Review: FRINGE FESTIVAL: DAY 1 at Toronto Fringe

The Toronto Fringe Festival opened on July 5th, beginning twelve jam-packed days with performances of almost 100 shows. Here are our capsule reviews from the first day of the fest:

THE LIFE BETWEEN US

It's hard not to be charmed by THE LIFE BETWEEN US, the anarchic show by Fringe ED Lucy Eveleigh’s husband Faisal Butt and daughter Sloane (who doesn’t sport dad’s last name, he says, due to his generosity). Loosely riffing on a theme of “who knows best: kids or adults?” the show largely consists of Butt’s standup about their adventures while being heckled with deadly accuracy by his small child (and sometimes the audience). One feels that the performers meant to cover more ground than what winds up on stage, but it’s a sweet start to a Fringe day from two people who intimately know the fest.

JUNE

JUNE has a compelling premise – a woman in the 1950s faces incarceration and possibly the death penalty for shooting her rich, abusive boyfriend – and elegant set with prison-bar lightbox, but hasn’t yet quite found its rhythm or focused on the uniqueness of its story. Its strongest aspect, the changing relationship between June and a lesbian prison guard who increasingly questions the system, gets buried under her more familiar dealings with the besotted best friend and slimy abuser. Lead Jesse McQueen has an appealing, feisty energy that could be better matched by other cast.

CORPORATE FINCH

It's difficult to do low-budget horror on stage, but Corporate Finch gives us an intriguingly oddball psychological thriller between two young adults whose friendship sours over a mysterious prank. Starting in darkness, the show makes good use of the staging possibilities and levels of the TPM Backspace, and strong performances from leads Kester and Ivanoff keep us guessing as to who’s the monster. The plot doesn’t quite hang together and some effects would be better imagined than mimed, but spooky sound design and intense pacing go a long way toward genuine creepiness.

THE WOMAN WHO ATE FALAFEL

THE WOMAN WHO ATE FALAFEL is a one-woman show chronicling Fatma Naguib’s hopes, dreams, and disappointments in her journey from Egypt to Canada to become an actress and comedian. Naguib explores stereotypes and realities about both countries, while spitting truths we all need to hear in a comedic way (jabs about Canada’s exploitation of desperate immigrants via the student visa program were particularly potent). Some softball jokes feel as warmed-over as reheated poutine, but Naguib’s determined intensity and her exploration of the pain caused by either not being wanted or only being wanted for diversity points are piping hot. Her love for aspects of both her homes always feels fresh, and anyone willing to begin a show by emerging from the birth canal ready to perform deserves to have her moment.

MS. TITAVERSE

The Titas deliver laughs once again with a sketch show themed around participating in a beauty pageant, where the contestants sport banners like “Miss Born In Scarborough” and discover truths about themselves through the inanity of pageant questions. They’re at their best when recalling specific details about their ancient LiveJournals, including long discussions about new haircuts, nascent same-sex crushes, and raunchy slash fanfiction, or when singing in glorious harmony about the stereotypes plaguing Asian Barbie or their genuine thanks for eldest daughters (hopefully, the sound mix will get more balanced as the fest goes on). Surprisingly, they’re able to veer from humour to heart without losing steam, though the pageant’s resolution could make more of what came before. Oh, and yes, each one of them wants world peace.

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