IF I COULD ONLY CHOOSE 10 PLAYS TO SEE AT THIS YEAR’S FRINGE FESTIVAL
By E. Ross Bradley
Each year, I get asked to ‘give me your top 5 or 10 shows’ by fringe buddies who know that I see lots of shows (on average 50 to 60 per year) and this somehow makes me an expert. Fringe like any theatre experience is very personal, so my top 10 may not be anyone else’s cup of tea. Even when I compare notes with other Frequent Fringers, we seldom agree on our top choices as we are each looking for something different in a theatre experience. The same warning should apply to reading the critics and reviewers in the local and national media who may or may not have any theatre background, yet dole out stars or suns that then influence the choices of thousands of theatre goers. Remember there are over 1,600 performances of more than 220 productions in 42 venues so there is no end of choice for whatever experience you are looking for. Remember also that there are some excellent shows that are returning for a second time to this year’s fringe that are not on my list as I enjoyed them the first time but am focusing on new productions for the next 10 days.
With that as a disclaimer and, realizing that I have not seen a single play yet, here are the first ten tickets (in no particular order) I plan to purchase this week for A Fringe 'O" Saurus Rex, the 37th annual Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival when it takes over Old Strathcona from August 16 to 26.
And when all else fails there is wood fired pizza and green onion cakes to eat in the beer tent with the beverage of your choice. Enjoy the last big festival of the summer.
1. A Canadian Barternder at Butlins
Runtime: 75 minutes
The 15th anniversary remount of TJ's show about slinging beer in British hell. "This guy's headed for the stand-up hall of fame" - Georgia Straight, "Dawe has storytelling down to a fine art" - Vancouver Sun, "If Jerry Seinfeld and George Carlin had a baby, it'd be TJ Dawe" - Winnipeg Sun [ TJ Dawe ]
Stage 22: Garneau Theatre
See also
A Sad-Ass Cabaret
Runtime: 60 Minutes
Fringe mainstay TJ Dawe (The Slipknot, Medicine, Marathon, Burn Job, etc) talks, singer/songwriter Lindsay Robertson plays music and sings, exploring stories and songs of Hank Williams, Judy Garland, Sufjan Stevens and others in this intimate hybrid performance showing why we're drawn to sad-ass, tear-jerking, gut-wrenching, redemptive, cathartic music. [ The Wretched Orphans ]
Stage 13: Old Strathcona Public Library
addy Issues? We all have them. MAN UP! 2015 Edmonton Fringe held over five-star self-titled smash hit) are back to set the patriarchy ablaze. Dressed in sky-high heels and not much else, these five men redefine masculinity with their signature brand of genderf*ckery.
2. Mike Delamont: An All New God is a Scottish Drag Queen
Runtime: 60 minutes
From 3 Time Canadian Comedy Award Nominee and 20 time 'Best of the Fest' winner Mike Delamont comes the much anticipated return of everyone's favourite deity. God returns to skewer everything from Adam & Eve to Armadillos in an all new and hilarious hour of comedy! [ Mike Delamont ]
Stage 22: Garneau Theatre
See also
Mike & Chantelle Delamont: Maybe Baby
Runtime: 60 minutes
From the award winning couple that gave birth to God Is A Scottish Drag Queen comes an all new show about the ups and downs of fertility and about what to expect when you are NOT expecting. [ Mike Delamont ]
Stage 36: La Cité Auditorium
and
The War of 1812
Runtime: 60 minutes
5 STARS "Funny an fresh...Tears of laughter" - Toronto Sun. From the producer of God Is A Scottish Drag Queen and the writers of Three Dead Trolls In A Baggie comes the funniest history lesson of a lifetime! Starring Wes Borg, Morgan Cranny, Rod Peter Jr and Mike Delamont [ Mike Delamont ]
37: Auditorium at Campus Saint-Jean
3. The Alien Baby Play
Runtime: 60 minutes
Bethany is pregnant--with an alien--and you're invited to the birth! From the company that brought you the held-over fringe hit "Prophecy" (***** CBC) and the award-winning "The Fall of the House of Atreus," comes an oddly heart-touching and hysterically funny chronicle of fate, family and extraterrestrial love. [ Impossible Mongoose ]
Stage 3: Walterdale Theatre
4. Don't Frown At The Gown
Runtime: 60 minutes
From the award-winning duo behind Flora & Fawna's Field Trip and Puckbunnies. 1962. On the eve of Susan's wedding, a final fitting at Lady Laura Lee's Bridal Belle Boutique tightens bonds, reveals secrets and stretches loyalties - to the breaking point. A woman's duty clashes with the modern sexual revolution. [ Guys in Disguise ]
Stage 12: The Varscona Theatre
See Also
2 Queens & A Joker
Runtime: 60 minutes
Guys In Disguise knows a thing or two about Queens! Elizabeth the First and Mary, Queen of Scots: Cousins, Monarchs and bitter rivals. As they scheme to be the last Queen standing, a handsome double-agent named Don Chute: The Messenger falls under the seductive spells of their Royal allure. [ Guys in Disguise ]
Stage 17: The Roxy on Gateway
5. Eddie Poe
Runtime: 60 minutes
The creators of "Edgar Allan" (*****- Edmonton Journal/Global News) present an entirely new manic riff inspired by the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe... Sixteen-year-old Edgar Allan has one goal: to gain mastery over his subjects at the University of Virginia. He has one obstacle: Eddie Poe. [ The Coldharts ]
Stage 37: Auditorium at Campus Saint-Jean
6. Everything's Coming Up Chickens! A Revue
Runtime: 75 minutes
The Janes are back with it's first ever musical revue at the Fringe! The Sterling-Award-winning company celebrates all things theatre, ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime-boldly going inside the world of entertainment featuring musical gems of yesterday and today. "Everything's coming up roses and daffodils and...chickens!" (Gypsy) [ Plain Jane Theatre Company ]
Stage 12: The Varscona Theatre
7. Macbeth Muet
Runtime: 60 minutes
Kings will perish, nature itself will be twisted, and paper plates will... break. Macbeth Muet is an internationally acclaimed, hyper-speed, visceral reinterpretation of this timeless story. "... inventive and oxygenating... it may break your heart in a way you don't see coming." - NEW YORK TIMES [ Théâtre Surreal SoReal ]
Stage 9: Telus Phone Museum
8. ONE MAN WALKING DEAD
Runtime: 75 minutes
The Dead walk! Society has crumbled and ravenous corpses rule... Can a ragtag band of survivors make their way in an undead world? Mark Meer bites into a script co-written by Fringe festival favourite T.J. Dawe. A one-man parody of the zombie TV series spawned by the zombie comic book. [ Rapid Fire Theatre ]
Stage 22: Garneau Theatre
9. Rig Pig Fantasia
Runtime: 90 minutes
From WISHBONE THEATRE, the company that brought you the fringe hits BASHIR LAZHAR , SHIMMER and THE LONELY HEARTS, comes RIG PIG FANTASIA. A play about oil, donuts and road rage, about colonialism, reconciliation and what it means to be a man. And dancing. It's also about dancing. [ wishbone theatre ]
Stage 1: Westbury Theatre
10.The Real Inspector Hound
Runtime: 75 minutes
Who is the madman roaming the moors? Who is the body under the couch? And, above all, who is the real Inspector Hound? The crack team behind fringe hits "No Exit" and "We Were Dancing" return with this highly acclaimed, wild and wonderfully absurd murder mystery farce. [ Bright Young Things ]
12: The Varscona Theatre
Also Have Great Potential
Buyer & Cellar
Runtime: 90 minutes
Barbra Streisand has a mall in her basement (TRUTH!). Meet Alex, the man who has to work there (... not true). Don't miss the Edmonton premiere of the outrageous off-Broadway smash hit about the price of fame, the cost of things, and the oddest of odd jobs. [ Next Stage Productions ]
Stage 10: Acacia Hall
Tuesdays and Sundays
Runtime: 75 minutes
Based on a true story from P.E.I. A free-spirited and strong-willed young woman falls in love with a man trapped by fear and pressure to succeed. Could a fleeting romance and her persistent hope free him? Or will what he can't do drive them both to desperation? [ Soul Pancakes ]
Stage 15: Cool Air Rentals Stage at Holy Trinity Anglican Church
And Do we really need to recommend the annual Stuart Lemoine contribution?
A Lesson in Brio
Runtime: 75 minutes
Teatro returns to the Fringe with a Lemoine premiere, his first all-new full length offering at the Festival since The Euphorians in 2014. Starring Rachel Bowron, Patricia Cerra, Mathew Hulshof, and Jenny McKillop- all abundantly well-equipped to flourish in this sizzling demonstration of mind over matter and vivacity over adversity. [ Teatro La Quindicina ]
Stage 12: The Varscona Theatre