Review: (Ottawa) Mr. and Mrs. Jones (Fringe)

Keeping Up With The Jones's
by Jim Murchison 
@JimMurchison

There are a lot of intriguing questions posed by the two extremely engaging performers from New Zealand's You Rung? Productions. David Ladderman and Lizzie Tollemache play the title characters with  a wonderful blend of illusion, mentalism and storytelling oozing with charm. 

Actually Ladderman is an Aussie and Tollemache a Kiwi and their characters allege that they are like any other couple ... almost. They are like any other couple that bend objects with their minds, read others' minds,  and solve murders while confounding and amazing their 19th century audiences.

In fact, although Mr and Mrs Jones are presented as a real life phenomenon or possibly hucksters that baffle their Auckland audiences, I don't know if they actually existed. Whether this is a true biography or another con hardly matters. The connection with the audience is very real and the story is as compelling as the bag of tricks that move it forward.

It is kind of a quirky love story with a touch of larceny delivered with the wink of a flimflam man that picks your pocket, but you don’t care because it’s so entertaining. It’s in a small venue so get your tickets early. They’ve come all the way from New Zealand and they deserve to sell out this intimate little space.  

June 19 - 29