Episode One? These damn kids from Edmonton are bound to disappoint many a Fringer with a polished, engaging, skillfully acted, and sharply written show that only unveils the first third of their epic World War 2 trilogy.
Toronto alt-comedian Winston Spear’s performance piece features him and two associates fooling around (carefully choreographed fooling that is) with flashing toys and gadgets of every ilk to the constant accompaniment of techno beats.
It’s a wonderful experience to walk out of a theatre with a big smile plastered across your face. It doesn’t happen often enough, but the rarity makes you really appreciate the gems that achieve it, and *Just East of Broadway* is one such example.
People in their mid-twenties have been experiencing existential dilemmas since time immemorial, but the recent coining of the term ‘Quarterlife Crisis’ has suddenly brought a new surge of theatrical material on the subject. *QuarterLife: The Musical* is one of several such offerings at this year’s Fringe, cataloging the woes and quandaries of five twentysomething New Yorkers trying to sort out their lives.
Plank Magazine (well, Andrew at any rate) is astonished to learn that there is something called quarter-life crisis
Written and directed by Aurora Stewart de Pena, this series of short scenes involving manners-obsessed young women frocked in pastel coloured summer dresses and seemingly on the verge of emotional meltdowns, creates a world unto itself.
In the classic Greek play *Lysistrata*, the heroine convinces the women of the ancient Greek isles to conduct a sex strike against their husbands and lovers in order to bring a halt to the constant and debilitating wars plaguing the Mediterranean region. With this production, it is re-imagined by Eyewitness Theatre Company from the UK as a kind of bawdy pantomime in verse with double entendres and penis jokes aplenty.
Not striking women but actually trojan women: make life easier for Plank editors have photos!
This one woman show (or one man show depending on whether you are speaking about performer Rachelle Elie or her alter-ego Joe) is a indistinct, aimless hour framed around the premise of an open call audition for a production of Macbeth.
Between the title *My Mother's Lesbian Jewish-Wiccan Wedding*, and the Fringe’s history of generating contrived and off-the-wall musicals, you would never suspect that this show is based on a real life story.
It's hard to find photos of Jewish Wiccan weddings
Based on the internet phenomenon, PostSecret.com, *The Keeper’s Secret* by Katie Alguire recounts the tale of Elli, a young teenager who becomes hooked on heroine, harming herself and to a more tragic extent, those closest to her. It is when Darren, a virtual stranger, enters her life claiming that he shares the same secret, that Elli is forced to confront herself.
