Atlantic Fringe Festival: Art Attack, The Coast Halifax

The Fringe abides

Tara Thorne — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:51:05 -0300

After a near-year off, a dramatic last-minute rescue and subsequent roaring success, the 2012 Atlantic Fringe Festival is open for plays! The fest runs August 30 to September 9.…

Final Day at The Fringe

Kate Watson — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:05:32 -0300

The 21st Atlantic Fringe Festival is over, and it went out with music, laughter and dancing at Zuppa’s Karaokalypse.

It was a marathon, but well worth it.…

Fringe - Day 10

Kate Watson — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:04:07 -0300

With only one show on my schedule for Saturday, I managed to take a bit of rest. But what a show!

I’ve started to think of George Dillon as kind of a theatrical surgeon.…

A Fringetastic Day 9

Kate Watson — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:11:14 -0300

The intimate confines of Plutonium Playhouse are gloriously filled by actor Daniel Foley’s rich, mellifluous voice in Tiresias and The Player King. Foley is a classically-trained actor who has created a one-man show that tenuously joins story of Hamlet’s Player King with that of the blind Greek oracle Tiresias.…

At the Fringe on Day 8

Kate Watson — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:18:24 -0300

Jean, as written by Lee-Anne Poole and played by Stephanie MacDonald, is adorably forthright and self-aware. As Short Skirt Butch opens, she explains that she has gathered us together to apologize for behaving badly after a recent break-up.…

Day 7 at the Fringe

Kate Watson — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:00:59 -0300

There was great news on Day 7 for The Fringe—-with four days still left in the festival, the box office had surpassed last year’s total!

Kingdom and Fatherland: Homeland Insecurity, the autobiographical show by Pakistani-Norwegian Muslim comedienne (There’s a mouthful for you!)…

Day 6 at The Fringe

Kate Watson — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 09:06:48 -0300

Two entertaining shows in the air-conditioned splendor of The Neptune Studio kick off an evening that ended with a party at The Bus Stop. The social aspect of this year’s fringe makes for a great place to hear the buzz—-and people are certainly buzzing about Kingdom and Fatherland: Homeland Insecurity.…

Fringing it up on Day 5

Kate Watson — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:24:22 -0300

Only three plays to review for Day 5…a walk in the park this intrepid reviewer.

Last seen at the 2010 Fringe with her musical comedy show Emotional Condom, funny woman Ann Denny returns as Anna Danova in SeaHose Unplugged.…

Fringe: Day 4

Kate Watson — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:53:17 -0300

It was hot, hot, hot in Halifax on Sunday and hot, hot, hotter in some of the un-air-conditioned fringe venues, but with one exception, the plays were riveting enough to make it totally worth a little discomfort.

In fact, Michael McPhee’s Whiteout actually sent a few welcome chills down my spine.…

Fringing on Day 3

Kate Watson — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 10:39:40 -0300

I can’t say enough about the sheer variety, and quality, of shows of I’ve seen so far at The Fringe. On one sunny Saturday, I managed to take in six shows with topics as varied as homicidal fairies and randy, bitter barnacles.…

Day Two at The Fringe

Kate Watson — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 07:32:06 -0300

My very varied Day 2 at DanSpace was a mixture of story,dance and poetry with projections being key in all three of the productions. It was a wonderful reminder of just what an eclectic mix of entertainment the Fringe offers.…

Opening Night at The Fringe

Kate Watson — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:22:25 -0300

When a person turns 21 we celebrate their coming of age, and I think the same can be said of the 21st Atlantic Fringe Festival.

For two decades this festival has been offering quirky, affordable theatre experiences, and now it’s ready to take its place on a wider stage by attracting an even bigger audience with more local and international shows.…

The Curtain Closes on Day 11

Kate Watson — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 08:03:05 -0300

It’s over, and I’ve failed. Sigh.…

Great Shows amid the Controversy on Day 10

Kate Watson — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:07:14 -0300

Well, the Fringe is abuzz with talk of actor Mikaela Dyke’s open letter of complaint against festival director Ken Pinto. I believe it is a brave act and that it may be a step towards making the Atlantic Fringe stronger and more professionally run.…

Open letter of complaint against Fringe's Ken Pinto

Sue Carter Flinn — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 11:30:55 -0300

While performer Mikaela Dyke, who's been receiving positive reviews for her play Dying Hard, has enjoyed being in Halifax for her Atlantic Fringe run, which ends this weekend, she hasn't been as happy with the treatment she's apparently received from the Fringe's director, Ken Pinto.

In fact, Dyke has written an open letter of complaint to the Halifax arts community, and now: "A number of local and touring artists are petitioning the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) to withdraw its affiliation with Halifax's Atlantic Fringe Festival while under the leadership of the current festival director, Ken Pinto."

We've been speaking to Dyke, a couple of other artists and members of CAFF, as well as Pinto.…

Chillin' with Anne-Marie on Day 9

Kate Watson — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 11:19:44 -0300

Since the Fringe began last week, I’ve seen shows on pedophile parents, terminally-ill miners, murdered teens, failing seniors and brave cancer patients. That’s a load that can make your heart heavy, so it was a real pleasure to simply enjoy Anne-Marie Woods’ The Fringe Show — Live and Fully Improvised! The show consists of several segments including Woods’ “therapy session”, a comic riff on issues in her life.…

From the Ridiculous to the Sublime on Day 8

Kate Watson — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:09:48 -0300

The end is in sight for my Fringe Odyssey: Twenty-three plays down, seven to go. Here’s hoping the final seven are more like the dreamy Waltz than the incomprehensible Bud Hunter!

In order to give you a taste of how bad Bud Hunter: Not Plugged In actually is, I’ve decided to write this review in the talk show style of the show, with me in the role of the stuffed lion—-yes, stuffed lion—-that does the interviewing.
Me (crackly and pre-recorded): So Bud, what makes you return to the Fringe after receiving lukewarm reviews for your last show and crushing reviews for your 2007 show?…

Resting, Planning and Laughing on Day 7

Kate Watson — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 10:44:44 -0300

Now that that I’ve seen two thirds of the shows, scheduling the other ten now requires the same skill set as mounting the Allied invasion. I’ve spent lots of time pouring over the schedule, and I believe that I can fit it all in.…

Venue Jumping on Day 6

Kate Watson — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:01:35 -0300

After two jam-packed days of theatre, it was a lovely break to have a day with only two shows to see. I chose wisely, too.…

Day 5 at DANspace

Kate Watson — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:28:02 -0300

Oh, how I suffer for my art. I spent a most gloriously sunny and temperate Labour Day in the sauna-like confines of DANspace, reviewing not one or two, but FIVE Fringe offerings, Fortunately, the fact that there wasn’t a dog in the lot coupled with the opportunity to sit outside on Argyle Street and enjoy some wine between shows, made my sacrifice worthwhile.…

A full Day of Fringe on Day 4

Kate Watson — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:14:51 -0300

I’ve experienced a “Fringe” benefit from having so many plays to see: I’m feeling pretty good about my job as a reviewer, and about the theatre scene in Halifax. I’ve not only survived 12 plays in four days, but the quality of this year’s Fringe offerings means I feel privileged to have seen the majority of them.…

Two Plays, Two Winners on Day 3 of the Fringe

Kate Watson — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 12:00:55 -0300

Good old Hurricane Earl forced the closure of all but two plays yesterday, but as luck would have, it they were both winners!

Back in 1916, a New York newspaper columnist named Don Marquis introduced Archy the cockroach and Mehitabel the free-spirited cat to the world. Archy, who claimed to be a reincarnated poet and thus was qualified to comment upon both the human and insect worlds, supposedly left free verse social commentary on Marquis’ typewriter at night.…

Keeping Cool on Day 2 of the Fringe

Kate Watson — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:57:57 -0300

With temperatures soaring as Hurricane Earl (Hot Juan??) lumbered towards the city, the air conditioned splendor of Plutonium Playhouse offered sweet relief as well as a mixed bag of Fringey entertainment…

The first show, Black Jack Justice, proved to be the best of the evening.…

Day 1 of the Fringe Odyssey

Kate Watson — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:24:43 -0300

Okay, the marathon has begun. Last night marked the beginning of an 11-day Fringe odyssey where this intrepid reviewer will attempt to view —-and coherently review—-all 30 theatre offerings.…

Fringe review: What Happened to Jeff?

Kate Watson — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:48:00 -0300

Jeff Onore is one weird dude. His one-man show So What About Jeff is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.…