A show with mixed messages that seemed to be carried away by itself. 2 fourteen year olds in a grade 9 class are giving a talk about the salmon population and it rapidly becomes a training session to help us survive the coming apocalypse ( word not to be spoken!) of an earth that is dying , poisoned by toxic waste, and everything else. The whole list of those who are killing the planet comes down on us as the two children “play” at dying. Natural acting is indicated by mumbling and talking too quickly but there were images to watch if one couldn’t catch all the words. A lot of theatrics, a lot of naïve childish playing, a lot of sophisticated computer work, tv influences, shadow puppets, technological support,  an actress who dominates the stage with her beautiful singing voice and great stage presence, and an ending that completely subverts the message so all of it seems that we were the objects of a not so childish manipulation. It appeared that no one was in charge directing this. That might have helped.

And an audience that rose for a standing ovation??

Kitt and Jane by Kathleen Greenfield , Ingrid Hansen and Rod Peter Jr.

SNAFU productions

One good aspect of this performance was the sporadic use of  the Prague inspired Black light puppet figures . They introduced the evening , appeared in certain sketches and announced a playful atmosphere which dominated the evening of non stop comic sketches . The comic timing was very good, the pace was good, the skits followed each other rapidly, the evening progressed with no pauses and a lot of the individual characters that the actors produced worked very well. In fact they all appeared to be talented comics. Of course Gélinas is one of the more talented fixtures with the Company of Fools and his work is always excellent. I There were a few simple props and a curtain, suggesting the stage set for each “act” and that was it,but it was the writing that made them stumble. The skit I liked was the one in the science lab where two scientists are trying to uncover the mystery of the man eating flower…that looks like a daffodil. Also Richard Gélinas as the hyper turbaned Calif looking for a new “wife” was deliciously perverse …somehow though a lot of it didn’t fly. The ideas were not sharp enough, the humour fell flat. Very unequal show with people who could definitely have worked with much better material.

Wunderjammer by Richard Hamphill

A production of Punchbag Playhouse

Comedy sketches with Richard Gélinas, Jordan Hancey, Gabrielle Lazarovitz and Victoria Luloff

This autobiographical comedy explaining why Alexander (Sandy) Gibson chose a career as a French teacher in elementary school has the ring of truth, even with a little hyperbole thrown in.

Despite a little gentle mockery, there is affection in his characterization of his mother. Gibson offers her a bouquet of thanks for putting him on the right road to becoming a passionate, rather than an adequate teacher, and delivers the description of life in portable #3 with highly expressive punch and energy.

Gibson has an attractive stage presence and Portable #3; Not just Another French Class is not just another navel gazer.

Well worth seeing.

Portable #3: Not Just Another French Class

By Alexander Gibson and Matty Burns

SDT Productions, Ottawa

Plays at Arts Court Theatre

 

Carolann Valentino is a high-energy performer, who presents an in-your-face portrait of managing a New York steak house via a series of cameos of the characters she meets along the way, while she waits for her big break in show business.

While there is no doubt about Valentino’s talent and tornado force, her decision to embarrass three men from the audience in the interactive section of the show is questionable.

Not everyone likes their humor this raw and pushy or their steaks this blue.

Burnt at the Steak

Written and performed by Carolann Valentino

Carolann Valentino Productions, New York, NY

Venue: Academic Hall

The idea behind Can’t Argue With Pussy , Rebecca Reeds and Jennifer Hayward’s stand-up comedy show, is women talking about their lives without having a club owner telling them to avoid too “feminist-ey” or “female” topics. It’s definitely a raunchy show. Poops, vaginas, sex – none of these are off-topic and I say wonderful! It’s always good to hear voices presenting new perspectives, especially in comedy, which is such a powerful story-telling tool. Unfortunately, although I applaud the idea behind the show, the material could use work. Rebecca Reeds obviously has the raw talent and storytelling ability. However, her mannerisms on stage, such as constantly pulling up her sleeves and covering her mouth, distract from the performance. Jennifer Hayward isn’t afraid to stir feathers, both with her topics of choice and demeanor on stage. Her performance, however, would greatly benefit from finished sentences. She tends to trail off at the end which is usually where the punch line of the joke is. Overall, this was a decent, though not ground breaking  show. Some good ideas, but it needs work and polish.

Can’t Argue With Pussy plays at Studio Léonard-Beaulne

JH5 Productions

By Rebecca Reeds & Jennifer Hayward

Cupidity

By Jessica Fitzpatrick

Cupidity is a cute one-woman show about a Annie, a woman obsessed with the idea of love. She wants it and she has all sorts of ideas about exactly how she wants it unfold and feel. Never mind that all of her ideas conspire to failure, informed by romantic films and her own sometimes strange imagination. This is a cute show and Jessica Fitzpatrick is a charming performer. Although some of the jokes were too on the nose, overall, Cupidity is a fun, feel-good show. For instance, at one point, Annie informs us that her married life will unfold “like a sitcom.” This particular moment would have been funnier had she just shown us her married life being like a sitcom instead of telling us. Give the audience a bit more credit – we get things! We can make connections! However, overall, this show was quite a delight to watch and provided many a chuckle.

Plays at Arts Court Theatre

Cupidity 

By Jessica Fitzpatrick

A Shapshot on the Fringe:

A Mind Full of Dopamine written & performed by Rory Ledbetter

An energized, speedy and focused performer, Ledbetter knows a thing or two about how to win at cards. But the key to this mile-a-minute tour of the poker table is that he also knows about losing, and the monkey mind set that compels the desperate to pile up their chips and swim with sharks. When debt meets desperation, Ledbetter is a consummate performer, driving for his life with the devil in his rear view mirror. What he makes visible in this descent of man into hellish habit is the terrible thrill of fighting for your life as you crash headlong into a disaster that just keeps giving. You can almost see the piles of poker chips amid the smoke and taste the double lattes. We want Rory to stop, but somehow can’t pull ourselves away as we experience the terrifying rush of actually watching a human being plunge into self-inflicted chaos – again and again. What level of will power, luck, or mysterious divine intervention does it take to re-claim your life when you’ve given it over to an all-powerful force – that lives inside you. Here’s the deal – place your Fringe chips on Dopamine. – Snapshot on the Fringe by Laurie Fyffe<=

Plays at Arts Court Library

Alain Chauvin becomes Cpl Patrick McLachlan just returning home to his parents’ house after 8 months spent  in the horror of a mission in Kandahar. The first moments of the evening show clearly that this writer is trying to capture the effects of post traumatic stress disorder on this young man. And there are excellent moments when we see how his everyday life is interrupted by hallucinations that send him back to the war zone, set off by some simple event around him home in Canada. He then leaves his home, buys a car and begins a cross-Canada ride alone to get Afghanistan and the war out of his system. That is when the play falls apart and loses focus.

This fascinating attempt to delve into the way pts eats its way into the psyche of an individual was hijacked by the character’s  reactions to Canada as he crosses the country, experiencing various meetings – real and imaginary – with his friend Joe who is wounded in the war and has to undergo surgery. Then there are his adventures in Toronto, in Saskatoon, and right out to the west coast. The central question of his own wounded psyche is abandoned. And yet the  basic subject of this show is all about what is happening inside Patrick’s head as a result of the war…which is what makes it so difficult to turn into a performance. Quite obviously the writer/actor  had no idea how an actor could express this kind of trauma, nor was the writer  able to sustain that idea in the scenario and so he turned it into a sort of road show where the  pts dissolved into clichés, giving us the sense that none of this was due to any first hand experience. Thus this appeared to be essentially a verbatim piece, based on what others described to the writer, or perhaps even what the writer imagined from newspaper reports??  The dilemma then became what textual choices to make when putting this together so that it captured something authentic.  Given this performance however, something did not mesh and one had the distinct sense that this  team took on an almost impossible task with a subject that was way  beyond its comprehension.

Oceans Apart plays in Arts Court Theatre.

Oceans Apart presented by Take a Jump in it Theatre

Written by Alain G. Chauvin

Dramaturgy by Catherine Ballachey

Cast.

Alain G. Chauvin as Patrick

Daniel Groleau Landry as Joe

Rebecca Laviolette as Carol

Reviewed by Kat Fournier.

Set in a historical “freak show”, Kavalier’s Kuriosities brings audiences behind the scenes of their nightly show, where an unexpected visitor disrupts the tenuous balance of relationships. A home to social outcasts of a world where deformities are considered abominations and religious writ reigns supreme, Kavalier’s Kuriosity seems an interesting setting for a dramatic interlude. The setting is the most interesting part of this production, unfortunately, which is stunted by robotic acting and soft choices in direction. The script suggests a world that is actually a lot more twisted and painful than the one presented. Some use of puppetry–shadow and marionette–contribute to the visual impact, but does little to redeem the production as a whole.

Kavalier’s Kuriosities

Dead Unicorn Ink

Written by Aaron Lajeunesse and Jeremy Piamonte

Directed by Patrice-Ann Forbes

Photo from the Kingston Whig Standard.Carolyn Heatherington.

The Story: Discovering yourself is a lifetime slog as we are reminded in this satisfyingly textured memory piece written and performed by Carolyn Hetherington. An accomplished stage/film/television actor who, at 83, is performing her first-ever fringe show, Hetherington revisits growing up – and older – under the often-conflicting influences of her mother Gwen, a difficult, suicidal socialite with a waspish tongue and a fondness for gin, and her nanny Edie whose early life as a scullery maid helped forge her into a loving but tough woman. Gwen is especially rich and complex, and the mother-daughter relationship a fraught one.

Pros: Hetherington gives an eloquent, measured performance throughout, her self-discipline a brake on the self-indulgence into which a lesser actor might have slid. Small things – the angle of a foot, the dropping of a ribbon on the floor – tell us almost as much about a character as do their words. Hetherington understands patience, silence and how to recreate an era (the 1920s onward) now long gone.

Cons: Occasionally confusing as to who is speaking.

Verdict: A smart idea finely executed.

Women Who Shout at the Stars

Goombay Productions, Ottawa

PLays at the Studio Leonard-Beaulne