The Fringe Festival is almost over -- I hope some of you were able to take in some performances. As I said before, it can be fun just to stick a pin in the program randomly and see whatever you get. That's what I did last night. Even if the show is putrid, you can still get something out of it.
Last week, I saw "2 for Tea" with James and Jamesy and it was great fun. Jamesy is a great physical comedian with stunning control of his character and his physical attributes -- he is like a dancer (perhaps he has some dance training -- he can hold his leg out straight for a LONG time and he had this great shtick when he sat down that even the people they chose from the audience were able to incorporate into their little performances -- lovely) and he and James play very well together. James is a bigger, beefier fellow with a big open face. The premise is simple -- two friends get together once a week for tea. They got people out of the audience to play the general of the British army (to whom they wanted to serve tea, with dire consequences) and Jamesy's parents. It was very entertaining and just what my friend and I needed after a challenging week of back to school! It was light and funny but also rather touching and sweet and I liked James and Jamesy's relationship -- I believed they were friends and even their conflict (which was based on Jamesy calling James "Jamesy"!) was handled with sweetness and a little bit of an edge. I was gratified that, even though the story was simple and they were going for the laughs, they were able to give us performances that struck several notes, which is what life is like, I think. I liked the contrast between the two characters and their precise movements and the use they made of the audience and their set and costumes and even the little jokes they made about how the stage was spiked.
Last night, we saw "The Dance Teacher" and this was the one I just chose randomly. It was about a guy who is a dance teacher and how he molested his students. The playbill said one of the things that was worth seeing about the show was that you would leave wondering if he had actually done it. But in the play, they said they had video evidence to show that he had, indeed, done it. And in fact, he confessed. When I chose the show, I read that the cast was great, but afterward I didn't think so. The guy who played Justin, the main character, was very handsome and he had some good moments -- mostly when he was quiet and just sitting there and you could imagine what he was thinking. (Note to self -- you don't have to TELL the audience everything, and, in fact, you shouldn't -- let them figure out stuff for themselves.) But the other actors played one note each (this might be the fault of the script which was very pedestrian, obvious, repetitive and solemn). Even the gestures were repetitive -- everyone seemed to be grabbing each other's faces. And there was no dancing. I think when you call a play "The Dance Teacher" there should be dancing. There were a number of moments when I think they were trying to shock us, but that's what it seemed like -- "oh, look how shocking we are!" and everyone seemed to be constantly in everyone else's personal space in a way that didn't work theatrically, but just made it seem like they weren't using the stage. And there were lots of those "soap opera" moments, when someone would say something shocking or angry (there was NO HUMOUR in it at all -- none, nothing -- all super solemn) and then the other person would walk away and look out at the audience. When you see a show like this, the best part is afterward when you can discuss it. As you can sense, I hated it.
The Fringe continues today. If you have time, pop into Vancouver and take in a show. Here are a few which have had some good reviews:
Space Hippo (at the Waterfront on Granville Island) from 1:15 to 2:15 (about saving the planet)
Marrow (at the Havanna Theatre on Commercial Drive) from 4:00 to 4:50 (about two sisters with a secret)
Curious Contagious (at the Waterfront) from 8:05 - 9:05 (about a virus taking over a unicorn's body -- appropriate for all ages, apparently)
Happy Fringing!
No comments:
Post a Comment