Robert MacGillivray

Absolutely fantastic conclusion to the trilogy! Given the time travel, I was really hoping we would get to see at least one cameo from who I'd consider one of the co-main characters of the first entry. His actor was busy playing lizard boy, and maybe it would have confused the audience to have this guy who looks exactly like lizard boy not be lizard boy's father. Just a fun, whacky romp all around though! Definitely wish I could go back in time myself to re-live the entire trilogy.

While this was a pretty fun deconstruction of the genre, and the performances were fantastic, I think the ending just needed a little something. That final scene simply didn't do it for me. We'd already had everything spelled out, so I kind of assumed that there was going to be a twist within the twist but, alas, we simply re-iterated the reveal. Was kind of hoping for something along the lines of "this is all playing out in the mind of an old man who firmly believes that he's a detective". Especially for such a short piece, I think nailing the landing is going to be key.

In any case, I'd certainly recommend it as a fan of the genre, especially if you're interested in picking apart what they're doing and how/why they're doing it!

While the old format was hilarious, I think this new format may be even better in some ways. While we no longer get to laugh at the sheer absurdity of bad 2020 AI script writing, I think the improv actors have a bit more to work with. The amateur scriptwriters do a great job hamming things up and setting the stage for the improvisers to take it home. Definitely recommend seeing this one every year!

Having gone to my first Late Night Cabaret after years of avoiding it in favour of fitting in 20-30 other shows and trying to get a good night's rest, I'm sad to say that I've been missing out all of these years. It's just such a great celebration of Fringe!

That being said, I'd happened to have already seen most of what was on offer from the guests (on the same day, bad luck!). That, combined with the tech booth cranking the sound up to 11, made me want to dip out a bit early. No joke, the pre-show and intermission music (not from the live band, just the random stuff they were playing) was painful for me, and I wasn't even next to the speakers. My ears are still ringing 24 hours later. It was like being in the mosh pit for a rock concert. Given the size of the venue, I just don't think that balancing was appropriate, but maybe that's always the vibe? It sounded cool from the line outside! I'll definitely try to schedule it in again for one or two nights next year, but hopefully it's a little easier on the ol' ears!

This was my first experience with Martin Dockery, and I loved where he went with it. I thought I was going to predict every twist and turn, but there was one toward the end that caught me completely off guard. Without the brilliant way he wrapped everything up, I still would have given this 4 stars. Even knowing exactly where the story was going, he has this magical way of pulling you along so that you can feel what he was feeling. And his delivery is just so damn entertaining!

Fantastic! It's been awesome to see this group improve and come into their own. The sketches this year were very tight, without a single miss or sketch that felt like it needed to be cut short in the bunch. The political commentary they slid in here was also very on-point.

Entertaining, as always! Burlesque isn't really my cup of tea, but the framing of House of Hush shows make them an exception to that rule. The frame narrative was fun, though it felt a little more disconnected from the performances than usual. There were some real standout routines, both hilarious and beautifully touching. Definitely worth attending, especially if you have someone who wants to be introduced to high-quality burlesque!

Look - if you, like me, are always looking for at least one bonkers Fringe show that leaves your mouth agape at the insanity of it all, this is the show to pick this year. The antics these performers get up to and fully commit to are certainly entertaining! I don't think the pothead humour was as much for me as the rest of it, so I couldn't give it a full 5 stars, but the show left a good impression on everyone I was with!

This is a phenomenal show that absolutely deserves to be seen by everyone at Fringe. Dave Morris is an incredible storyteller. The gimmick, such as it is, of memorizing the deck of cards is used as a wonderful framing device. I think my preference would have been on getting more of his stories and spending a little less time on the memorization element, but I have a feeling that balance was just a little off due to some gaffs that he apologized for. I suspect most nights would get one or two more stories before his time is up for the evening.

Regardless, by the end of the show he had me in tears, reflecting on recent events in my own life that echo his experience. A moving performance from a master storyteller that isn't to be missed!

The performance was quite good, slipping between characters with ease and giving them mannerisms that set them apart quite well. There was also some good subtle use of simple props that differentiated the characters. However, that wasn't always quite enough, to tell characters apart at a glance. If you attributed the first couple sentences of a segment to one character, only to realize that a different character was talking, it was easy to get a bit lost and pulled out of the show momentarily. I don't think this is on the performance at all, but perhaps something that could be addressed by polishing the writing and/or direction for future runs.

I think there also needed to be room for the audience to clap and participate in appreciation of the art of pageantry. Applause was often provided by a backing track, and the script was timed so tightly that it felt like there was never a moment to pause and clap after any of the segments where it would make sense in-context for an audience to be offering applause.

For my money, it's worth seeing, but I didn't find the message pushed the boundaries as much as I was hoping. I wanted to come away with a different perspective on pageantry, but left with much the same feelings on the topic as I had before.