As the Victoria Fringe Festival nears completion of its first week, we at Monday Magazine are (almost) at the end of our published reviews of as many of the 47 shows we could get to while they’re still on.
Performers of the shows scheduled for the back end of the festival offered up their two-minute previews Tuesday night at The Metro Studio, giving audiences a chance to plan out their own viewing schedules. To those performers whose shows we didn’t get a chance to review, perhaps next time, but we encourage readers to get out and see as many as possible in the final five days of the festival.
There’s still lots more entertainment to come!
For a full schedule of shows and other information, visit intrepidtheatre.com.
| 13 Dead Dreams of Eugene, playing at the Metro Studio. |
13 Dead Dreams of “Eugene” – Theatre Mobile
PG 12+, violence, on at the Metro Studio through Sept. 1
A body found in a ditch outside Sabina, Ohio is never identified, is nicknamed “Eugene” and embalmed and displayed as a weird tourist attraction from 1929-63. All of that is completely true.
Theatre Mobile takes that weird chestnut and runs with it, creating a series of 13 strange “dreams” that haunt the people of Sabina. The dreams are given life by creative light and shadow play, and by eerie musical numbers and short monologues. It’s a surreal, horror-lite (horror light?) experience, and creator/performer duo Erika Kate MacDonald and Paul Strickland are engaging to listen to, especially as they “investigate” the source of the dreams. It’s straight out of a campfire ghost story and good fun.
**** (out of 5)
– Tim Ford
5-Step Guide to Being German 2.0 – Paco Erhard
PG12+, standup comedy, coarse language, on at the Roxy Theatre through Sept. 1
Paco Erhard makes clear at the outset of this hilarious, self-effacing routine about himself and his homeland that it has changed since he first performed it in 2011. There’s no more five steps – it’s actually 18 – a fact anyone seeking confirmation of German precision and order will find annoying, he admits.
He makes lighthearted fun of natives of Canada, England, Australia and yes, the U.S. The fact he has lived and performed in numerous countries – impressively learning about the quirks of their people and geography – makes him qualified to do so with authority and great humour.
But it is his examination of what makes the German people tick – and ticked off – that provides the biggest laughs. He carries the audience with him, which made this precisely 75-minute show worth catching.
***** (out of 5)
– Don Descoteau
How I Murdered My Mother – Tomo Suru Players
All Ages, storytelling, drama, comedy at Wood Hall through Aug.31
Gerald Williams tells his audience he is a middle-aged homosexual who weeps when he gets emotional and is married to a Japanese man. He and his husband elected to become midwives to the death of Gerald’s parents, one of whom had Alzheimer’s. The parents chose this particular son (out of six siblings) because he was the one who loved them least, and who would do the right thing.
Interesting concept. It was a decision he does not regret, but if given another chance, he might opt for a different method of caring for dying parents. Gerald tells his story with the aid of images on his computer, in a relaxed manner. A charming and thought-provoking one-person performance. Be prepared to laugh, but keep the tissues handy.
****1/2 (out of 5)
– Sheila Martindale
READ Previous Reviews:
Terrific solo shows about famous figures
From fears realized to a medical mission
From laughing at cancer to experimental theatre
Victoria Fringe Festival starts with a bang
