Fringetastic Theatre Festival opens Thursday (Sept. 8) and continues until Sunday with eight shows ongoing throughout the weekend. For dates, times and venues, please see Schedule: Fringetastic Theatre Festival.
Giving int
o Light
Alison Wearing (Mexico)
www.alisonwearing.com
General audience
Giving Into Light is a hilarious, yet deeply moving journey from the eye-crossing exhaustion of early motherhood into the myth and magic of Mexico.
It tells the story of a desperate and distraught new mother attempting to survive sleep-deprivation, fluorescent-lit church basement playgroups and prescriptions for depression in the midst of ice-caked Ontario.
Her search for happiness leads her on an intuition-inspired journey to a village in central Mexico – a one-mo nth trip that becomes a five-year stay. As she raises her child amid the colours and textures of Mexico, its bu stling marketplaces and interminable celebrations, she finds ‘post-partum illumination’: sweet surrender into the lyricism, the lunacy and the lightness of life.
$10; $8/volunteers
The Fabulous Miss Rosie Bitts
Rosie Bitts (Vancouver Island)
www.missrosieb itts.com
Mature audienc e (language, nudity)
The Fabulous Miss Rosie Bitts is an entertaining exploration of burlesque, which forces the audience to look at their attitudes about erotica, freedom of expression, feminism and their own body image.
Using burlesque, theatre and music, Rosie explores the sexual politics of female nudity. The show combines neo-burlesque, torch songs and classic burlesque in an entertaining examination of the fight against misunderstanding and censorship still felt by the burlesque stars of today.
$10; $8/volunteers
From Whence H e Came
Rice and Beans Theatre (Vancouver)
www.riceandbeanstheatre.com
14+ audience
A bittersweet story filled with wild, lateral-associations in a semi-controlled-chaos aesthetic. Oscillating between false memory and reality, a young man tries to rationalize his disastrous inter-planetary migration. He was lost and waiting to be found.
$10; $8/volunteers
The Troubles
Resounding Scream (Vancouver Island)
www.resoundingscreamtheatre.com
General audience
Based on personal accounts of the conflict in Northern Ireland, The Troubles is a thought-provoking show that draws upon the voices of five distinct characters to explore questions around community, morality and loyalty. A boundary-pushing story of love and violence, The Troubles speaks that which has been forgotten.
$8
Criminal Genius
Forty Ducks Theatre Company (Nanaimo)
Mature audience
The sad state of five criminals attempting to struggle their way out of the sick state of poverty the world pushed them into. A hilariously sad and truthful look at the underworld you might never have thought of.
$10; $8/volunteers
The Perfect Candidate
Ponomo Productions (Nanaimo)
Mature audience (themes)
This satirical comedy follows the antics, blunders and triumphs of four quick-witted though desperately insecure baby boomers. The plot twists with the skulduggery of the flawed yet heart-warming characters as they rush to either take credit, assign blame or simply open another bottle of wine.
$10; $8/volunteers
Top Men: The Fringe Show
Top Men (Nanaimo)
Mature audience (language)
An electro-pop musical show featuring larger than life props and characters. Previous guest stars include Brint, a 12-foot tall gay T-rex, a life-size robot of doom and a time machine.
$10; $8/volunteers
Risk
No Snowcones (Edmonton)
General audience
Take a risk.
$10