W. Lloyd Williams

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Filtering by Tag: fringe

Toronto Fringe Festival

July 4-7, 2010, Toronto, ON - Fringe Festival

More Theatre: 1. "How Coyote Was Swallowed by the Sandia Mountains" a thought provoking look at the suicide death of a sibling. Minimal set and good acting.

2. "Short Story Long" outstanding performance by two women actors that twisted and turned through their lives following the death of novelist husband and lover.

3. "Jitters" Soulpepper Theatre performance of David French's comedic behind-the-scenes look at the creation of a play.

4. "Raven for a Lark" by Elise Newman was a provocative study in the transformative nature of influence. Two actors get sucked into the twisted world of Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy.

5. "Afternoon Tea with Jane Austen" by Tali Brady was disappointing. Rather than a play it was more like a museum docent presentation on the life of Austen. There were some interesting facts about her life.

6. "Jersey Boys" at the end of its two year run in Toronto (longest ever for the Theatre) this outstanding evening is a music filled tour through the joys and heartaches of four boys from NJ. A great performance with many talented players. Glad we saw this.

7. "Lucky 9" by Fringe favorite TJ Dawe. This monologue was an autobiographical journey through his discovery of Enneagrams and their impact on his family and friends. He is talented and enjoyable. This was time well spent.

8. "Brothers and Arms" by Steven Jackson. The potential here was unrealized. The acting was weak, the directing must have been uncritical, and the script was on the nose and needs several rewrites. The theme is important and the storyline was innovated, just poorly executed.

9. "A Month In The Country" by Ivan Turgenev adapted by Susan Coyne. This was good but the adaptation was lacking continuity, seemed more like little vignettes. The physical acting with hammock, water hose, tire swing, were all innovative but distracted from the text which seemed limp and without energy. I read another of her adaptations and it too seemed to lack a vital energy necessary to sustain interest.

Our expectations were low and we were pleasantly pleased with the quality of the Fringe performances. We have always enjoyed Soul Pepper and Jersey Boys was just a treat. -L