Face facts. Only two days left for Fringe.
The reviews are winding down (final four, coming tomorrow), but there are plenty of shows to see this rainy weekend. Check back through all the Fringe Binge posts and make your selection.
Six Stupid Things People Do
Bud Hunter has a great are-you-kidding-me face and he makes it frequently throughout Six Stupid Things People Do, his latest Fringe production, a 45-minute monologue about Christmas lights, driver's ed, and other confounding, infuriating occurrences you're likely to confront in everyday life. He also has a great voice. For the jokes that land - and in a show filled with dozens of them, the frequency pretty much guarantees some will work for you - it's his voice that hammers those punchlines home, and his east coast accent and New York delivery are what make Hunter such a memorable performer.
- Kevin Hartford
Divine Obstruction
Every year at Fringe, there’s a show that stands out, not because it’s the best, but because it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Divine Obstruction is that show for 2015.
Performer Quincy Russell vacillates between seeming like a blissed-out yogi and a hyper-active toddler. For an hour, the audience is treated to his gentle stream-of-consciousness musing about things like capitalism, tree planting and Russell’s desire to feel comfortable in front of strangers.
The audience squirms uncomfortably as Russell slurps cold seaweed soup, changes into a dress and sways gently around the room. At one point, he leaves to get himself a drink of water, and is visibly delighted that we are there when he returns.
While the essential strangeness of this show is easy to describe, what is harder is to convey is its charm. When the audience tentatively applauded or giggled, Russell (figuratively) lit up like a Christmas tree. In the end, it made me wonder, who was performing for whom?
Interesting.
- Kate Watson
For information about show times, venues and costs, visit AtlanticFringe.ca
