You might think that after seeing So…What About Love? at the Fringe in 2009, and then in a remount in 2010, I’d have tired of this charming little show. Not so. I was smitten with its first incarnation, felt a little cooler towards the second, and am in full-out, passionate love with the third. From the moment that Andrew Chandler, Amy Reitsma and Garry Williams step onto the stage in their underwear, they have the audience eating out of their hands. With direction by Ann-Marie Kerr, they have dropped the over-arching story line and returned to an episodic format, adding new songs and retaining some favourites such as the hysterical “If I were a Ninja”. Their take on love is truthful without being cynical and romantic without being naïve. So…What About Love? scores five on the five-heart scale!
Next up was a show with a completely different tone. Toronto actor Brendan McMurtry-Howlett breathes life into a host of characters in a one-man play called …and stockings for the ladies. It’s the story of a young Canadian soldier named Daniel Friedman who’s in post-war Germany struggling to help victims without breaking the harsh and unfair non-fraternization rules. While following the lead of his empathetic and idealistic squadron leader, Daniel learns that some rules are made to broken, and that heroes are human, too. McMurty-Howlett’s performance is brilliant. He switches from character to character with ease and lightning speed. Also of note is way that puppets are used to great effect to portray the holocaust survivors in this touching (and true) story.
SuperNova runs May 18-29 at the Neptune Studio. For a complete list of show times and prices visit: http://www.easternfronttheatre.com/index.php/supernova-theatre-festival/
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 1, 2011.
A small technical point. Daniel Friedman is an airman, not a soldier.