Review (Ottawa) Who Killed Gertrude Crump (Fringe)

The Puppets are Scariest Up Close
by Robyn Lester
@RobinRobynRob

Puppets! Puppets, puppets, puppets! If that hasn’t sold you, I guess I should talk about the show. Who Killed Gertrude Crump is a humorous murder mystery told through –you guessed it – puppets! And the puppeteer? Well, it’s none other than Agatha Christie (Tara Travis), posthumously telling the one mystery she never published.  

Review: (Ottawa) Paco P. Put To Sleep (Fringe)

ICE CREAM...
by Robyn Lester
@RobinRobynRob

I’m not sure what to say about Paco P. Put to Sleep. It was certainly interesting. But I’m still not sure if I liked it. I think I did. I laughed. But I also got really irritated with all the characters. Is that normal? All I know for sure is that by the end, I really wanted ice cream. 

Written by Martin Dockery, this play is about a friend who falls asleep, the five people who are left to wake him, and a world that is on fire. Sound strange? Well, it is. After Paco falls asleep on the couch, his friends have a brief moment of concern before getting annoyingly sidetracked by inconsequential details like, is it going to rain?

Review: (Ottawa) First Words (Fringe)

...Me...
by Robyn Lester
@RobynRobinRob

I kicked off my 2014 Ottawa Fringe experience with Natalie Joy Quesnel’s solo show, First Words.

Inspired by true events, First Words tells the story of Me, the one child who, while still in utero, survived a fire that killed her five older siblings. Heart-broken, Me’s mother vowed to replace each child she lost, giving them the same names as the ones who were killed. Starting with Me.

But this play wasn’t focused on re-hashing past tragic events. Rather, it was a story documenting and exploring the protagonist’s own complicated emotions. The guilt she felt for not feeling guilty. The frustration of having a name that served as a constant reminder of the child who should have lived. The child she was replacing. The play addressed the issue of identity and self-discovery in a way that was relatable, even if the circumstances were not.

Review: (Ottawa) Great Battles in History (Fringe)

A one-man musical comedy about historical military battles?
by Robyn Lester
@RobinRobynRob

Going in, I had no idea what to expect. A one-man musical comedy about historical military battles? All right. I’ll give it a go.

And am I glad I did!

Mark Shyzer’s Great Battles in History was absolutely hilarious, yet complex and multi-layered enough that I left feeling like I just saw something really special. There’s always that one play at Fringe that makes me want to hop inside the brain of the writer. This year it was Great Battles in History.

Simply stated, it’s a not-so-musical comedy about a production gone terribly wrong and the one man left to pick up all the pieces. Like war itself this play was chaotic, non-linear, and confusing. In a good way, I assure you. Unlike war, it was laugh-out-loud funny and had a ukulele.

The acting was delightful, the humour was right up my alley, and the use of little figurines was just…well, c’mon!  Who doesn’t want to see a play that uses little plastic made in China toys as characters?   

So come see Great Battles in History to hear all about the musical you could have seen if things went right. What? That doesn’t make sense? Yeah, well it will when you see it. So see it! It’s a lot of fun, and will leave you wondering what the hell you just watched. Again, in a good way!

June 19 - 29

Review: (Ottawa / Theatre) Much Ado About Feckin' Pirates

Much Ado About Feckin’ Pirates? Feckin’ Impressive
by Robyn Lester
@RobinRobynRob

It was with some trepidation that I entered The Gladstone for the opening night of Much Ado About Feckin’ Pirates. Directed by Al Connors, starring Richard Gélinas and Margo MacDonald, this play is unusual in that the content is largely improvised around a few key plot points and topics voted on by the audience prior to the show. Typically I enjoy improv, but whenever I go to an improvised show I feel the same way I do before a blind date. I say that prayer that everything will go alright. That there won’t be any long awkward silences. That I’ll actually find them funny and entertaining. Luckily, any fear on my part was completely unnecessary. Gélinas and MacDonald had me, and the entire audience, laughing the whole way through.

Review: (Ottawa) The Tashme Project - the Living Archives

This Is the Unfolding of Life
by Robyn Lester
@RobynRobinRob

The Tashme Project: The Living Archives created by Julie Tamiko Manning and Matt Miwa is a play that demonstrates the true beauty of storytelling and the transformative power of memory.

Through the verbatim re-tellings of true stories, this play opens our eyes to the realities of the 2nd generation Japanese-Canadians (Nisei) who were interned during WWII as children. Through their memories of that experience, and the hardships they continued to face after the internment, we are given a living history lesson. One that is all too often overlooked.

Review: (Ottawa) Ciseaux (Undercurrents)

Two Lives Entwined
Some people are forever bound together…for better, or for worse
by Robyn Lester
@RobinRobynRob

There are some heavy themes at work in Lisa L’Heureux’s Ciseaux. Political upheaval, child soldiers, even sex trafficking. It’s all there, playing out before our very eyes, forcing us to consider the realities of our world.

Ciseaux follows two young girls, Phanie and Olivia. When we first meet these characters they are eight years old. Phanie is loud and abrasive. A bully. Olivia is quiet and timid. An easy target for Phanie. But every action has a consequence, and it just so happens that the choices they each make affect the other in unimaginable ways. And with that we are pulled from the comfort of the classroom and thrown into a world of war and child soldiers. 

Review: (Ottawa) You Fancy Yourself

The Joys and Heartache of Being a Child
by Robyn Lester
@RobinRobynRob

It was an exciting night at the Great Canadian Theatre Company for the opening of Maja Ardal’s You Fancy Yourself, which was originally slated for last year’s season and then unexpectedly delayed. The play, both written and performed by Ardal, is loosely based on her own childhood memories of friends, school, and trying to fit in as a foreigner. It weaves together a universal story of the confusion and alienation we all experience as children, and tells it through the eyes of a young Icelandic girl, Elsa, now living in Scotland.

Review: (Ottawa) Skinflick

A Tame Foray into the Adult Film Industry 
by Robyn Lester
@RobinRobynRob

It was adults-only last night at the launch of Ottawa Little Theatre’s 101st season. The play that rung in the new era? Skin Flick, a mildly risqué comedy written by Norm Foster about three unemployed adults who decide that the best solution for their cash-flow problem is to get involved in the billion-dollar porn industry. 

After reflecting on what I saw, I find myself unsure how to proceed with this review. But I will start by saying this: I have never been to a production that elicited such a strong positive reaction from the crowd. There was such uproarious laughter and clapping that the actors occasionally had to pause before delivering their next line. From the sounds of it, everyone absolutely loved the production. Then there was me. Little Miss Negative Nancy.

Review: (Ottawa) Comedy of Errors

The Wild West
by Robyn Lester
@RobinRobynRob

Thursday night I braved the ominous looking skies and headed to Lisgar Field, outside of City Hall, to check out Bear and Co.’s western-themed performance of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.  Anticipating an absolute downpour, I brought my umbrella and hunkered down on the grass expecting the worst.  But, as luck would have it, the skies cleared just moments before the show started and I was able to fully enjoy a delightful evening of Shakespeare in the park!

Review: (Ottawa) Sappho...in 9 fragments (Fringe)

Who Knew Fragments Could Be So Beautiful?
by Robyn Lester
@robinrobynrob

This incredible solo piece is well worth your time and money.

Now, I must admit that much of the content went over my head.  I’m not familiar with Sappho, or her work, and was a little lost in the subject matter.  If this were any other show, it would have probably tarnished my enjoyment of the production.  But with Sappho...in 9 fragments, the show could have been in a different language and I still would have enjoyed it.  Yes, some background knowledge would have added to it, but it didn’t change the fact that this performance was absolutely awe-inspiring.  

Review: (Ottawa) Matchstick (Fringe)

The Journey is Never What You Expect
by Robyn Lester
@robinrobynrob

I can’t say enough about Matchstick.  It is an absolute must-see. 

This wasn’t initially on my list to watch.  But thanks to in-line promotion, I was talked into checking it out.  And thank goodness, because I would have hated to miss out on such a fantastic experience.
It’s hard to know where to start—but I can tell you, it will all be praise.  So you may as well stop reading now, and just go reserve your tickets.

Review: (Ottawa) Never Fall in Love With a Writer

Structure isn't Everything
by Robyn Lester
@robinrobynrob

Written by Sterling Lynch, this one-woman play centres on a woman’s relationship with a writer.  Jennifer Capogreco does an excellent job playing the four different characters; Grace, Samuel, Amy, and James.   It is also worth noting that the script was written clearly enough that the characters were easily distinguishable from one another—a very important thing when it comes to a one person show.  

Review: (Ottawa) The Vanity Project (Fringe)

The Narcissus Conundrum
by Robyn Lester

Sometimes the story isn’t what we’ve been told.  That seems to be the prevailing theme in The Vanity Project, a musical retelling of the story of Narcissus.  A musical retelling that also tries to warn us against the risks of being too pre-occupied with ourselves.  A pertinent message given today’s cultural trend towards announcing everything we do.   

There are two things working against me as I write this review.  For starters, I’ve never reviewed a musical.  Second, the majority of musicals I’ve been exposed to have all been high-budget Broadway productions.  So I had to keep my expectations in check while watching Tim Oberholzer’s musical.

Review: (Ottawa) Botched (Fringe)

Honest, Sad…and Whimsical?
by Robyn Lester

Tonight is your last chance to check out Botched, a dark comedy written by Colleen Osborn.

This is yet another play I could spend days analyzing.  I found it rather progressive in that it didn’t really buy into the polarized debate on abortion.  It’s not for, or against.  Instead it seems to express that there is no right answer.  No perfect solution.  

It’s odd to use this word given the subject matter, but the play had a whimsical feel to it.  The set consisted of a room scattered with toys, games, and dolls.  A space that looked as if it belonged to a child.  But it actually belonged to an 18-year old.  Our protagonist.  A young woman who survived a botched abortion as a fetus.

Review: (Ottawa) Emissions - a Climate Comedy (Fringe)

Using Laughter to Explore Human Nature and Climate Change

by Robyn Lester

From the title, I expected this production to be a preachy lesson in environmentalism thinly veiled in comedy.  However, it wasn’t quite like that.  Thank goodness.  Because there is nothing more annoying than someone using guilt tactics in order to make you change—a theme that Emissions: A Climate Comedy actually explores in one of its series of six vignettes.  

Review: (Ottawa) Imprisoned (Fringe)

Lefebvre

The World is not Black and White
by Robyn Lester

Sometimes it takes me a couple of days to really digest what I’ve seen.  I consider it a sign of a good play. Anything that keeps me thinking long after I’ve seen it is always worthwhile. Imprisoned is one of those plays. 

Written by Allie Bell, I found this piece uncomfortable to watch.  There’s no other way to say it. Uncomfortable because it took the subject matter of pedophilia, something that is almost always thought of in black and white terms, and proceeded to present it in shades of gray. I think it was a brave thing to write, and something that really encourages people to think more about the nature of right and wrong. This wasn’t so much a story of a bad guy and good guy, but the story of two people who are imprisoned by their need to do what they think is right.  

Review: (Ottawa) Prognosis Justice (Fringe)

Freaky, well-oiled improv
by Robyn Lester

An alcoholic baseball player turned nurse.  A wound treated with a banana.  A man bludgeoned to death with golf balls and poisoned by lizards. This was only a small part of the absurdity during Friday’s showing of Prognosis Justice: an Improvised Dramatic Comedy. 

Review: (Ottawa) Windfall Jelly (Fringe)

A Simple Story Told In a Complex Way
by Robyn Lester

Friday afternoon I went to watch Windfall Jelly, written and directed by Eleanor Crowder. This play was very interesting. The story line was simplistic, essentially telling the story of a couple who are falling out of love - or rather, one party is falling out of love with the other. It’s not a new story.  It’s been told over and over again, but the way Eleanor Crowder explores this theme in Windfall Jelly is unique and complex.

Review: (Ottawa) Come Blow Your Horn!

An entertaining trip back in time
by Robyn Lester

As soon as you enter the Ottawa Little Theatre, you know you’re in for a treat. Music from the 1960s is playing.  Ray Charles. The Marvelettes. The atmosphere is fun, light, and lively.  And this production of Neil Simon’s, Come Blow Your Horn, is exactly that. First produced in 1961, this play brings the audience on a delightful trip down memory lane, with themes that are still entirely relevant today.  

Growing pains. Every character is struggling with them. Struggling with their transition into a new phase of life. It’s a reality for all of us, but this play manages to take that reality and make it absolutely hilarious.  The two hours of non-stop fun is kicked off when 21 year old Buddy Baker (Connor Marghetis) unexpectedly shows up at his brother, Alan’s (Corey Pelow) New York bachelor pad.  Buddy has run away from home! He’s free! He’s cut the umbilical cord! He’s an adult now!  Oh, and can he stay here for a while?