Tag Archives: Fringe

London Fringe – Fool Muun Komming: Not Quite Full, but Potential to Wax

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By Jay Menard

Fool Muun Komming is fringey. Not quite able to be defined; not quite finished; but certainly representative of the oddball quirk that only Fringe theatre can provide.

Steve Day plays an alien who is coming to Earth on a crash course for a first-contact meeting of two peoples. Of course, there’s a good chance that the asteroid that Day is riding will destroy the very people that he’s excited to meet — but that point escapes him.

The alien has been inundated with Earthly culture through the miracle of sound and audio waves. He’s a card-carrying member of the YouTube generation with a fairly passable command of the English language — even if the subtleties of language sometimes escape him. Continue reading →

London Fringe — I Sound Like Mom – Honestly Growing into Self-Discovery

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By Jay Menard

Meghan Brown, early on in her one-woman show I Sound Like Mom, makes an offhand comment about her acting ability, suggesting that some critics may not have held her such high esteem. Well, with her latest Fringe venture, if Brown isn’t being completely open, honest, and exposed to the world, then she has nothing to worry about from the critics because she’s clearly the greatest actor we’ve seen in a long time.

Simply put, I Sound Like Mom is Brown sticking a pen in her heart and spilling it out onto the page. And then she stands before us all, with nothing to hide behind and no mask to wear, and tells the story of her life and her relationship with her mom. The good, the bad, and the delayed realization that being like her mother is actually a good thing.

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London Fringe — Within/Between: a Primal Celebration of Sound and Movement

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By Jay Menard

Wired On Words’ Within/Between is a stunning celebration of sound and vision, and movement and space. It is build as visual poetry, but it is best described as an experience — and one that should not be missed.

The production features Ian Ferrier on guitar, keyboards, and vocals, with Stephanie Morin-Robert providing the movement through dance and video projection (reminiscent of her “eye” work during last year’s presentation of Blindside.) The two combine to create a sound and vision experience that at once lulls you into a trance, then smashes you back into reality with a violent crescendo of movement. Continue reading →

London Fringe — Your Princess is in Another Castle, but the Castle is Still Just a Facade

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By Jay Menard

Before the play starts, Wes Babcock explains to the crowd that Your Princess is in Another Castle is very much a work in progress. He and Nancy Kenny, known for Roller Derby Saved my Soul and Everybody Dies in December, are workshopping this production and that honesty is greatly appreciated, because the production is very, very rough.

Ostensibly, the play is about Princess Polly, who loses the vote for Miss Leader of the Free World — the elections are won and lost by reality television. She finds herself a barista in a coffee shop run by her mannequin boyfriend. And Polly feels she lost the election because she was unable to make the mannequin population care for her.

There are elements of an interesting story here. The first building blocks of a foundation upon which something entertaining may arise. But right now, the drywall’s been applied a little haphazardly, the windows are slapdash, and the decorations are a little gaudy. It needs work and refinement to be something a little more stage-worthy. Continue reading →

London Fringe — Bedwetter: Not-So-Dry Humour About Growing Up Leaky

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By Jay Menard

Out of tragedy comes comedy. And though a childhood — and well into the teen years — filled with bedwetting may not be the classic definition of tragedy, for any youth going through it, it would be a devastating, confidence-draining experience.

Fortunately, Tamlynn Bryson came out of her experience stronger, more confident, and able to look back with a laugh at her experience. And Fringe goers are all the richer for the experience. Continue reading →