Review: (Ottawa) Can't Argue With Pussy (Fringe)

CAN'T ARGUE WITH PUSSY - 
WELL YA CAN'T!

by Jim Murchison
Twitter@JimMurchison

It was an odd time to see two stand up comediennes: 1:00 pm Sunday. But 10 brave souls went to see Can’t Argue with Pussy and found out why. I even got to do a cameo. I had to play an asshole which I was told I did quite effectively proving that casting against type is not always a bad thing.

The whole premise of the play is really to give two women stand up comedians an opportunity to do material that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to do at the male operated venues. You might think that in the world of stand up that it is no holds barred but apparently not. 

Rebecca Reeds and Jennifer Hayward don’t pull any punches. I don’t think I need put in a disclaimer that this is adult themed humour as the title is pretty much a give away. It was pretty well received which is not always the case with deprecating jokes of all varieties with a small crowd in attendance, but this group wasn’t overly reserved so a lot of the material hit the mark. 

Thankfully, the rest of the run are all evening shows with the Thursday one being at 11:00 pm and the larger house should definitely be a boon to a show that deserves and should have a larger audience. Don’t take it too seriously or be offended by a little bit of raunchiness and you should have a good time.  

June 19 - 29

Review: (Toronto) New Ideas Festival (Week 3)

 Simprov (photo by Caolyn Zapf, Alumnae Theatre)

A Gamble and A Win
by Keely Kwok

Alumnae Theatre’s New Ideas Festival has definitely earned its name. With four short plays in the span of two hours, it’s always a gamble in terms of what you’re going to see. Thankfully, this festival is a win for its creativity and ingenuity. 

The first show Airport Tale, written by Carol Libman is a cute scenario of two strangers meeting at an airport and how they influence one another. With great characters like the sassy Evalina Applegee played by Jane Carnwath and the bumbling Roger Robinson played by Andy Perun, Airport Tale is a fun way to kick off the night.

Review: (Toronto) The Lady's Not For Burning

Andrea Brown, Chris Coculuzzi (photo by Dahlia Katz)

Not Old-Fashioned, Not Fluff
by Lucy Wells

Despite the strong winds last evening, I was more than pleased to make the trek out to the Alumnae Theatre to see their new production of Christopher Fry’s classic comedy. Written in 1948 but set in the year 1400, either more or less or exactly, it was so popular for a time that Margaret Thatcher’s speech-writers referenced it in one of her most famous addresses. It references Shakespearean comedy and is written in rather florid verse, but it has its own cheekily anachronistic style.

Right off the top, I really enjoyed the set.  It is an elaborate stage, on several levels, with several doors and a large window to accommodate the many entrances and exits in this very physical comedy.  Characters run in and out constantly, popping in and out of the window, hiding behind doors, jumping on the furniture, and in one case, scrubbing the floor; as this play unfolds in the same room throughout, it was nice to have a solid enough set that it could be used without wobbling! 

Sunday Feature: Producer Dahlia Katz on the FireWorks Series

Setting Off FireWorks
by Dahlia Katz, rehearsal photos by Dahlia Katz
@Dahlia Katz

From sparks to a sizzle to explosion – this, as a matter of fact, is the story of the FireWorks series at Alumnae Theatre in Toronto.

Alumnae is home to one of the oldest theatre companies in Canada.  Founded in 1919 by women graduates from the University of Toronto and still operating with all-female membership and administrative team (though men are welcome to act, direct, design and stage-manage), she occupies a beautiful former firehall on Berkeley Street, just paces north of Canadian Stage, and puts on four mainstage productions per year, and a festival entitled New Ideas.  

Bonus Feature: First-Person - Sarah White on The Glass Cage

(photo by Will Pemulis)

When Flukes Work
Scots-Canadians, a bevy of secrets, and a little known JB Priestley work
by Sarah White

Sarah White is a Toronto based actor and producer. Her career has spanned the worlds of film, television, voice and theatre. Her roles have included Willa Thompson in both “Booky’s Crush” and “Booky and The Secret Santa” a homicidal cult member in the CBC show “The Border” and the female lead in the short film Clive Houston We Have a Problem which won best international film at the Nevada Film Festival. She has also lent her voice to both The Fifth Estate and NBC’s Dateline. Most recently Ms White appeared as Polly Perks in the 2013 Toronto Fringe show Monstrous Regiment. The Glass Cage is her first producing venture.

I came upon The Glass Cage as a fluke, a bit of chance. I had been planning to produce and act in another J.B. Priestley play, perhaps his most well known, An Inspector Calls, but unfortunately after applying for the rights and being turned down  . . . then waiting six months, applying again and still being turned down, I gave up and began looking for other options. I spent hours at the Toronto Reference Library and on the internet,  trying to find a play that spoke to me, a play I would want to devote several months of my life to. One day, after yet another Google search, I stumbled across a J.B. Priestley play that I had never heard of before. As I read more about the play my excitement grew as I discovered that The Glass Cage was set in 1906 Toronto. It was J.B. Priestley’s last original play, and I could find no mention of it being performed in Toronto since its inaugural production in 1957. How had nobody in Canada re-mounted it? I contacted Samuel French, but they didn’t own the rights. I contacted Dramatists Play Services but they too couldn’t help me. I finally got in touch with J.B. Priestley’s estate and they were able to grant me the rights.