Random Recommendations From the Edmonton Fringe

A few recommendations (somewhat in order) for fellow Fringe-goers in Edmonton this week.

Despite my personal inclination to believe that romantic love is nothing but an ad campaign promulgated by evolution, my favorite two plays thus far at the fringe have been romantic comedies.

The Raven and the Writing Desk: David Belke’s latest comedy has all the elements you’d expect from one of his plays – love in jeopardy, fast-paced humour, poignant realizations, and a top-notch cast with split-nanosecond timing. I laughed so much even my eyebrows hurt by the end. I guess my only complaint is I always leave a Belke comedy feeling a little sad, both that it’s over and that, despite all the real and honest touches that make his couples seem truly in love, love just doesn’t seem as well meaning or as hopeful in real life.

52 Pick-Up: watch a couple’s relationship go through all the familiar stages – except in random order. 52 scenes corresponding to playing cards – each performance plays out in as determined by a deck of cards scattered at the beginning. And it’s not just a gimmick. The play is so cleverly constructed that past and future connect in surprising and touching ways with scenes from late in the relationship actually ‘foreshadowing’ earlier scenes – depending on which cards the actors pick up and in which order. I haven’t seen this play performed before, but the cast in this case is unbeatable, as far as I can tell. This is exactly the kind of originality and authenticity that a romantic comedy needs.

If you’re looking for something a little different, the next two plays are for you.

Identity: The story plays out as a comic book or graphic novel outlining the origins of the superhero Dragonfly and her liaison with an ex-superhero sidekick. With roots in pop culture, serious theatre, and dance, this play is for theatergoers in the mood for something different. Heavily philosophical, the story looks at the division in humans between head and heart.

The Wonders of the World: Recite: Three people in an outlying coastal area are unaware that a large meteor is about to strike the earth. Sounds like an occasion for madcap humour, right? Not quite. The story and characters are utterly unique. The American troupe behind this play is young, but the performances are polished and charming. And the writing (from two of the performers) is original, offbeat and disarming. I’m used to near-nekkid staging at the Fringe and so this play seemed cluttered by props, but the cast uses this excess with ease and skill. There is some very minimal audience participation, but don’t be afraid. The ending of the play will leave you with a small sense of wonder.

And for those of you with a taste for something more Hollywood…

Stealing Venus: I’ve always said what the Fringe needs is more heist plays. Someone must have been listening. This brilliant one-man multi-character performance gives us the entire multinational heist crew. Our main character, though, is not so wrapped up in his work that he doesn’t take time to think about love. In fact, if I have a complaint about this play it’s that I’d like more heist. The set up for the heist is great, but the heist itself isn’t all that interesting – probably because the point of the play is elsewhere.

Living Shadows: If you want to see what a Hollywood legend truly is, then this play about Mary Pickford is for you. The story mixes the historical with the psychological and gives us a well-rounded portrait of an important actress and filmmaker who helped build the foundations of the movie industry – a reminder that woman have both had it tough in the industry and made major contributions long before our times. Both the performer and the story transcend their “I am woman” generic roots and give us a multidimensional portrait of the artist as a slave to her public.