The Vancouver Fringe Festival is back and we couldn’t be happier about it! It’s been a long two year wait to see the city’s most whimsical and boundary pushing theatre and performing arts festival back in full swing. The line-up this year is just as innovative and exciting as seasons past. We’ve got everything from comedy, drama, stand up, music, dance and clown acts, to name a few. We are checking out some great shows this week so stay tuned for reviews everyday. And please share your recommendations with us!
Tango to the Pointe
Alexander Richardson and Erin Scott-Kafadar from PointeTango Dance Company transported us to the streets of Buenos Aires with “Tango to the Pointe.” The company fuses Argentine tango with classical ballet and creates an absolutely breathtaking new genre. Scott-Kafadar is en pointe for the majority of this performance, and her strength and athleticism as a dancer are other-worldly. The duo pack this 60 minute show with at least ten different choreographed numbers, each with a different visual background, a different genre of music, a different tempo of music and a different sentiment. We see tango that is smouldering and sexy, tango that is full of yearning and sadness, tango that is playful and silly, and tango that is formal and serious. My favourite was a piece the dancers performed to Charles Bukowski’s live reading of “Style.” There was also a piece set to a Spanish guitar solo of a Leonard Cohen song.
“Tango to the Pointe” showcases the beauty of tango and the diversity within the genre. Richardson and Scott-Kafadar are beautiful people so the pictures they create on stage are gorgeous. Richardson’s strength and deftness allows him to give Scott-Kafadar’s elegance and showmanship a platform to shine, as is usually the case in tango couples. When she is on stage, Scott-Kafadar arrests your attention, whether it is in a form fitting little black dress, a gold sequined cocktail midi or a satin red gown. Towards the end she performs a piece with one foot in a stiletto and the other in a pointe shoe. The result is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
“Tango to the Pointe” is rich and sensual and must not be missed!
Discounted Hotpot Centre
In “Discounted Hotpot Centre,” writer Anthon Kit Chun Lee and Carlie Cheukyiu Yeung, who plays the show’s principal character, May, explore the nuances of immigration that steer clear of stereotypes. May is a saleswoman who has been tasked with selling hotpot utensils to a Canadian audience. She stands behind a burning stove that demonstrates the hot pot’s magical powers. May weaves her sales pitch with stories about growing up in Hong Kong. She takes us through the ingredients that are part of a typical hot pot and laments the loss of authenticity as none of the ingredients are sourced from Hong Kong any longer.
Yeung’s personality carries the show. She is up-beat and has great comedic timing. She layers the sadness and fear that come from the loss of one’s culture subtly, under generous layers of comedy. In doing so, she avoids the traps of sentimentality that befall most immigrant tales. It was actually revelatory to witness the mourning of cultural loss from a woman of colour’s perspective as we are mostly exposed to this mourning on the part of white folks, which leads to their flirtation with right wing politics. Through May’s story we see that loss of culture is looming and imminent for all of us, thanks to the dangerous mix of globalization and capitalism. As May recounts a moving story about the disappearance of wet markets in Hong Kong and makes snide remarks about her Canadian ex boyfriend, we are physically enveloped by the aroma of a hot pot on the stove, which becomes a physical manifestation of the resilience of cultural identity.
“Discounted Hotpot Centre” is a charming show that provides a thoughtful take on immigration and displacement.
Guys Don’t Journal
Writer and actor, Michael Tranmer’s “Guys Don’t Journal” tells the story of a man’s journey from heartbreak and divorce to the hilarious and misleading world of self-help and personal-development. Tranmer’s narrative starts with earnest sorrow and slowly builds on self-deprecation to lead to big laughs. He is accompanied by an old school projector on which he shares his personal development exercises, journal entries and social media posts. Although we know that a story that begins with heartbreak will ultimately lead to meaningful personal growth and enlightenment, it is the journey in between in “Guys Don’t Journal” that makes it a very entertaining watch. Tranmer is extremely likeable and it doesn’t take long for the audience to root for him, even as he makes some questionable decisions. The show also would strike a special chord with male audiences as it highlights the lack of support systems available to men dealing with traumatic experiences. All in all, “Guys Don’t Journal” is a warm and uplifting portrayal of a man’s quest for happiness through some very hilarious and gimmicky avenues.
30 Neo-Futurist Plays from Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes)
Bramble Theatre Collective’s debut Fringe show is just as absurd and chaotic as its title promises. Here we have ten of Vancouver’s most talented sketch and improv actors putting together thirty distinct plots that range in length and complexity. The crew presents the audience with a menu of thirty plays from which they are asked to boisterously yell out choices. By the end of the hour the crew has sped through all thirty titles with time to spare.
This is a very high energy show. Expect to not know what is coming around the corner at any point! The writing itself is superlative as it deconstructs stories as we know them and reinterprets them in fresh and innovative ways, sometimes focusing on the essence of stories instead of the pesky mechanics. A fair bit of audience participation leads to a dynamic environment. My favourite moment was the staging of Cyrano in which two actors whispered lines to two audience members at opposite ends of the room and managed to orchestrate a live romance. Bramble also pulls off some poignant and emotional pieces about love and loss with just as much deft as the humorous and absurd pieces.
We highly recommend “30 Neo-Futurist Plays”! It goes beyond theatre and is an all-immersive experience.
Book your Fringe shows here!
– Prachi Kamble