Victoria Fringe Festival 2016. My away picks.
In 2006 I celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Victoria Fringe Festival and got truly bitten by the Fringe bug. I saw many more shows than originally planned, and had so much fun I decided to volunteer the following year (and did so until 2014 when I switched to reviewing). Over the years I’ve met many Fringe artists and followed their careers—both in Victoria and further afield.
Even before social media became mainstream, I was sharing news and tips about the #yyjfringe, publishing my first “picks” post in 2010.
As always, these are some shows to consider for your viewing pleasure, based on artists whose work I admire. That said—Fringe is about taking risks. I highly encourage people to take a chance on artists who are unknown and emerging—it leads to very pleasant surprises.
These picks are listed as they appear in the Victoria Fringe Festival programme, per venue.
A reminder: patrons need a Fringe button ($6) to attend shows. It is good for all shows. Proceeds benefit Intrepid Theatre, producers of the Fringe, and help defray the costs of producing the Fringe. ALL ticket sales go to the artists.
HINT: 50% of tickets are reserved for advance sales. Some of the more popular shows will sell out of advance tickets, particularly near the end of the Fringe. 50% of tickets are available at the door although it may mean lining up well in advance. If you have decided on your schedule, it is well worth buying a 5-Show Munch Pass ($57) that you can even share, and which will allow you to pre-book tickets with no service charges.
Normally, in order to avoid any appearance of partiality, I list the shows by venue—asking me to rank shows and artists is like asking me to choose among my children. However—this year there is one exception––Space Hippo by Mochinosha, the Wishes Mystical Puppet Company playing at the Roxy Theatre (venue 7).
I have a particular love of everything shadow puppet related–whether it be intricate and exquisite cut-outs), object manipulation or simple beams of light. When Mochinosha (Daniel Wishes and Seri Yanai) first appeared at the Victoria Fringe in 2014 with Oni, I was drawn to their cheeky and subversive humour and admired their command of their craft–appearing as they do in front of the audience, in full view, where any mishaps are brutally evident.
And then, through a series of synchronicities, my son Elliott Loran (actor, musician, performer) met Daniel and Seri in 2015 at the Winnipeg Fringe while they were touring respective shows (Snack Music–Elliott and Oni–Mochinosha) and somehow (I’m hazy on the details) the idea of a collaboration came about. Elliott was tapped to write the 24-song score for this “epic sci-fi adventure-comedy shadow show about an ordinary Hippo that is sent on an adventure across the Universe to save the planet Earth”. Technology played a big part–Seri lives in Tokyo, Daniel in Winnipeg and Elliott in Toronto. After marathon Skype sessions, there was an intense week in Toronto where over 200 intricate and highly detailed shadow puppets were carefully cut, the music was recorded and Space Hippo previewed to a small select audience.
Since then it has toured to the Winnipeg Fringe to rave reviews, and now arrives in Victoria before heading to Vancouver and the Aichi Trienalle Festival in Nagoya Japan.
Space Hippo moves to the top of my “away” picks this year.
Venue 1, The Victoria Event Centre, 1415 Broad Street
Jem Rolls is the “granddaddy” of the CAFF TM (Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals) circuit having passed the mark–in 2014–of performances in 100 Fringe festivals. He earns his living at the Fringe—performing during the festival season, then writing new material in the down period. Rolls is a wordsmith hors pair with an inimitable and torrential style that twists and turns the language in surprising and unexpected ways. A natural philosopher and iconoclast, his musings meander along pathways seldom explored by others. Personally, no Victoria Fringe Festival would be complete without a trip to witness the workings of his brilliant mind.
Travel first. Ask questions later.
Follow Jem’s marveling trail of comic blunders.
Through jungles, markets, citadels and more.
On a vigorous quest to lose himself.
“Big laughs, observational zingers, dazzling turns of phrase”, Montreal Gazette, June 2016.
He meets dragons. He eats his own face.
He is the heroic survivor of the epic of his own intercontinental stupidity.
Venue 2, Downtown Activity Centre, 755 Pandora Avenue
Ah—skewering the positive thinking establishment. That, in itself, was enough to draw me to this show.
Then, the laudatory and positive reviews for Tony Adams and Cory Thibert started to come in.
Happiness is the immersive self-help seminar for anyone who’s ever wanted it all and is willing to pay for it! Experience HPL’s answer to universal unhappiness hosted by spokesmen: James Lemon and Peter Barrel. A glimpse backstage threatens to undermine their shiny exteriors: Can two men who really don’t know happiness sell it?
Charlatan! by Travis Bernhardt
I’m a sucker for tricks and magic—happy to embrace my inner-child and never failing to fail for the gimmick or sleight of hand, given my credulous nature.
Travis Bernhardt has a most deceptive matter-of-fact nature about his considerable skill—one that draws an audience along, until realizing that he has just completed a turn involving EVERY person in the room. How does he do it? Come to Charlatan! and attempt to find out.
Bring the kids—this is definitely an all-ages show.
Best Cabaret Victoria 2014, Pick of the Fringe Vancouver 2013 for Unpossible!
Best Overall Victoria 2012 for Lies!
The Fringe is all about pushing boundaries. Cameryn Moore is the proof—her previous shows at the Victoria Fringe Phone Whore (2011) and slut (r)evolution (2012) were explicit and frank—touching on topics of sexuality and erotica not often explored on local stages.
The spectators are early, her lover is late, and the players are due any minute. Not the best time to question what the hell she’s doing here, getting naked in front of a room full of strangers, but with 60 minutes before the game starts, it’s all the time she has left.
**** “a tense, breath-taking show”—Liz Nicholls, the Edmonton Journal
Fire in the Meth Lab by Jon Bennett
Hero of Pretending Things Are a Cock (Victoria Fringe 2015)—Jon Bennett–is back with more gonzo tales of his dysfunctional family, this time featuring his older brother.
Bennett possesses a humble, explicit and self-deprecatory story-telling style, and employs rapid delivery, great humour and a carefully crafted narrative arc that has garnered rave reviews around the world from Australia (his native land) to Canada and beyond.
Dear Brother, How’s jail? How many cigarettes does it cost for a picture of a naked lady? I’ve written a show about you, is that ok? You’re in jail so you can’t really say no. Love from your little brother, Jon “Brilliant ????½” – Rip it Up Magazine (AUS) Best Comedy Just for Laughs Award Nomination (Montreal Fringe, 2014)
Venue 3, Metro Studio, 1411 Quadra Street
What do you get when you join the talents of Tara Travis (The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth), Jon Paterson and Kurt Fitzpatrick?—a cast of thousands as these three accomplished thespians create an epic “tour de force” that lampoons every Best Picture Oscar winner.
Patrons’ Pick Winnipeg and Orlando Fringe.
Venue 5, Langham Court Theatre, 805 Langham Court
Does Not Play Well With Others, Moon Dinosaur Theatre
Kira Hall, creator of Paleoncology (Favourite Drama Victoria Fringe 2014) is back, joining forces with Andrew Young (Baker’s Dozen: 12 Angry Puppets—Pick of Vancouver Fringe 2015) in a battle to the finish as two public television puppeteers go head-to-head. “Theatre that taps into common fears” is definitely a sentiment I can support.
Bushel and Peck by Alastair Knowles & Stéphanie Morin-Robert
What could possibly arise from the collaboration of Fringe artists Alastair Knowles (of duo James and Jamesy—winner of over 15 Pick of the Fringe awards for Two for Tea and High Tea) and Stéphanie Morin-Robert (For Body and Light—Victoria Fringe 2014, Bear Dreams—Victoria Fringe 2015, Me, Myself and Eye—Uno Fest 2015)? From all accounts, a highly entertaining and delightfully absurd fusion of comedy and movement.
Most Outstanding Choreography, Montréal Fringe 2016
Outstanding Cast Performance and Fringiest Performance, London Fringe 2016
I Forgot to Fly Today by Trent Baumann
Wickedly absurd, Trent Baumann has been tickling audience’s funny bones from Melbourne to Victoria with his fringy character The Birdmann. I would follow him happily on any comedic adventure and eagerly await the next step in his journey of creative evolution. 2016 marks his 10th anniversary of touring. He’s chosen to premiere his new show in BC (and just finished the first weekend of the Nanaimo Fringe).
A day in the life of a man who decides to have the day of his life! Featuring Baumann’s trademark one-line jokes and variety imagery. A massive motivational monologue that is both uplifting and hilarious.
Multiple award-winner at Fringes worldwide.
Venue 4, VCM Wood Hall, 907 Pandora Avenue
It’s a happy year for me when Rob Gee returns to the Victoria Fringe. Originally a last-minute substitution in the Victoria Fringe line-up of 2009 with Fruitcake (and left off the program as a result), he won the audience over with his boundless enthusiasm, flair and insider stories of life as a psychiatric nurse. In subsequent years he returned with The Genghis Khan Guide to Etiquette (2010), Smart Arse (2011) Forget Me Not (2013) and Icarus Dancing (2015) which garnered sold-out shows, rave reviews and well-deserved awards.
A journey into the world of chaos and adventure lurking beneath the veneer of everyday life. New show by Rob Gee, creator of Fringe hits Icarus Dancing and Forget Me Not. ????? “A breath of fresh air!” CBC ????? “Genius!” Winnipeg Free Press ????? “Hilarious… my abdominal muscles deserve an apology” Times Colonist ????? “Dr Seuss for adults!” Uptown Magazine
V.R. Dunne by Howard Petrick
It was a hearty recommendation by a fellow Fringe performer that first introduced me to the work of veteran storyteller Howard Petrick at the 2011 Victoria Fringe (Rambo: The Missing Years—now called Breaking Rank—about his life as an anti-war protester while serving in the US Army during the Vietnam War).
Petrick has the ability to capture the historical narrative of the “common” person and relate it to the wider global one. In the 1960s he was introduced to V.R. Dunne, one of the principals behind the 1934 Minnesota truck drivers’ strike. I love it when history comes alive. Given the renewed fight for a living wage, this tale is highly relevant.
Ray Dunne’s whole life and character had prepared him for the 1934 Minneapolis truck drivers strike. The workers knew him as a good organizer, a man who smoked union-made cigarettes, was fond of the movies, didn’t get drunk, and was honest. They followed his leadership, many of them if the occasion offered, would be quite willing to die for him.
My interview:
http://janislacouvee.com/v-r-dunne-at-the-victoria-fringe-festival-2016-interview-with-howard-petrick/
A Tension to Detail by Gerard Harris
I depend upon a wide range of contacts in the Fringe family for recommendations of shows to see. Fellow Fringe fan Brian Carroll of Ottawa has tipped me to this show which won Best of Fest at the 2016 Ottawa Fringe.
British comedian Gerard Harris brings a show about birth, death & that short, weird bit in between.
Best Comedy 2016, Dunedin Fringe.
Best of Fest 2016, Ottawa Fringe.
Venue 5, Langham Court Theatre, 805 Langham Court
Larkin’s language is mesmerizing. An acclaimed slam poet and Oxford professor of poetry, he drew me into the dark, disturbing world of a re-imagined TES (of the Dubervilles) in 2012 and then returned in 2014 with N.O.N.C.E about his time behind bars teaching writing to inmates.
In Fat Sex, he tackles the two obsessions of women’s magazines with sarcastic and biting wit.
Bella Culpa by A Little Bit Off
In the wild and wacky world of the Fringe, one of the performances genres I enjoy the most is slapstick physical comedy—appealing as it does to the kid in me. Amica Hunter and David Cantor are two servants in an Edwardian household.
Do you like cartoons? Do you like acrobatic spectacles? Do you like Vaudeville and Silent Films? Do you like Downton Abbey? If so, this show is definitely for you. It’s a zany, light-hearted, action-packed nonstop comedy that truly is great fun for all ages, and all language abilities/backgrounds.
Patron’s Pick – Orlando Fringe 2016
Best New Producer – Orlando Fringe 2016
Spirit of the Fringe – San Diego Fringe 2016
Artists’ Pick – San Diego Fringe Festival.
My interview:
http://janislacouvee.com/bella-culpa-at-the-victoria-fringe-festival-2016-an-interview-with-amica-hunter/
Wild Society by star star theatre
UVic grad Mika Laulainen teams up with Melissa Oei in this cautionary tale of environmental activism as seen through the eyes of animals.
My interview:
http://janislacouvee.com/wild-society-by-star-star-theatre-at-the-victoria-fringe-festival-2016-interview/
Venue 7, the Roxy Theatre, 2657 Quadra Street
Space Hippo by Mochinosha, the Wishes Mystical Puppet Company
As noted above!
Ideas Bobert! by Candice Roberts
Once again, a comedic, physical, child-like character who will appeal to the child within.
Ridiculous and preposterous. Teetering on the brink of absolute failure, love-sick Bobert discovers his heart to be more than he knew. From award-winning creator Candy Roberts comes a whimsical brew of physical comedy and conundrum. Like Ginger Rogers meets Mr. Bean, Ideas Bobert! dances with the absurd.
My interview:
http://janislacouvee.com/ideas-bobert-at-the-victoria-fringe-festival-2016-interview-with-candice-roberts/
6 Quick Dick Tricks: A Dirk Darrow Investigation by Tim Motley
Everyone’s favourite private eye returns to the Victoria Fringe. Tim Motley, from Australia, first introduced Victoria audiences to Dirk Darrow in NCSSI (Not Completely Serious Supernatural Investigator) which was a big hit at the Victoria Fringe Festival in 2012, winning Pick of the Fringe. He returned in 2013 with The Big Bang Query and again in 2015 with 2 Ruby Knockers, 1 Jaded Dick: A Dirk Darrow Investigation.
Expect ample film noir references and cheesy jokes, supplemented with prodigious feats of prestidigitation that never fail to impress.
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