Review: (Winnipeg) ChubRub Cabaret (Fringe)

Go Big or Go Home
by Edgar Governo
@pseudohistorian

Criticism of a show about accepting yourself just the way you are seems unfair.

I could say that some of the members (Ray Eskritt,  Melissa Granovsky, Johsa Manzanilla, and Heather Witherden) of this Winnipeg burlesque and cabaret troupe seemed more comfortable on stage, coordinated, or well-rehearsed than others. I could point out that ChubRub Cabaret often falls into the same trap as a lot of Fringe shows in terms of pacing, with long transitions between some sketches and periods of darkness that halt the show's momentum. I could even list my preferences for which dances or jokes or videos were most entertaining and which fell flat for me.

(To be fair, I could also say I'm trying to have it both ways with that last paragraph.)

However, the body-positive, shame-free message of the show is such a good and necessary one, and everyone's enthusiasm in it is so genuine, that it doesn't feel right to go on the attack like so many others have in the lives of these women. I will instead focus on their good-natured mood as the main ChubRub takeaway--as with our own bodies or any other Fringe show, we should worry less about everyone else's opinion (including mine) and just enjoy ourselves.

To July 17