09.05.15
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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’15] Rumpelstiltskin and Other Tales, A Review

4web3webrumpelstiltskin-copy-3VENUE:
Metro Studio Theatre
1411 Quadra St.
Victoria, BC

SHOWTIMES:
Sept 5 | 12:15 pm
Sept 6 | 11:30 am

DURATION:
45 minutes

No fan of the tales collected by The Brothers Grimm and adapted to stage will want to miss the Victoria Fringe Festival‘s two presentations of their works. Rumpelstiltskin and Other Works is aptly named and perhaps bit misleading. Not all the two remaining acts in this three-part show are going to be based on these folklorist’s works. In the other show that’s still playing, The Untold Tales of Brothers Grimm, which is technically more sophisticated, this version is adapted for youths to listen to.

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09.04.15
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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’15] Tracking the Birdmann’s Flight to Vancouver Fringe, A Review

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LOCATION:
Performance Works
1218 Cartwright St.
Vancouver, BC

SHOWTIMES:
Sep 11 | 10:40 pm
Sep 12 | 4:30 pm
Sep 13 | 12:10 pm
Sep 14 | 6:55 pm
Sep 17 | 8:30 pm
Sep 19 | 7:25 pm

DURATION: 50 minutes

The nose knows that even on the last day of this act’s performance at the Victoria Fringe Festival, The Birdmann in Momentous Timing must not be missed. If he has flown the coup in one city, at least his show can be found in the next stop. In this festival circuit’s case, that’s Vancouver Fringe Festival, in British Columbia! This product is certainly offbeat, blending a variety of stage shows — balancing acts, transgender dance, magic tricks and standup — into one seamless unit. A few bits felt unneeded (like the lacklustre transmorgifying box of tricks) and others more compelling, like being able to juggle plastic bags. There’s a deftness with a knife that I won’t go into detail about and that’s a highlight of this show. Elsewhere, if there’s a metaphor behind an ironing board and a clothes iron, no one is telling about what it is.

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09.02.15
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Beware Looking for the Best Meal You Ever Had … You’ll Want to Seek it Out at Brasserie L’école

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Brasserie L’école
1715 Government St.
Victoria, BC
Phone: (250) 475-6260

After going to see The Best Meal You Ever Ate at Victoria Fringe Festival, I could not resist or even hesitate: the desire to have French food set me on a course towards the Brasserie L’école, a small diner located next to Chinatown. As with most French restaurants, reserving in advance is recommended (especially over at the Matisse and Chez Michel) and this establishment is the only place where you can wait in line for a seat. It didn’t take long to get one and I was fine with being at the bar.

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09.02.15
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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’15] What’s the Best Meal You Ever Ate? A Review

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LOCATION:
Congregation Emanu-El
1461 Blanshard Street
Victoria, BC

SHOWTIMES:
Sept 1 | 7:00 pm
Sept 2 | 7:00 pm
Sept 3 | 7:00 pm
Sept 6 | 2:00 pm

DURATION:
50 minutes

I should never go to a Victoria Fringe Festival show about high cuisine on a half-filled stomach. I thought the hamburger I had before The Best Meal You Ever Ate would be enough but I was wrong. Set in the backdrop of World War II, the story does a fine job in highlighting the plight of the Jews in Warsaw and in serving some great philosophical moments while delightful food was being served.

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09.02.15
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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’15] Where’s the Fandango with Sama Kutra? A Review

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LOCATION:
St Andrew’s Gymnasium
1002 Pandora
Victoria, BC

SHOWTIMES:
Sept 2 | 7:45 pm
Sept 6 | 8:45 pm

DURATION:
55 minutes

Judging by the images than by the title alone, I half thought that Sama Kutra might borrow from the Spanish or French clown tradition where tragedy sometimes dominates the stage. By pure word association, no individual should be surprised that the Kama Sutra factors into this weird and zany world of two clowns realizing their love for each other is gone. Quite literally, there’s no Spark or Sizzle (played by Jed Tomlinson and Jacqueline Russell) left. They can’t even perform the Fandango (their last name) together lest they get into an argument I Love Lucy style. The way Spark goes off is very reminiscent of how Ricky goes off when Lucy does something silly to anger him. This play goes further to show them on the verge of separating until a magical bolt of lightning strikes and sends them off to Oz. Here, they try to find that magic that led them to fall in love, and what results is hilarity at its best.

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09.01.15
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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’15] Why Don’t You Stay Awhile at Casino Royale? A Review

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LOCATION:
St Andrew’s Gymnasium
1002 Pandora
Victoria , BC

SHOWTIMES:
Sept 2 | 5:45 pm
Sept 5 | 10:30 pm
Sept 6 | 3:00 pm

DURATION:
54 minutes

No fan of Ian Fleming’s work will want to escape from Casino Royale lest James Bond strips him or her cash bare. This story by Ian Fleming is what launched a franchise and this play directed by Ian Case (a very respected theatre veteran in Victoria, BC) and written by David Elendune (who is equally getting renown) did a great job in pacing out a story that works very well on stage. Usually cold war dramas are tough to manage in a medium outside of film, and for Bond … James Bond, the early works certainly looks very adaptable. His adventures were told in comic strips before. On stage, at the Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival, experimentation is highly encouraged!

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