Aisling Murphy, Author at Capital Critics' Circle / Le cercle des critiques de la capitale

Ottawa Fringe: Get Well Soon a Promising Start to a Long-Term Project

By Aisling Murphy | June 21, 2019

Get Well Soon, presented by Hamda Elmi, has an admirable presence at Ottawa Fringe, with a prescient message and strong cast of black women. It is a short and honest piece of theatre, and utilizes a sometimes-successful mediation of technology and live performance. Get Well Soon absolutely has a life and future beyond the confines of its run at Ottawa Fringe, but would benefit from further workshopping and refining of its technical components. …

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Ottawa Fringe: In Defense of Spontaneity – Bat Brains

By Aisling Murphy | June 20, 2019

Two versions of Bat Brains exist; the show Sam Kruger originally meant for the world to see, and the one that occurred during Bat Brains’ opening. I can only review what transpired rather than what was intended; the show I saw was deeply personal and visceral, a magnetic hour of stylized movement and Brechtian alienation. It was revealed in the show’s conclusion that many of the highlights of the performance had been accidental or “unfinished,” and I found myself wishing we hadn’t been told this, as those moments of freneticism and spontaneity felt absolutely inspired. That being said, as far as I know, Bat Brains has evolved since its opening, and I hope to see it again before Fringe’s closing. …

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Ottawa Fringe: I Am the Most Unfeeling Doctor in the World a Moving Tell-All

By Aisling Murphy | June 20, 2019

Dr. Melissa Yuan-Innes is not an actor; Fringe is a new territory for her, one that she has appeared to full-heartedly embrace both in performance and, rather endearingly, in spectatorship . In her hour of storytelling, we as an audience don’t notice or mind an occasional word fumble or lapse in finesse; Yuan-Innes’ honesty and candor make her a captivating presence onstage. Yuan-Innes masterfully connects moments of humor, nostalgia, grief, confusion, and hope into three distinct tales from the Emergency Room, with a winning charisma and infectious sunny disposition. …

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Ottawa Fringe: Pinter Stew a Tired Take on Classic Texts

By Aisling Murphy | June 19, 2019

Harold Pinter is a veritable master of dramatic text; his plays are specific enough to be captivating, yet general enough to be deeply felt across multiple generations of theatregoers. Third Wall’s Pinter Stew is aptly named, an at-times quite jumbled re-hash of Pinter classics. Pinter junkies will be thrilled, while others will find themselves lost, unfortunately. …

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Ottawa Fringe: Fuckboys: The Musical a High-Energy, but Problematic Party

By Aisling Murphy | June 18, 2019

Fuckboys: The Musical, presented by Generation Productions, is a dramatization of the archetypal modern woman, or at least the suggestion of one often pushed onto us by Baby Boomers. The core cast of four women each tackle a facet of this archetype; we have the workaholic, the stoner, the one who’s afraid of commitment, and the one who’s just come out of a long-term relationship. These tropes are, unfortunately, a bit tired and under-nuanced in 2019, but the cast works admirably to make up for this lack of dramaturgical depth with extremely strong vocals, fun choreography, and great ensemble chemistry. …

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Ottawa Fringe: No More Secrets a Powerful Mediation of Generations

By Aisling Murphy | June 18, 2019

How generations feel and express trauma has certainly evolved in the past thirty years; young people now have a digital framework through which they can build support networks and group testimonies. Modern youth have built a veritable empire through social media and other platforms wherein they can expose their abusers and unite in strength with fellow victims; how we societally tackle abuse of power and abuse of position has changed, to say the least. Spare Change Theatre’s No More Secrets is an awe-inspiring mediation between the vitality of today’s youth and the haunting verbal transcripts of past survivors, with a fantastic cast and an impactful, ethically-constructed script. …

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Ottawa Fringe: Timmy, the Dog, Disappears a Bizarre Hidden Gem at Ottawa Fringe 2019

By Aisling Murphy | June 16, 2019

A box set, a couch, a nuclear family, a dinner party; we have seen this show before, or so we think. Timmy, the Dog, Disappears, is a wickedly funny comedy by Martin Dockery, presented by Black Sheep Theatre. It is difficult to describe this show without peppering in spoilers, but in short, do not let your own misconceptions fool you; Timmy, the Dog, Disappears is neither a played-out-farce nor a skit expanded into a too-long play. Timmy, the Dog, Disappears is deeply amusing and at times nihilistic, with nuanced social commentary to spare and great performances all around. …

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Ottawa Fringe: GoFundYourself: Ottawa Improv and Its Place in a Fringe Environment

By Aisling Murphy | June 14, 2019

GoFundYourself, presented by Ottawa’s own Black Box Comedy, is a raucous, audience-driven look into the peaks and occasional valleys often associated with improv. For the most part, GoFundYourself is amusing and self-aware; its loose “plot” advancement is contingent upon quantity, intensity, and genus of audience laughter. Sometimes, the ensemble finds its footing and earns show-stopping whoops and guffaws (a certain audience member being heckled for likely being turned away at the New York/Canada border, for instance, inspired a riotous bout of laughs). There were a few segments that dragged at the performance I attended, with the cardinal “don’t say no” rule of improv being broken often enough to be to the show’s detriment. …

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Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: Flashy dance numbers and strong ensemble make up for thin plot

By Aisling Murphy | June 1, 2019

Based on the 1994 cult classic film of the same name, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a jukebox extravaganza of colours, feathers, and disco. With stage direction by Shaun Toohey and DJ Eyamie, music direction by Murray Doggett, and choreography by Morgan Coughlan, Orpheus’ production is a fun, if somewhat vapid amalgamation of high-energy dance numbers and quotable one-liners.

Orpheus’ production cannot be faulted for issues found within Priscilla’s script and original source material; simply put, some jokes regarding race and gender have aged poorly, and do not land in a socially-conscious 2019 audience. Additionally, being a jukebox musical, Priscilla’s plot often feels quite thin; Orpheus, for the most part, makes up for this with flashy, energetic dance numbers, which manage to leave audience members smiling and (often literally!) grooving in their seats. …

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