And just like that, we’re thick into Fringe season! It’s raining outside but summer is still bumbling around. The wind is still warm and friendly. It feels like a cloudy summer day with the hint of October approaching. The school year has begun and everyone is back at work. The city is back to business until we break again for the end of year holidays. Theatres are diving into the treasures of their exciting programming. Usually, at this time of year, the city is buzzing and teeming with activity. But something feels different this year. The crowds seem to be thinner, not just at the Fringe but everywhere. At shows, I see more older tourists than young artists, students and hipsters. In fact, the hipsters have altogether disappeared. Fringe lineups used to be studded with proud young hippies, punks, writers, musicians, and actors, and they would wrap around the blocks of venues. Vancouver’s arts community would convene at the Fringe and pack its venues to the seams. It’s apparent now that this vibrant and substantially sized community has left the lower mainland and dispersed across the province and across the country. The search for affordable housing and a reasonable cost of living has driven out Vancouver’s youth. Perhaps things are just returning to normal after the artificial influx of interest that the Olympics brought in. Or perhaps this is just the way big cities are going nowadays.
So now, more than ever, local theatre and local artists need our support. Wherever us theatre-loving folks are, it’s time for us to come out and show up. To create community connections and be visible to each other. There are some wonderful shows at the Fringe this year. At $12 a show, they are incredibly affordable and easy for young adults to get into. These shows are weird and edgy. Sometimes they are amazing and sometimes they’re full-on wtf happened here but that’s the fun of it. We’ve got you covered with our reviews but we also highly encourage you to go see something you’d otherwise never see. That’s how I ended up seeing some of my favourite Fringe shows.
Becoming Magic Mike: An Action Adventure Comedy
“Becoming Magic Mike” has got to be my personal favourite Fringe show so far. It is without a doubt the show that has made me laugh out loud the most. If you’re a “Peter n’ Chris” fan and are having major withdrawals since Chris moved to Toronto (see what I mean?), comedian DK Reinemer will take good care of you. His show is not just a parody of Magic Mike the movie but also pokes fun at the stereotypical depictions of masculinity in film. In this one man play, DK plays Mark, a down on his luck detective who goes undercover into Matthew Mcconaughey’s male strip club. Mark is also grieving the loss of his work partner, Rick, and is unsure about how to deal with his emotions. He tries singing songs on his guitar, one of the last acceptable avenues for men to show their emotions, and then of course, through dancing. There is a lot of dancing in this show. And a lot of stripping. And a lot of slapstick. There is a lot of intelligent commentary about toxic masculinity as well and it’s done in a very fun way.
DK is extremely talented, his jokes are genuinely funny and a lot of them are spontaneous especially when he interacts with the audience, which he does a lot of. Women will, of course, have a fantastic time at the show, given that DK is a very attractive man and his moves are not too shabby. But there were a lot of straight men in the audience, including my partner, who were laughing just as hard, if not more. Male strippers never really took off as much as female strippers because women need more than an attractive exterior and cheesy dancing to feel satisfied. The old adage about women preferring funny guys to hot guys proved to be true at Magic Mike as DK had women (and men) eating out of his hands. There was hooting and hollering and the audience was misbehaving. There was no place else I wanted to be on a Friday night after a busy day at work.
DK has a winner of a show at this Fringe festival. He creates memorable characters through the use of props, costumes, and accents. He takes the plot of Magic Mike and beefs it up (pun intended) with humour and parody. The show moves at a good pace and you want to keep going to find out what’s going to happen, even though you’ve seen the movie. “Becoming Magic Mike” is smart, hot, hilarious, super fun and best of all, it’s FRINGE-Y!
Elemental: A Hyper Natural Variety Revue
Vancouver’s Burlesque scene has always been top-notch. We even have a thriving annual Burlesque Festival that attracts the best talent from the global Burlesque community. It’s no surprise that Burlesque has finally made its way to the Fringe. “Elemental” is a pastiche of burlesque performances by some of the best performers in the city. The dancers and singers explore the four elements of nature with costumes that will take your breath away. With satin fabrics attached to fans that imitate the temperament of water, feathers on giant wings to tell stories about air, and a gold lioness costume to explore earth, “Elemental” takes visual artistry to another level. The aerial dancing piece is spectacular and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Your eyes don’t believe what they are seeing sometimes because there is that much beauty. All the dancers and singers are exceptional and ensure that you have an experience that is sensual and soothing to the soul.
Although this burlesque show is an 11 on 10, it isn’t what you would expect of a Fringe show. It isn’t edgy in terms of storytelling. Running through the elements is a very loose theme and not a very creative one at that. Mid-show I was craving more of a storytelling structure and could have done without the singing since it was all covers and not original music. If the group could have a writer join the ranks who could stitch all these beautiful pieces together in an unexpected way, the show would have hit the right spot in terms of Fringe expectations. All the raw materials are there and they are mind-blowing but a cohesiveness could take the show to another level.
Fringe-appropriate or not, “Elemental” is gorgeous and has to be seen. It showcases the immense, and world-class talent we have in our local dance communities that needs some serious showing-off.
Bedwetter
Ottawa actor, Tamlynn Bryson, has been touring with “Bedwetter” since 2017 and the show has built good word-of-mouth credence ever since. Tamlynn takes us into her childhood and shows us how bedwetting gave her an experience growing up unlike any other. Instead of following a stale linear narrative, Tamlynn tells her story in bits and pieces, jumping back and forth to create the optimal and most satisfying exposition. Her writing is taut and balances humour and gravity very well. She is great with characters and creates distinct portraits as she goes along.
We feel connected with Tamlynn’s story and understand her struggles but never do we feel sorry for her- Tamlynn makes sure of that. There is self-deprecating humour but it never borders on cruel. It is always rooted in self-love and compassion. Tamlynn also uses props effectively to tell her story. A bed sits on stage and becomes a metaphor for bedwetting and its all-encompassing impacts on Tamlynn’s life.
Tamlynn’s honesty and vulnerability are what make the show work. Her bravery is inspiring but so is her personality “outside of the bedwetting”. She is energetic and animated. She carries the momentum of the show and never lets the ball drop with her enthusiasm. This is an authentic and intimate show that reminds us of the difficulties, importance, and transformative properties of extremely personal struggles. “Bedwetter” is unusual and definitely pushes the boundaries of what we see on stage. Go see it!
Book more shows at the Fringe here!
– Prachi Kamble