Vancouver Fringe Festival Part 2
Unfortunately, it's been an action packed few weeks since I attended the Fringe, so the following are shows I saw but not necessarily in the right order.
"Murder, hope" is a play about neuroplasticity, which is bizarre in and of itself. It is yet another one woman show, which is not my favourite and it is the most disjointed of all the shows I saw. That said, the woman is totally delightful and Betsy and I agreed that we liked her better than the actual show. Basically, it was about a little boy with a horrible disease related to epilepsy and basically lost his ability to communicate. And a woman who lost the use of her arm. And another woman who lost her vestibular functioning. It was about how they were each able to re-wire their brains. But it wasn't that enjoyable, unfortunately.
I also saw "Biographies of the Dead and Dying." This was in a bizaree little theatre I didn't know existed, in the back of Havana on Commercial. Although I really loved the show, it was most notable for the fact that local musician Dan Mangan was there and I chatted with him briefly. This play was about a woman who had been married to a successful poet for many years. They had a tumultuous relationship. She also fancied herself a writer and eventually wrote a novel that became a huge success. Now she is divorced and needing another hit. A desperate and miserable alcoholic, who may or may not have a daughter to whom she makes innapropriate audio tapes, she goes to a supposedly haunted house with the hopes of being inspired sufficiently to write another book. The house is notable as another writer shot himself there. Things go predictably not to plan. She has a relationship with her married landlord (resulting in possibly the most interestingly staged sex scene ever), drinks a lot of booze, talks a lot of shit, and ultimately shoots herself. It was in no way surprising, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. Particularly for those of us with the inclination to write, there were a few gems about what disfunction leads us to that outlet. There was also utterly pointless nudity. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for nudity. But really, this was just silly. If such an award existed, it should win the prize for the best use of a stage prop/set piece, for the bathtub. It's hard to explain.
I also saw "The 7 Lives of Louis Riel." This was a one man show. But it was clever and funny, and was only lacking in it's failure to be in any way touching. Basically, it was a version of the story of Louis Riel told in 7 different veins, i.e. batman comic, spagetti western, puppet show, etc. Some of these were excellent and some were less so. But the effect of the whole was very enjoyable and high energy. It was the one of the weirder shows in that there was no 4th wall. It was totally audience interactive, replete with frequent question period and discussions. But I liked it quite a lot.
"Shotgun" was a huge disapointment. I was hoping for a show in the vein of "No Exit." I have come to the conclusion that I need to stop having high expectations for the Fringe, because it ends badly every time. So Sartre it wasn't. Pointless it was, however. I still don't understand why anyone put on this show. Basically, it was about an Australian woman who moved to Vancouver to be with her boyfriend. She started teaching at a fancy private school. She joined a car pool. In the car pool is a self-absorbed, arty drama teacher who is unsure about what she wants in life or who she is. There is also a sleazy white guy who hits on everyone that moves and thinks he's super cool, and a black guy who loves his family but his wife is always pissed at him and he is consequently sex starved. This is supposed to be a play about different people who are stuck together and either bond or kill each other during their daily commute. It was boring. It was pointless. It was not touching or clever or funny. The only good thing was the slight commentary about some of the mad quirkiness of Canada in general and Vancouver specifically.
After "Shotgun" I saw "Kicked." "Kicked" was originally from like 2001, so all the tunage were some classic grunge gems. That was the best thing about this show. It was also a one man adventure that tried to be touching and smart, but wasn't. It takes place in like 1993. It was about the kidnapping and eventual murder of a 6 year old girl and the subsequent investigation by a cop. The cop can hear the girl talking to him in his head, for reasons unexplained. Most of what happens in this show is simply filler. It's interviewing people who then prattle on about thier own issues and then slowly circle back to the case. But mostly, it's filler. The way the staging occurs, with the actor playing both the cop and doing the little girl voice, did not work. The funny thing about this show however, was the fact that it takes place in the town in Ontario where I spent my teens. And there were a few inside jokes that you'd only get if you were there, and I sort of enjoyed the rediculousness of that place at that time being pointed out. The acting was okay, but it's just not a good show.
The last show I saw was "pornSTar." It was a great way to end the festival, on a saturday afternoon. Whoever the girl is who puts on that show, she is tremendously charming and endearing. She plays 4 characters essentially. Somehow, she can evoke both sweetness and total toughness. My only complaint would be too much of the innocent sweet girl routine of the main character. I actually liked the dead sister character better, who was younger but less sacarine. I actually didn't understand the point of the sister's storyline, but was always glad when she showed up.
I enjoyed the layering of each of the characters and the very understandable motivations of each. As a woman, I found that all very realistic. Except for the fact that two of the characters suddenly turn lesbian. That was problematic for me on the reality front. Because while I believe that sexual orientation occurs on a spectrum and there are very few of us who are 100% one thing or another, I found it hard to accept that two characters who had seemingly no homosexual proclivities suddenly found themselves very into each other. Now, I could get into the whole thing about exceptional cases where people have fallen in love with someone who was not exactly their thing but got over it because of who the person was and not the external aspect. But that's a whole other topic, and my opinion is that doesn't happen in a day. Nevertheless, the play is essentially about these people who find themselves and have to make the hard choice between the comfortable life they know and taking the risk to be true to themselves.
All in all, I'm very glad that I went to the festival. There were several reasons for this. Going to theatre, even avant garde, even crappy theatre is great. It was also an excellent excuse to get together with various friends. It also got me out of my house and sometimes out of my head. So I can't wait to go again next year.
"Murder, hope" is a play about neuroplasticity, which is bizarre in and of itself. It is yet another one woman show, which is not my favourite and it is the most disjointed of all the shows I saw. That said, the woman is totally delightful and Betsy and I agreed that we liked her better than the actual show. Basically, it was about a little boy with a horrible disease related to epilepsy and basically lost his ability to communicate. And a woman who lost the use of her arm. And another woman who lost her vestibular functioning. It was about how they were each able to re-wire their brains. But it wasn't that enjoyable, unfortunately.
I also saw "Biographies of the Dead and Dying." This was in a bizaree little theatre I didn't know existed, in the back of Havana on Commercial. Although I really loved the show, it was most notable for the fact that local musician Dan Mangan was there and I chatted with him briefly. This play was about a woman who had been married to a successful poet for many years. They had a tumultuous relationship. She also fancied herself a writer and eventually wrote a novel that became a huge success. Now she is divorced and needing another hit. A desperate and miserable alcoholic, who may or may not have a daughter to whom she makes innapropriate audio tapes, she goes to a supposedly haunted house with the hopes of being inspired sufficiently to write another book. The house is notable as another writer shot himself there. Things go predictably not to plan. She has a relationship with her married landlord (resulting in possibly the most interestingly staged sex scene ever), drinks a lot of booze, talks a lot of shit, and ultimately shoots herself. It was in no way surprising, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. Particularly for those of us with the inclination to write, there were a few gems about what disfunction leads us to that outlet. There was also utterly pointless nudity. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for nudity. But really, this was just silly. If such an award existed, it should win the prize for the best use of a stage prop/set piece, for the bathtub. It's hard to explain.
I also saw "The 7 Lives of Louis Riel." This was a one man show. But it was clever and funny, and was only lacking in it's failure to be in any way touching. Basically, it was a version of the story of Louis Riel told in 7 different veins, i.e. batman comic, spagetti western, puppet show, etc. Some of these were excellent and some were less so. But the effect of the whole was very enjoyable and high energy. It was the one of the weirder shows in that there was no 4th wall. It was totally audience interactive, replete with frequent question period and discussions. But I liked it quite a lot.
"Shotgun" was a huge disapointment. I was hoping for a show in the vein of "No Exit." I have come to the conclusion that I need to stop having high expectations for the Fringe, because it ends badly every time. So Sartre it wasn't. Pointless it was, however. I still don't understand why anyone put on this show. Basically, it was about an Australian woman who moved to Vancouver to be with her boyfriend. She started teaching at a fancy private school. She joined a car pool. In the car pool is a self-absorbed, arty drama teacher who is unsure about what she wants in life or who she is. There is also a sleazy white guy who hits on everyone that moves and thinks he's super cool, and a black guy who loves his family but his wife is always pissed at him and he is consequently sex starved. This is supposed to be a play about different people who are stuck together and either bond or kill each other during their daily commute. It was boring. It was pointless. It was not touching or clever or funny. The only good thing was the slight commentary about some of the mad quirkiness of Canada in general and Vancouver specifically.
After "Shotgun" I saw "Kicked." "Kicked" was originally from like 2001, so all the tunage were some classic grunge gems. That was the best thing about this show. It was also a one man adventure that tried to be touching and smart, but wasn't. It takes place in like 1993. It was about the kidnapping and eventual murder of a 6 year old girl and the subsequent investigation by a cop. The cop can hear the girl talking to him in his head, for reasons unexplained. Most of what happens in this show is simply filler. It's interviewing people who then prattle on about thier own issues and then slowly circle back to the case. But mostly, it's filler. The way the staging occurs, with the actor playing both the cop and doing the little girl voice, did not work. The funny thing about this show however, was the fact that it takes place in the town in Ontario where I spent my teens. And there were a few inside jokes that you'd only get if you were there, and I sort of enjoyed the rediculousness of that place at that time being pointed out. The acting was okay, but it's just not a good show.
The last show I saw was "pornSTar." It was a great way to end the festival, on a saturday afternoon. Whoever the girl is who puts on that show, she is tremendously charming and endearing. She plays 4 characters essentially. Somehow, she can evoke both sweetness and total toughness. My only complaint would be too much of the innocent sweet girl routine of the main character. I actually liked the dead sister character better, who was younger but less sacarine. I actually didn't understand the point of the sister's storyline, but was always glad when she showed up.
I enjoyed the layering of each of the characters and the very understandable motivations of each. As a woman, I found that all very realistic. Except for the fact that two of the characters suddenly turn lesbian. That was problematic for me on the reality front. Because while I believe that sexual orientation occurs on a spectrum and there are very few of us who are 100% one thing or another, I found it hard to accept that two characters who had seemingly no homosexual proclivities suddenly found themselves very into each other. Now, I could get into the whole thing about exceptional cases where people have fallen in love with someone who was not exactly their thing but got over it because of who the person was and not the external aspect. But that's a whole other topic, and my opinion is that doesn't happen in a day. Nevertheless, the play is essentially about these people who find themselves and have to make the hard choice between the comfortable life they know and taking the risk to be true to themselves.
All in all, I'm very glad that I went to the festival. There were several reasons for this. Going to theatre, even avant garde, even crappy theatre is great. It was also an excellent excuse to get together with various friends. It also got me out of my house and sometimes out of my head. So I can't wait to go again next year.
posted by venbot | 11:16 a.m.
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