Troy Pavlek

I was whelmed.

In the past 3 years, this show falls between Soup and Hogan's 16th Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest ★★☆☆☆ (2024) and Sam's Clam and Oyster Bar ★★★★½ (2025).

Top Bunk continues to nail very funny Airplane-style bits. There's a lot of pun-based humour taken to extremes (I'm thinking a "hot" dog, and a judge playing tag at "recess").

Unfortunately, I think it didn't commit hard enough to it. That style of zany, joke-a-minute humour requires rapid-fire blink-and-you miss it joke making. This show seemed to play it straight, and then would turn to the camera and emphasize the joke, which I do think hurt some exceptionally funny bits.

Once again, the music was a bit of a low point, most songs didn't materially escalate, but felt like they were treading water. I noticed a distinct absence of an "I want" song.

Highlighted exception: the "Judge introduction rap" was perfect. No notes.

Where the team continues to succeed is in characterization. Each character is distinct, fleshed out, and funny in their own way. French Baliff killed it. And the gator bit paid off in a big way.

The show is a mixed bag: flashes of absolute brilliance, but inconsistent. I will absolutely be buying my Top Bunk theatre tickets each year, because when they're on, they're on.

Rain and Eli have a truly unfair amount of chemistry on stage.

The Grindstone is a pretty bad venue for a staged musical. It's small, claustrophobic and extremely limited in what you can do.

And so, the team played with that and set the entire thing in one room, in a bed. It's claustrophobic by design, and it works.

The show is simple: Eli doesn't want to get out of bed, and Rain wants him to get out of bed. I'm trying to describe it in a way that doesn't sound dull and trite, and I truly can't. But somehow, they just make it work. It's funny, clever, full of heart and leans fully in to its silly premise.

What makes it work is the truly exceptional talent on stage. Which leads me to my primary complaint with the show: In the lull of the show, Rain leaves backstage for about ten minutes, and the magic dissipates. What makes the show work well is the leads bouncing off each other, and that was sorely missed in the tail end.

This is a pair to absolutely catch each Fringe (assuming they continue to produce, which they should).

Hold me, Bat Boy.

SATCO did it again, what a wonderful production.

First, the big improvements: sound production was wonderful. In past years, mics at this theatre sometimes had poor mixing, and would frequently cut out. Not so, for Bat Boy. I heard every single word, and each one sounded great.

Sightlines in the venue have improved as well, some of the "floor level" chairs have been terraced upwards, making it easier to see over the heads in front of you. Still, get there early and find a good seat.

The chairs are stil tiny and uncomfortable folding chairs, so bring a pillow.

Bat Boy itself exceeded all expectations. Despite being a long Fringe show (at 1hr 45 min) it blew past. It didn't drag, and the cast energy remained high.

Jayden Leung is a joy to watch as Bat Boy, played with just the right amount of comedy to keep it funny and fresh, without being cartoonish. Patrick Lynn nails Dr. Thomas Parker with just the right level of dread boiling beneath the surface. "You're sad, drunk and miserable, but make it funny" is a tough directorial note that he nails.

The show straddles a line of comedic, but not a comedy. Dramatic, but still a little silly. And cartoonish, until it's not. As the tone shifts, the cast and band all deftly shift their performances to reflect the updated tone.

Good stuff.

Once again, the SATCO run was sold out, so this is your advice for next year: get them before they're gone.

I've been told Violette Coquette is the best burlesque performer from Edmonton.

It's easy to believe after this show.

What's on the ticket for this show is an award winning and PhD-candidate burlesque performer dressing and undressing and shaking all the bits you'd expect, interspersed with philosophy lessons that delve into the anticapitalist virtues of good art. All in an intimate, rooftop venue with not a bad seat in the house.

And oh boy, does it deliver.

Though, the projections of the philosophy lessons on a sheet that was blowing in the wind did leave me without a good place to look for relatively long stretches between performances, and I did find myself wanting a bit more. I would have liked a bit more production in the downtime to match the high production of the performances.

I'd recommend the show to anyone who enjoys burlesque, but of course that recommendation doesn't particularly matter: those people already know, and this was the second show at Fringe to sell out its entire run.

Very, very dumb.

Gladstone has an infectious energy as detective Grant Canyon fades to black and wakes up in increasing more and more absurd situations.

There's no crime solving to be had, other than bumbling through and punching people in the face, and that's right in his sweet spot. It's a funny, silly, high-energy romp.

Gladstone's quick wit was on display several times as he flubbed a couple lines or scene changes and played them off to even greater laughs. Or when he roasted my audience for the "partial standing ovation" at the end of the show.

Bring your insurance adjuster friends to this show, and let them live their dreams.

If a play is staged, and no one reviews it, is it still four and a half stars?

In a show about driving to the Yukon to cut down trees, I did not expect so much commentary about bureaucracy.

Colin Wolf is an excellent performer here, and I must give kudos to both his comedic presentation and also his projection. Even when there was conflicting background sound, I could always hear everything he was saying.

The synopsis for this play highlighted doing standup around the campfire and lots of therapy, neither of which played a large role in the final presentation. The producers confirm that the show has been adapted based on what works (bureaucracy puppets and Otto), de-emphasizing what didn't work as well (standup). That's one thing I love about Fringe, is how adaptable and trial-and-error each play can be.

The only big miss in this show for me now is the chainsaw sounds. It took me a while to even understand that the sound I was hearing was supposed to be a chainsaw, and I really would have loved a more practical chainsaw sound localized to the prop - even if that's just by sticking a bluetooth speaker on the chainsaw.

Maybe this show would have earned a lower rating earlier in the run, but I saw it near the end, and this version of it is absolutely worth seeing.

Chase Padgett does it again.

One might think after putting out Fringe show after Fringe show that they would start to get stale. If that's going to happen, there's no signs of it any time soon.

The Next Guy blends guitar and storytelling in a classic Padgett style. He's got some of the funniest songs he's written this year.

I went to a weekday afternoon showing and Chase deftly noted all the "silver hair in the audience" as he realized that he was going to have to explain what "OnlyFans" was. For a theatre so full, his talent for working the audience and playing on their energy was once again on display.

Highly recommended, especially for people who attended his "Wedding show" in 2019, if only for some thematic closure.

I love a tight 45 show.

This show knew the story it wanted to tell, told it, and then left the audience wanting more. Phenomenal work.

A Seanchaí (pronounced nothing like you would expect it to be unless you're familiar with Irish) is an oral storykeeper, but when alzheimers starts to creep in, that becomes a much more difficult role to maintain.

The show is funny, emotional, and with excellent lighting and music cues, unexpectedly epic. Susan Sneath is an absolute joy to watch on stage and nails her comedic timing.

It's only 45 minutes! You can fit it in!

And you should.

This show is magical.

Easily the most creative show I've seen this Fringe.

The base premise is ridiculous: Jack's heirs are having a capitalist dispute with the Goose that laid the golden egg.

The story is told through a combination of shadow puppetry, overhead projection, camcorder tricks and forced perspective. It cannot be undersold what a magic trick the puppetry is. The crowd was gasping and giggling with joy as they pulled off some really cool puppetry tricks.

You don't want to to miss it.

A talented standup performance, that's ultimately a bit too light on the jokes.

Often Fringe shows will be "storytelling" which is a lot like standup, but different. This show is straight standup. Holding a microphone, staring into the stage lights, leaning on the mic stand, bottle of water on a stool – everything is classic standup.

And unfortunately, formatting it as a full standup set, makes it all the more noticeable when digressions meander and then end without a punchline.

There are good bits to be sure. He does a very funny metaphorical bit about an "emotion wheel" and walls and labyrinths. And many lines are delivered impeccably, with humourous asides.

But for a standup set, I think it needs more time in the writers room to buff up the punchlines.