Pip's Picks of the Fringe - DAY 1

Well, the Fringe Theatre Festival is underway here again in Victoria, BC. When I kept telling everyone at work last night about my picks this year, a friend of mine suggested I blog about it. So... introducing... Pip's Picks.

I've been a bit sidetracked this year with other commitments so my first day out at the Festival was on Sunday. I saw 4 shows. All very different. One clown from Japan. One slam poet from the UK. Two City Bus workers from Seattle. And a German woman in Yugoslavia, post WWII. Like I said, all very different.

Here's a bit about what I saw...

SHOW #1 - SHOSHINZ presents: A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup

I thoroughly enjoyed spending my first fringe hour with Miss Hiccup. This show is just plain fun. We share her ups and her downs over the course of an "average" day which are presented to us through mime, props, and a very cool sound design. There were even a couple of kids in the audience for this show, one who actually tried to beat Miss Hiccup at mimed ping pong! This did not please Miss Hiccup, but all was well in the end when the audience became part of the show.
I liked this show a lot and think it's just too bad there aren't more matinee or early evening showtimes so more families can take their kids. It's cute, it's quirky, it's perhaps not for everybody, but I'd definitely include it in my picks this year.


SHOW #2 - The Genghis Khan Guide to Etiquette

I missed Rob Gee in his show called Fruitcake last year, a show inspired by his time spent as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital. This year, Rob says it himself when he introduces the show: "this show has very little to do with Genghis Khan, and even less to do with etiquette". Nevertheless, it's a very entertaining show. Rob is a slam poet so this means no props, no costumes, no instruments. Just the performer and a mic. Rob doesn't need a mic though. His booming british accent and large stage presence are all that's required. Part stand up comedy, part story-telling, part performance poetry. My favourite part is the stories he tells in between each poem, and how he even sometimes begins a poem and then says, oh, wait, i'm going to tell you this story first about how I was heckled once by a 10 yr old boy eating ice cream.... It was 4 seats short of a sellout last Sunday... need I say more.


Show #3 - The History of The Lost and Found

Sadly, this show run ended last night at Langham Court Theatre. That's the luck of the draw when a show gets a venue that's only available for use during the first five days of the Festival. It's so hard to promote a show and get a buzz going with so little time. I did my best to get the word out on this one and on Sunday, one man I had mentioned it to approached me after the show, shook my hand and said, "Thanks for telling me about this. I really enjoyed it." I hope Keira and Evan get a chance to bring this fun story back to Victoria, perhaps to present it to our local transit workers as it's about two City Bus workers who make up stories with lost and found items and then have to decide whether to rat each other out when they discover one of them is going to get fired. Strong performers, fun story, sadly lost in the fringe shuffle... I'm just glad I found out about it in time to see it.


Show #4 - Das Kabarett

I had been hearing great things about this play, so when the opportunity arose to tag along with some friends, I went. While standing in line we were handed a detailed description of the play. After reading it, I was asked what it was about. I replied, "I think it's about the life of a woman in war-torn Germany who is desperately trying to save her family." Perhaps it was because I had only intended to see three shows and was a little pooped by 9pm, or that I was distracted by the goldfish on stage and wondered if it had traveled to Victoria from afar and might perhaps need a home here, or because I really wanted to ensure that I made it to Dave Morris' showdown at the Fringe Club on Sunday nite, but I got a bit lost from time to time and wondered what was going on. However, even though I got a bit lost, and found myself yearning for moments of silence in order to absorb what had just happened during this densely dramatic dialogue-driven play, I still found myself in tears at the end. Nicely thought out set design (right down to the vanity lights), strong performance, but a bit too scattered for me.


So, that was Sunday. It's rainy and overcast today. Perfect time to take in my next few shows. Tonight it's The Excursionists at 6, then atticdwellers at 7:45, then to Fringe on Film at the Fringe Club at 10 where a short documentary I made about one of the Fringe's well-known comedians will be screening. Hope to see you there!

Pip