Sub-Total
2018 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member:
Company: Colleen Somerville Productions
Show: Not Fair, My Lady!
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Best Show at Fringe
WELL DONE and IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT
Company: Literally Entertainment
Show: The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist or, Ocean's 'Eh'T?: A Musical
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Good Stuff
This entertained me a great deal. The cast had a strong, focused energy, and for me, that was what carried the show. I am interested in reading up on the true story this was based on, because I have a hunch that a lot of details were fabricated. Not that that knowledge would bother me! It was great fun. I thought the music was overly simple and some of the lyrics were a little contrived, but it still worked, considering the campy style. This one's worth it if you're looking for some laughs.
Company: Hit the Lights! Theater Co.
Show: WHALES
Venue: Ritz Theater Mainstage
The Whole Is Not More Than the Sum of Its Parts
(I've restrained myself from using a whale pun in title of this review) While WHALES provided just about everything a Fringe-goer could want, including drinking games, audience participation, free temporary tattoos, electric violin, and shadow-puppetry (all of which were impeccably executed, with skilled singing and puppetry and engaging personality throughout), it lacked something that any good piece of theatre would be ill-advised to do without: cohesiveness. It felt more like an educational touring show that would visit middle schools, informing them about the greed-ridden history of the whaling industry, an imaginary future made improbable only by the obvious content warnings. There was nothing in the way of engaging character development for me to latch onto and invest in in this production, and as a result, I found myself waiting for the end about halfway into it. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I had elected to purchase a drink.
Company: OverLaugh Productions
Show: YOUNGBLOOD IN THE DESERT/GATEWAY DRUG
Venue: Rarig Center Arena
A Hidden Gem of the Festival
I came to this show immediately after another show that shall remain nameless, but was very Fringe-y. Audience participation, improv, music, the whole shebang. This show is not Fringe-y. And to be honest, I enjoyed this one a lot more. 60 minutes can seem like an eternity when you aren't invested in the story, but I was right there the whole time, with both (totally different) plays. Youngblood in the Desert was a bit more of a polished script, and was more therefore more affecting, but The Gateway Drug was still alive with honesty and humor and an engaging concept. The highlight, for me, was Daniel McLaughlin's performance in Gateway Drug. His understated delivery, effervescent physicality, and perfect comic timing made me want more of his character. My only complaint is that some of the technical elements could have used some fine-tuning, but Fringe isn't really about that anyway, it's about, well, theatre, and this was damn good theatre.