Fringe 2010

Yes, the Fringe is back!

Rehearsals are done, programs have been dog-eared, starred, paper-clipped and highlighted, and folks are planning to make the most of 10 days of theatre spectacle and madness.

If you haven’t done so already, go buy a program. They’re only $6, and you can purchase them throughout Old Strathcona, and even at Safeway this year, so it’s not like you have to go out of your way or anything. This year there are 11 main venues and 28 BYOV’s this year, spread throughout the city. Yes folks, the Fringe is coming to YOUR neighbourhood! 118th Avenue, the U of A, downtown and Cite Francophone all host Fringe venues this year. You don’t even have to go down to Old Strathcona to Fringe anymore.

(Final bit of housekeeping: I haven’t seen any of these shows, and I am not affiliated with any of them, they just look interesting to me!)
Ok, down to business:

This year’s Festival is called "We’ll Show You Ours”. Thespians have always been on the daring side, and a couple of shows seem to be quite literally showing us theirs– “The Human Body Project” and “Hair”. They are certainly not the only ones, though. Check out the content legend in the program if you don’t want any nasty surprises when you take Great Auntie Mabel to see a show…

It just isn’t the Fringe without Shakespeare, and this year’s festival offers the ultimate in convenience for you, the theatre patron. “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” brings you 100% of your festival requirement of Vitamin Bard, while leaving you plenty of time to take in other shows and performances.

Fringe Favorites Chris Gibbs, Keir Cutler, TJ Dawe, Jem Rolls and Erik de Waal are all back with new one-man shows. These performers are always a good bet – get your tickets early! This year also we also have “7 (x1) Samurai”, the one-man telling of the epic “The Seven Samurai” (or for those of you who didn’t take Film Studies as an elective, it’s the one-man telling of the movie that “The Magnificent Seven” was based on.).

Local playwrights, including Gerald Osborn, David Belke, Stewart Lemoine, Kenneth Brown, and Tony Cashman all have new works playing. Pair one of these established artists with an up-and-coming young company, and you have a fantastic mix of youth and experience.

If you find theatre in actual theatres too conventional, this is your year. A book store, an art supply store, several churches of various denominations, and a number of nightclubs, bars and restaurants are all hosting shows. My favorite BYOV venue locations of the year have to be “The Old Shed Just South of the Railroad Tracks” (Venue #35), and “Walking Tour to Four Secret Locations” (Venue #30).

There are 2 productions which look particularly interesting to me, for very different reasons. “The Metamorphosis” is a chamber opera setting of Kafka’s epic work. “The Way of All Fish” is a one-act play by the brilliant writer Elaine May (of Nicholls and May fame.) If you’re too young to have heard of any of these people, you can look them up on Wikipedia.

Other trends that caught my eye:

Sequels! They’re not just for Jerry Bruckheimer movies anymore! This year’s theatrical sequels include “Word of Mouth is Killing Us 2”, “Spiral Dive III”, and “Twisted Themepark II”. In keeping with the movie blockbuster concept, Guys in Disguise are performing in 3D this year. And you thought the eyelashes looked big before....

Monsters!: Victorian Zombies in “Famished”, vampires in “Dragula”, and mad doctors in “Songs for Caligari”. As if that weren’t enough, they all have actual live musicians! It just does not get better than this.

Tenors! “The PreTenors” return, and “Il Duo” make their Fringe debut. Tenors for everyone this year!

Puppets! And not just at the Kids Fringe. “The Supervillan Monologues” features puppets and humans performing words “written by evil masterminds”. So far as I am aware, this is the first Fringe show to actually use the words MUAH HA HA HA in their program description.

German Punk Rock! “Die Roten Punkte” return with “Kunst Rock”. If you are a fan of comedy, punk rock, musical satire or German art in any form (and frankly, who isn’t a fan of at least 2 of these), this is the show for you.

Finally, who do you suppose the Journal will send to review “Liz Nicholls: The Musical”. Hmmm, I wonder….

Have a great Fringe everyone!