Review: TORONTO FRINGE FESTIVAL: DAY 4

GRINGAS

GRINGAS is exactly what I’m hoping for when I go to the Fringe: a thoughtful, distinctive and energetic new play, with a dynamite, eager cast that leaves me excited about the future of theatre. In Mercedes Isaza Clunie’s thoughtful and well-paced new play, seven Hispanic teen girls sent against their will to a summer camp in Muskoka to perfect their lacking Spanish skills. A scene featuring their affronted attempts to argue their way out of going which soon belie their claims that they don’t need the instruction is a show highlight.

I fell in love with the characters, each one of whom is clearly drawn without feeling like a teen stereotype. Their fears and hopes are entirely realistic, with dialogue that rings true, and their slowly growing bond with each other is delightful to watch. It’s refreshing to see a teen drama without any cliched “mean girls”—the antagonist is their own insecurities, and the world that put them there. Still, the show explores the tensions between the students who are Hispanic due to colonization and the student who is "from-Spain Spanish" (Gloria Freire) in unique and interesting ways , particularly in the latter’s honest and slightly chilling monologue.

A budding romance between two of the characters is examined sensitively and with a lot of heart, with both isi bhakhomen and Rachel Quintanilla (as the only one of the young women who rejects speaking Spanish almost entirely) shining in their earnest portrayals. The entire cast does great work both in the monologues and in collective scenes, some of which feature the young women speaking in unison with choreographed movements.

The show doesn’t totally stick the landing. While the unnecessarily dark ending is powerful, it doesn’t feel earned in the context of the rest of the show, like an easy way out for a playwright who’s worried the work will be less meaningful without it. But what comes before is so delicately, beautifully meaningful. So go see this rich and heartfelt new work, and bring on at least one season of GRINGAS, the TV series—I’d watch.

Photo of [centre] Julianna Olave, [L to R] Rachel Quintanilla, Alejandra Angobaldo, Katarina Fiallos, Gloria Freire, Mercedes Isaza Clunie by Trinity Lloyd

FAR-FLUNG PEOPLES

We all know one thing about Toronto: the rent is too damn high, and it’s even worse for refugees who have come to the city having lost everything. In Aylin Oyan Salahshoor’s FAR-FLUNG PEOPLES, Turkish refugee Elias (Parsa Hasanzadeh) and Iranian refugee Anjeer (Salashoor) are not making ends meet; he’s trying to be an actor without much success, and she can’t find a job at all. In their attempt to make rent without getting evicted, they each secure an extra roommate without talking to each other—so when both the Syrian Tariq (Fadi Dalloul) and Rwandan Forêt (Skyler Petrah) show up at the same time for a space that’s not even big enough for one, drama ensues.

Salashoor’s script starts slowly and a bit awkwardly in the first scene, but adds depth and humour as the roommates start increasing and the space gets smaller—the physical overcrowding of the space helps add to the tension. The cohesion then comes apart in the last section, where monologues outnumber the faster-paced dialogue. It might be wiser to sprinkle the monologues throughout the play, rather than having a monologuing section that stops the action before it peters out entirely. Issues with cohesion may have something to do with the fact that, at least at my performance, the play had one fewer character than noted in the original program.

Performances are variable and sometimes can’t keep up with the snappier dialogue, but I enjoyed Forêt’s entertaining conversations with the downstairs neighbours, who speak a slightly different kind of French. Dalloul's poetic Tariq, a photographer and dreamer, helps to balance the frustrated realism of the others—and their plight is definitely real—as are the hilarious, affronted conversations about what food originated in which culture. Note that the show only runs about 80 minutes, rather than the advertised 90, if that makes a difference in your Fringe planning.

Photo of Aylin Oyan Salahshoor, Fadi Dalloul, Skylar Petrah, Parsa Hasanzadeh, and Kimia Kalantari by Hana Havary

PATERNAL GUIDANCE

A fun sketch show, Summer Dad’s PATERNAL GUIDANCE may not teach you the facts of life or how to shave or tie a tie, but does provide high-energy jokes about parents, friends, love, and sex. Musical numbers are the company’s strong suit, with catchy, memorable tunes and coordinated dance routines about being judged for one’s restaurant order or being “on the cusp” between Millennial and Gen Z. Summer Dad also delivers plentiful jabs about the various foibles of living in the expensive, line-filled city of Toronto.

Audience participation is minimal, but one sketch effectively brings up an audience member to offer up some of the paternal advice the show is missing—which is nice, because otherwise the theming is tenuous at best. But who cares about that when you’re laughing?

Graphic provided by the company

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