The Vancouver Fringe Festival runs until Sept. 20.
Shake the Sheets
At Carousel Theatre
Sept. 14, 16-19
Written by Mack Gordon and featuring Gordon and real-life partner Kaitlin Williams, Shake the Sheets came as a big surprise. With that cast and that title wouldn’t you expect a romantic little comedy? Not so. Those sheets are on a bed in nightmare land in which the wife suffers night terrors. What does it all mean? Well, I don’t know. Between constantly shifting levels of reality, I was just as lost as the wife. But very enthusiastic performances by this young, engaging couple.
Fire in the Meth Lab
At Waterfront Theatre
Sept. 16-19
“Meth can save your life.” Australian writer/perform Jon Bennett will have you agreeing in this fast, furious and very funny show about addiction. It’s all about his older, bullying brother Tim and the various addictions that kept him in and out of prison. You’ll laugh out loud but Bennett ends up making an inspiring, generous-spirited message: Tim’s last addiction — I won’t ruin the surprise — keeps him calm, happy and safe and that’s all Jon wants for the brother whom he, surprisingly, deeply loves. Terrific show. See it.
Oh the Humanity, and Other Good Intentions
Firehall Arts Centre
Sept. 14, 15 and 16
Written by Will Eno, this is a biting, witty script that puts the characters — played by Maryanne Renzetti and Brad Duffy — in tight situations, including a coach explaining away huge season’s losses to the media (“I could not coach a gallon of water out of a paper bag”), and a couple of lonely souls being videoed for a dating service. Lots of room for versatility in performance and both performers really deliver the goods. It’s episodic but all five scenarios hold together thematically.
Faroe Islands + Ostrich
Arts Umbrella
Sept. 14, 16, 17 and 19
With all of us sweating in the tiny, hotter-than-hell Arts Umbrella venue, it’s hard to assess Faroe Islands, the third in the Nicolas Billon trilogy, which also includes Iceland and Greenland. I learned nothing new: an idealistic activist’s hopes are dashed when her friend betrays the cause (“They’re only whales”). Yeah, that’s how it goes. Ostrich, the second piece, was written especially for this production and Billon shows us the ugly, dark side of the equation. Yeah, we know. We drive cars and feel guilty at the gas pump.
The Birdmann in Momentous Timing
Performance Works
Sept. 14, 17 and 19
See it. Don’t miss it. Australia’s Trent Baumann creates a unique, quirky world in which Birdmann looks for love but accepts that, maybe, we don’t need love, “we just need stuff.” It’s 21st century vaudeville with a Post Modern twist. A huge reveal at the end will fill you with joy and laughter. Baumann is one of a kind and the show is what every Fringe performer in this particular genre aspires to. I’d see it twice but would feel greedy depriving someone else of the great pleasure. Oh, what the heck, I’m going to see it again.
Hip! Bang! Presents WHITE PANTS
Improv Centre
Sept. 16-20
Hard on the heels of The Birdmann, WHITE PANTS disappoints. Tom Hill and Devin Mackenzie are a couple of young guys with some funny sketch comedy material — the least of which is an extended riff on butt holes. Who cares? Hill and Mackenzie are bold, they’re brave and if you’re college-age and have a drink in front of you, Hip! Bang! is probably really funny.
Nashville Hurricane
At the Revue Stage
Sept. 14, 16, 18 and 19
Chase Padgett (6 Guitars) marries guitar virtuosity and storytelling in this not-to-be-missed show. Spontaneous and 100 per cent standing “O” the night I attended. How this young-ish white guy can look like a ginger-haired genius somewhere on the autism spectrum, a self-serving manager, a tattoo-artist mother and an old black blues guitarist is amazing. The guitar picking alone is a storm of hurricane proportions. The story is funny and sad and ultimately uplifting: we are all miracles of chance and the possibility of it all coming together is infinitesimally small. Don’t waste it.
For more details, go to vancouverfringe.com.
