characters and some unforgivably implausible twists. It's entertaining for a while, but ultimately empty. At Stage 4, Waterfront Theatre, on September 16 (7:45 p.m.), 17 (11:30 p.m.), and 18 (7:45 p.m.) * KO

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KENTUCKY WATERFALL Alix Sobler performs the role of a cynical American art student and playwright Jason Neufeld is the mullet-sporting Saskatchewan guy who falls in love with her. They're as sweet as puppies in this romantic comedy, but we've seen the abusive-chick/nice-nerd combo a thousand times. Unpretentious: good. Unambitious: bad. At Stage 6, Lind Hall, on September 16 (7:30 p.m.), 17 (11:15 p.m.), and 18 (8:30 p.m.) * CT

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BLACK & WHITE PICTURES I lost interest. Writer Bob Hume tells the story of an idealistic, young, white teacher's experience of working in a brutally dysfunctional Northern aboriginal community. Hume acknowledges the complexity of race relations, but his monologue's trajectory is dully predictable. And the central question--is the teacher racist?--is too easy to answer. Yes, she is, like we all are. That inquiry might have more force if the central relationship between the teacher and one of her students weren't so vague. An honest performance from Leanne Jijian Hume. At Stage 1, Masonic Hall, on September 16 (5:30 p.m.) and 19 (4:30 p.m.) * CT

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PLENTIFUL Plentiful is barren. Gifted singers, songwriters, and actors, Courtenay Dobbie and Ajineen Sagal don't seem to have a clue about the ethical context of their presentation of a family in a polygamous community. There's no authenticity or authority in the writing--this is clearly not their story in any deep sense--so the casual ridicule is offensive, and so is the forced climax involving child sexual abuse. At Stage 1, Masonic Hall, on September 18 (9:30 p.m.) and 19 (1 p.m.) * CT

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APOCALYPSE For 90 minutes, Eliot Fintushel becomes John of Patmos, reciting the extraordinary Book of Revelations in a mannered performance that is alternately thrilling and numbing. He sings in ancient languages, plays exotic instruments, and uses masks to break up the narrative. But despite elaborate program notes connecting Revelations to George Bush's policies, the show itself provides no contexts to help orient the audience. It often feels like we're watching a demented street guy muttering to himself. At Venue 5, Festival House, on September 16 (7:15 p.m.) and 19 (4:30 p.m.) * JW

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TROUBLE AT THE PORK & STRIKE I'll bet this show looked great in its original 15-minute version at the Theatre Under the Gun 48-hour playmaking extravaganza. Removed from that pressure cooker, however, its zany associativeness feels like stale improv rather than impressive resourcefulness. There's no thematic meat in this tale of a theft at a bowling alley&173;cum&173;pork-chop-sandwich shop, and the first third, before the arrival of the detective, is particularly poorly organized. Things improve markedly after that. Inventive stage business and crisp characterizations. At Stage 4, Waterfront Theatre, on September 17 (6:15 p.m.) and 19 (8:45 p.m.) * CT

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POUNDING NAILS IN THE FLOOR WITH MY FOREHEAD Through most of this show I thought actor Bryan Demore was too young, pretty, and inexperienced to play the world-weary depressives, nihilists, and losers who populate Eric Bogosian's darkly cynical world: the slime bag preaching "healthy selfishness", the "recovering male" feeling "like a human being stuck in a man's body". But Demore slowly won me over, bringing it all home in the final angry character, who wants "BLOW ME" tattooed on his eyelids. Well worth seeing. At Venue 2, Studio 16, on September 18 (9 p.m.) and 19 (2 p.m.) * JW

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THE SPICE OF LIFE Leith Clark's soap-opera parody cleverly layers the baroque complications connecting a large group of characters with herbal names. Standout performances in the cast of 20 include Thyme (whose baby is she carrying?!?) and the actor playing twins: the smooth-cheeked, wussy Curry in left profile, and the evil, unshaven Cumin in right. A witty soundtrack ("Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme") adds melo to the drama, but excessively broad acting kills much of the comedy. Ultimately a fairly bland meal. At Venue 8, Performance Works, on September 17 (9:30 p.m.) and 18 (12:30 p.m.) * JW

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THE EROTIC MEMOIRS OF ST GILLES Gilles de Rais, aka Bluebeard, was a French war hero, a friend to Jeanne d'Arc, and a mass sex-murderer of young boys. South African Erik de Waal, a Fringe regular, plays Gilles philosophically recounting his soft-core, mostly heteroerotic adventures in the hour before his execution. I found the writing stronger than the performance, although de Waal's allusions to Gilles's "sainthood" seem extremely dubious. Costuming note: in this age of buff, a flabby guy playing sexually charismatic shouldn't do his show shirtless. At Venue 7, False Creek Community Centre, on September 17 (9:45 p.m.) and 18 (1:45 p.m.). * JW

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TO DYE A THOUSAND CUTS Terri Jo Varela's brief standup routine has her playing hairdresser-confessor to a variety of anxious clients who recount the random acts of weirdness that comprise their lives. Then for a while the monologue morphs into a series of free associations about men, therapy, men, mullets, and men. The material is smart if a little too familiar, and Varela's attractive, naturalistic delivery helps her overcome the problems of a horribly noisy and draughty venue. Fringe de la Fringe at Ocean Art Works on September 16 (7:30 p.m.) and 18 (9 p.m.) * JW

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THE GREATEST ROCK N' ROLL STORY EVER TOLD Ten years after uptight Principal Higginson prevented the band from playing their final high-school show, the four members of Rock'n, now selling insurance, sweeping floors, and doing karate demos, reunite to give Higginson his comeuppance and the audience a rockin' good time. Non-actors, these guys are the theatrical equivalent of a bad garage band. Lead singer Johnny has a goofy charm, and the neo-thrash music is pretty decent. Good-natured, loud, unpretentious, stupid fun. Bring earplugs. BYOV B, the Butchershop Gallery, on September 16 (8 p.m.), 17 (8 p.m.), 18 (3 p.m. and 8 p.m.) and 19 (3 p.m. and 8 p.m.) * JW

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CELLS Fifteen minutes is just enough for this retro exercise in early-1960s&173;style absurdism, one part Eugí¨ne Ionesco, two parts Sid Caesar. The four young actors move quickly through brief sketches full of fruit and plastic wrap, signifying nothing. Clever nonsensical dialogue, canned laughter, an umbrella floating slowly to the floor--it's not uninteresting to watch, but a little of this goes a long way and often seems more fun for the actors than the audience. At Venuette 9, the BBQ Pit, on September 16 (8:15 p.m.), 17 (8:45 p.m.) and 19 (5:45 p.m.) * JW

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TEN WAYS TO ABUSE AN OLD WOMAN Famous Canadian playwright Sally Clark directs her own script right into the ground. Joan Bryans delivers a lovely naturalistic performance as a senile old woman but Sally Stubbs, who plays her daughter, is in another relentlessly loud and one-note stylistic world. In any event, it's hard to imagine this supposed comedy being funny; its "ironic" point that the daughter is crazier than Mom is so obvious. At Stage 1, Masonic Hall, on September 16 (9:30 p.m.), 17 (11 p.m.), and 18 (7:45 p.m.) * CT

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SCARECROW Don Nigro's play shows promise in the early going as an exercise in farmhouse gothic í  la 1970s Sam Shepard, but it deteriorates into overheated Stephen King melodrama. Wendy Podgursky does some nice work as the teenage girl whose insane mother wants to keep her home forever, safe from the evil (male) scarecrow in the south 40. But really, of all the three-handers in the history of theatre, why would anyone choose this one? At Venue 6, Lind Hall, on September 17 (4:30 p.m.) and 19 (8:45 p.m.) * JW

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EMBRACING THE BLACK MADONNA Writer-performer Kathryn Malek offers a series of theatrically flat generalizations about what it means to be a woman. Clichés abound: the tightly wound corporate overachiever, the sexually frustrated flight attendant. Their unhappy lives are redeemed by the late bloomer who declares, "I love who I am, for I've lived my journey." Maybe you have to be a woman to get this, but the banal writing, coarse acting, and earnest voice-overs left me cold. At Venue 6, Lind Hall, on September 17 (9:30 p.m.) and 18 (1:30 p.m.) * JW

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UNDER ELKO Freddie Long has plenty of skeletons in the family closet; unfortunately, she lacks the skills to bring them to life. Long plays herself in conversation with her mother's ghost, but she fails to create even the most rudimentary character differentiation. Long's biggest weakness is her inability to connect with the audience, but her poorly structured script and the awkward, unilluminating movement sequences don't help. At Stage 5, Festival House, on September 16 (5:30 p.m.), 17 (8:15 p.m.), and 18 (4:45 p.m.) * KO