Category: theatre

Citadel Theatre: “Billy Twinkle: Requiem for a Golden Boy”

10 Days on Earth, the first Ronnie Burkett show I saw two years ago, was a revelation to me. It was the best piece of theatre I had seen in a long time, if not ever. Given that it was an “adult marionette” show, that was a surprise to me, but I was convinced that Burkett was a master storyteller and genius at his craft.

As such, I had really high expectations going into his latest production, Billy Twinkle: Requiem for a Golden Boy. From the website:

“Billy Twinkle is a middle-aged cruise ship puppeteer who dazzles audiences with his Stars in Miniature marionette niteclub act. His saucy burlesque stripper Rusty Knockers titillates the tourists, octogenarian Murray Spiegelmann invokes sidesplitting laughter with the inflatable balloon in his pants, Bumblebear juggles and roller-skates and steals the hearts of every audience, and Biddy Bantam Brewster brings a bit of highbrow hilarity to the high seas with her drunken aria. Billy is the best in the business and on top of the world as he floats along through life.

“Until he is fired by the cruise line. Standing at the edge of the ship contemplating a watery demise, Billy is abruptly called back to reality when his dead mentor Sid Diamond appears as a hand puppet. Sid literally will not leave his side, and forces Billy to re-enact his life as a puppet show in order to remember and rekindle the passion Billy once had for puppets, people and the dream of a life that sparkles.”

I was hoping the story would be better than it read in the preview, but it wasn’t. I didn’t buy the talking handpuppet bit, which was essentially the lynchpin to the entire play. Some of the flashback sequences also seemed unnecessary, dragging out the sans-intermission production to a lengthy hour and forty-five minutes. That said, there were some amusing comedic bits, including Doreen Gray’s Jesus rap, and Sid’s final “performance” as a sad, deranged old man. I also liked the fact that the audience and Billy both realized, at the same point in the play, how important Sid actually was to Billy, and because of this, I wished we could have seen more of their interaction while Sid was still alive.

What lacked in the story was made up somewhat by Burkett’s continued mastery of the puppet craft. He flexed his technical muscle not only with the stripping marionette (it was less dirty and cooler than it sounds), but also being able to control a marionette who was controlling an even smaller marionette.

In the end, I found that the biggest impediment to my enjoyment of the play was Burkett’s physical presence as Billy Twinkle. Unlike 10 Days on Earth, I wasn’t able to immerse myself in the world of puppetry, and for that reason, I think some of the marionette magic was lost.

Even with this overall disappointment, I will not hesitate to see what Burkett cooks up for us the next time he is in town. He is definitely a playwright and performer I will look forward to seeing whenever he returns!

Theatre: “Oh Susannah” Halloween Special

After reading an amusing interview with Susannah Patchouli in See Magazine, I made an impromptu decision to attend this year’s Halloween edition of Oh Susannah, Edmonton’s only Euro-style variety show featuring the effervescent Patchouli (played by the hilarious Mark Meer).

Mark Meer as Susannah Patchouli (photo taken from the See Magazine article)

The show was to start at 11pm, with tickets on sale a half hour before that, so we figured arriving at 10:15pm would be fairly safe. Though we weren’t disappointed, we weren’t expecting such a crowd, with a line that looped claustrophobically through the tiny Varscona lobby (all the way down the hallway to the bathrooms). The staff were thoroughly accommodating through, and not only started selling tickets ahead of schedule, but also opened the house doors earlier than anticipated.

We settled in amongst the packed house, and Susannah, dressed in a witches hat and a “revealing” costume, appeared at show time and welcomed us. Two things amazed me, as they did the first time I watched Oh Susannah: that the Varscona stage can accommodate as many bodies as it does; and how Meer can complete the entire show with a straight face.

The Girls of the Grill were back (this time with an “I ‘otta choke you” sandwich made with artichoke spread), as were the Ladies of the Bar (who passed around “Skelletini” cocktails). Local celebrities were also interviewed, including Colin Oberst (the composer behind the new Hockey Night in Canada theme song) and Ronnie Burkett, who just premiered his newest production, Billy Twinkle, at the Citadel Theatre. This episode of Oh Susannah also featured The Game! The Game!, a regular highlight that was missing from the Christmas special I watched last year. I really extend credit to whomever designed the activities – they were immensely entertaining. From the borderline dirty trivia in round one, the challenge to craft a sculpture from pumpkin puree (resulting in, of course, one penis-shaped design) in round two and lastly, a winner-takes all round that had contestants toilet papering the audience…then having to re-roll the used tissue. Patricia Zentilli (currently performing as Audrey in the Mayfield Dinner Theatre’s Little Shop of Horrors) and Tracey Power (Living Shadows: A Story of Mary Pickford) were great sports.

The audience, as per last time, also helped make it a good time. They were expecting the various parts of the show, including the loud repetition of the phrase, “I don’t want to go to jail looking like this.” Many also dressed up in their finest Halloween garb to compete for “frugal but fabulous” prizes. My favourite costume went to the self-described “Discovery Channel Slow Zebra” – a zebra with a lion attached on its neck – too clever.

For the variety and laugh ratio we received, it was well worth our $10 ticket. The next show runs on November 29 at 11pm – go early!

Teatro La Quindicina: “Thrubwell’s Pies”

Mack and I went to check out the last Teatro la Quindicina production of the year, titled Thurbwell’s Pies. While not written by Stewart Lemoine, he is credited on the program with assisting actress/playwright Belinda Cornish with her latest work. She received much praise for her first play Diamond Dog, so there was some excitement going into her sophomore try.

From AIEEEEE!, the “Voice of Teatro La Quindicina”:

“Set in a gothic manor house in the misty depths of Somerset, England, Thrubwell’s Pies is itself a delicious concoction, with a flaky crust of laughs concealing a toothsome filling of harrowing and unexpected twists and turns. Sheri Somerville stars as Alicia Montague, the tempestuous wheelchair-bound heiress to a pie-baking fortune, with Mark Meer as her impeccably perplexed new husband Shepton. Author Belinda Cornish also appears as their surly and inscrutable maid Scrofula, and Rapid Fire Theatre/Theatresports whiz kid Amy Shostak makes her Teatro debut in the role of Nettie Thrubwell, a winsome bakeress whose arrival in the neighbourhood has completely calamitous consequences for all.”

This is probably the first play starring more than two people that I’ve seen in recent years where each member of the cast has an equal role in the play, both in terms of stage time and importance to the story. I wouldn’t consider any of the characters “supporting”, as even the maid Scrofula, seen creeping in the background in the early scenes, is later featured in the climactic and suspenseful ending.

I didn’t see Diamond Dog, so I didn’t know what to expect, but if Thrubwell’s Pies is any indication of Cornish’s abilities as a playwright, I’m sold. Unlike some of Lemoine’s plays, the audience was immediately teased with an undertone of mystery, and we were hooked, wanting to find out more about Alicia’s history, Nettie’s motives and the root of Scrofula’s odd behaviors. Also, the payoff was worth the wait – I almost wished we could have skipped the intermission altogether.

The cast was great as well, despite the uneven British accents. And though I’ve seen Meer in roles that cast him in more everyman positions, it still throws me off when he isn’t dressed in some kind of disguise or wild garment. Cornish also deserves mention as she took on the most unbecoming character, and “took one for the team” so to speak, setting up the dramatic climax.

While there will be no Teatro productions until May (as they’ve changed their season to begin in the spring), Lemoine has adapted The Addelpated Nixie for the Grant MacEwan Theatre Arts stage, which will run March 13 – 21, 2009.

Thrubwell’s Pies runs until October 11.

The Big Kahuna: Day 7

My final show at this year’s Fringe was the second of my two wild cards. Big Winner is about one woman’s quest at winning the grand prize in Tim Horton’s Roll-up-the-Rim-to-Win contest, and enlists Jackson, her friend, to help her. Over the course of the play, Jackson uncovers a little-known alternative route to $20,000 in the contest rules – awarded to the person with the most “Try again” cups. Big Winner, besides being a tale of small town (Red Deer of all places) Canadian life, is also a romantic one, as feelings between the two are acknowledged. It was obvious that the two actors were having a blast, but the show just didn’t do it for me. A decent effort with likable characters, but not my cup of coffee.

The Big Kahuna: Day 6

On Tuesday I introduced Mack to the manic energy of Charles Ross, aka the man behind The One Man Star Wars Trilogy. A sold-out crowd, packed into the cooker of a stage at the Strathcona Community League, provided ample enthusiasm to feed Ross’s one and half hour whirlwind tumble through Episodes four through six. There were a few differences between this version and the one I saw five years ago (notably, the “special effects” signifying the explosion of both Death Stars), and Ross this time wore a microphone, wise given the fact that he is performing two different shows this time around (his other, Sev, has nothing to do with a Hollywood film of any kind). Again, though the feat of cycling through the films is a testament to Ross’s personal zeal, much of the enjoyment of the show is provided by his character attributions (“schwing”, Luke’s whiny temperament), impersonations (I had forgotten how much I adore his imitation of R2-D2), and side commentary (“I’ll never work in film again!”). Like it did the first time, the show makes me want to watch all three movies over again. After the applause, Ross took a moment to implore the audience to follow through with any great ideas they may be sitting on. This is something he has done after every performance I have seen, so it was slightly less off-putting and seemingly more genuine to me than I have regarded it in the past.

I’m not sure if tickets are still available to the show, but there are, be sure to snap ‘em up.

On a different note, Fringe festival head Julian Mayne is optimistic about breaking the ceiling of the 77,000 indoor performance ticket sales tallied in 2006. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Also, online ticket purchases are up 20% – definitely good news for Mayne, who took a lot of flack for introducing the system last year. Still, it’s hard to see why everyone who has access to a computer wouldn’t pre-buy their tickets – the “Will Call” line is always shorter and faster at the Central Box Office.

The Big Kahuna: Day 4

My Sunday began with the third instalment of Maggie-Now. I hadn’t seen either of the two previous parts at the last two Fringes, but I remembered the stellar reviews, and vowed to see what the hype was all about this year. The summary on the back of the program neatly caught me up on what I missed, though even without the background, one would be able to stumble right into the story without difficulty. Part 3 focuses on the disappearance of Maggie-Now’s husband, Claude, and the affect of his absence on the family unit. There was nothing ground-breaking about the show, but there doesn’t have to be for a solid, enjoyable production. I loved the simple staging (plain wooden chairs supplied the backbone of the audience’s imagination), and Kendra Connor as the titular character was a vision. My only criticism was the rather abrupt ending (so much so that it took the audience a few seconds to take the cue for applause), likely an arbitrary one to ensure that Part 4 could stand alone as well. If not for my upcoming trip to Vancouver, I would definitely be returning to the venue to find out what would become of Maggie-Now and her family.

Afterwards, I sauntered over to B-Scene Studios (an awkwardly-arranged BYOV) to wait in line for TJ Dawe’s first Edmonton Fringe show in four years, Maxim & Cosmo. I loved him in Canadian Bartender in Butlin’s, the only show of his I have ever seen. For someone who prefers group productions, it surprised even me that I enjoyed Dawe’s standup shtick as much as I did. Maxim & Cosmo is Dawe’s diatribe on gender stereotypes, expectations and fears. As I hoped, his performance was witty, insightful and intelligent. If insuring body parts are the norm these days, Dawe should buy insurance for his tongue – his lightening quick delivery keeps audiences on their feet, listening for the next pun or joke around the corner. Seemingly tailor-made for the Fringe, Dawe’s relatable observations about life make the hour vanish into a cloud of laughter, self-reflection and appreciation for his inherent talent.

My last show of the day was one of two wild cards this year. The program description for Sylvie sounded interesting, but unlike most of my other picks, I had no knowledge of the company, director, writer or actors involved. As such, this play about a chance meeting between a naïve Canadian and a homeless man in Edinburgh turned out to be a nice little surprise. I was immediately drawn to Elisa Benzer’s energy, and her character Anna’s willingness to jump (sometimes recklessly) into new experiences. As a writer, Anna had a tendency to see everyone as a character, including this poor street soul. Their connection and unlikely friendship, supplemented by flashbacks into her homeless companion’s life, and Anna’s struggle to maintain her devotion to a loving boyfriend back home, made for an interesting seventy five minutes. My only quibble was with the uneven lighting, but that could be excused given the student/recent graduate status of everyone involved. Not pretending to be more than what it is, Sylvie provides an intriguing lens into a moment when two divergent paths crossed.

The Big Kahuna: Day 3

I opted to sleep in on Saturday, which was a pro-active way to avoid being outside in the scorching heat longer than absolutely necessary. My first play of the day was Wayne Paquette’s A Body of Water. Madagascar, my favourite production at last year’s Fringe, was put on by the same company, so I knew I would be confronted by an engaging, thought-provoking drama. Coralie Cairns and John Sproule as a woman and a man without memory of themselves or the place they awaken in, were perfectly confounded, and sustained their energy throughout the twists and turns as they endured numerous “truths” of their supposed identities. Beth Graham, however, was the definite standout – besides having to act in a long-sleeve shirt, pants, and a sweater to boot in the furnace of the Telephone Museum, she was chilling, fluidly moving from one story to the next without pause. She was exhausting just to watch, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, attempting to catch something – a wince, a blink, a nudge – that would betray her true nature. Even now, two days later, I still have no idea which of her accounts were ultimately “true” – but perhaps that isn’t the point – it is the revelation of how susceptible we are without our personal narratives and remembered experiences, and how much at that point we have to rely, naked and blind otherwise, on others.

I met up with Annie and Andres for 25 Plays About…Love at the (yay!) air-conditioned Arts Barns. I remember seeing advertisements for the original production, 50 Plays About…Love, a few months back at Latitude 53, but didn’t have a chance to make it out at that time. Like most plays comprised of short, unrelated vignettes, there were some that were better than others. In this case, I found that the majority were a miss rather than a hit. We saw representations of very different kinds of love – of the hockey game, of one’s body, of routine, but my favourites were of the romantic kind: the snippet involving the man who could see into the future, the old couple sitting in the park, the young couple bickering in the car on the way home from a dinner party. The “bad dancing” portion of the show was amusing, but seemed somewhat misplaced. Though not wholly disappointing, I’ve seen similar shows executed much better than 25 Plays, so I can’t recommend this one.

The Big Kahuna: Day 2

On Friday night I went to see Happy Toes, Teatro la Quindicina’s return to the Fringe. Stewart Lemoine’s piece on friendship, possibilities, and happiness was poignant, and even more so in hindsight. There were a few moments of awkward pauses and odd pacing, but I chose to think such things would improve themselves over the course of the festival. For the most part the cast did a great job – Jeff Haslam was en pointe with line delivery that milked for laughs, and Leona Brausen was her usual delightful self on stage. It was nice to see Ron Pederson again, though Mack thought he was dialing in his performance. My favourite moment was the tender one between Haslam and Pederson’s characters – a lovely space of understanding and appreciation. The show has likely sold out for its run (it received five stars in the Journal today), so get tickets quick if you still can, or wait for the holdovers August 26-30 at the Varscona.

The Big Kahuna: Day 1

The first of my nine shows this Fringe was a reliable David Belke. Perhaps because I didn’t expect much from a radio serial, I found The Adventurous Times of Kevin Grimes just fantastic. It was deliciously seductive, soap opera-esque, and for a show where the voices and sounds of the actors were so much more prominent than the actors themselves, I had a hoot watching the group ham it up for the microphone. All of the performers mimicked the body language of the characters they were trying to portray, whether it meant hunching over menacingly or tensing their fingers up into claws. My favourite was the incredibly versatile Andrea House, who was sufficiently creepy as the villain’s second-in-command, among other characters she voiced. Jared Matsunaga-Turnbull was also pitch-perfect as the narrator, with a voice as smooth and trustworthy as spun cotton candy. It’s a shame I won’t be able to see the other live-to-air performances, but I will do my best to catch the remaining episodes on CKUA.

I was glad we were actually able to reach the Belke BYOV on time – after finding a parking spot, May and I had to wait in an aggravatingly-long “Will Call” line at the Central Box Office. I am hoping it was just first day kinks they were working on, and hasn’t been a problem for any other patrons.

Two Days to the Fringe!

For those who watch the critics’ every move, the reviews from the Winnipeg Fringe are sometimes a good indication of what will make a splash at Edmonton’s own festival (though again, you never really know what will strike the fancy of a particular reviewer on any given day).

The Winnipeg Free Press lists the following shows (who will be making their way to Edmonton) as top-drawing acts: Die Roten Puntke, Kenneth Brown’s Spiral Dive (awarded 5 stars), The Official Napoleon Dynamite Dance Class, Killing Kevin Spacey, and Keir Cutler’s Teaching the Fringe. On a side note, I loved the theme of their 2008 festival, Viva Las Fringe, and the accompanying “What happens at the Fringe, stays at the Fringe” slogan. Cheesy, but effective. Though new Executive Director Chuck McEwen wanted to surpass Edmonton’s 2007 attendance of 74,963 indoor show tickets, they were short, reaching a paid attendance of 72,699, up 774 from last year’s record of 71,921. If you’re an Edmonton Fringe die-hard, you’re breathing a sign of relief right now.

Some news: the Frequent & Double Fringer passes have sold out. They only made 200 of each available; I seem to remember more being offered in past years, but I could be wrong.

Also, the website lists some schedule changes. Good news for those that missed Charles Ross’s sold-out One Man Star Wars Trilogy three years ago – he’s been given a full slot as a result of a show cancellation. I remember being in the front row at the Legion, watching the sweat just drip off the man’s face – he is a tour de force, and his imitations are spot on. Check out a clip here.

If you’re still not sure what show you’d like to see, the Free for All, an annual event that allows artists 5 minutes to showcase their production, takes place in McIntyre Park from 8-10pm on Thursday, August 14.

See you in Old Strathcona!