Belle Newall
Join the Bix Mix Boys and their bluegrass jamboree!
A bluegrass concert with puns, baking pancakes, and a demonstration of which of their songs would match moments of life if it were a soundtrack. With a set pulled out of an 80s variety show and music that made you wish there was a dance floor in the room.
This was absolutely not your typical fringe show, as it is not an average play or musical, but that doesn’t matter, the fringe has something for everyone! Their voices were pleasant to listen to, and the skill with their instruments was amazing to see. The jokes were nice and simple, yet still funny, and great for all ages.
This show was a lot of fun, with their upbeat songs, nice harmonies, and effortless comedy, “The Bix Mix Boys Bluegrass Goodtime Hour” had the whole audience tapping their feet along.
What’s the use of the truth? Being right? Being helpful? Or will it always fall short to a story?
Adam Bailey’s “The Truth (tm)” is an exploration of just that – the truth. Whether it’s reliable or just an excuse to be a know-it-all. The show features anecdotes from Bailey’s own life, with discussions on philosophy, mocktails, and even Snakes on a Plane.
Bailey is an incredibly energetic storyteller, who absolutely knows how to hold an audience’s attention. Jumping in and out of the story to provide context, jokes, and references, He expertly strings together his story of what it means to tell the truth. The show uses tech very sparingly, and it absolutely works, as when a light changes, or a sound plays, it draws you in and immerses you even more in the story.
“The Truth (tm)” is a super entertaining, sincere production, exploring our behaviour as humans when it comes to storytelling, lying, and “Well, actually…”s.
Period costumes, a set torn out of a picture book, and English accents? What more could you ask for?!
“Confirmed Bachelor” tells the story in the style of a classic regency romance novel, with its stylized dialogue and the characters’ constant trips to each other’s homes. The show features only two actors playing four characters, cleverly worked through by having differentiating props such as a fan or a pipe, instead of lengthy costume changes for every scene.
Though the show is set in the Regency period, there are a lot of modern jokes and references included – even featuring an instrumental version of “I’ll make a man out of you” playing during a sequence where Eliza disguises herself as a man. The show was delightfully queer, and felt wonderfully classic, with elements of both Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and every Jane Austen novel to exist.
There were a couple moments that could have been shorter scenes, although it makes sense that some of it would be more drawn out considering the inspiration from classic novels. Overall, the show couldn’t be better summed up than by an overheard audience member: “Bridgerton but gay”
“Your task starts now!”
Returning for its third season at the Edmonton Fringe Festival and inspired by the UK show “Taskmaster”, “Edmontask” is a panel style comedy show featuring local performers. The contestants compete in a series of pre-recorded video challenges, as well as a final live challenge in order to impress the “Edmaster” (the judge).
This show was wildly entertaining all throughout. The challenges assigned to the contestants were all ridiculous and goofy – as they should be! The format stayed true to the style of the original Taskmaster, while making it unique to Edmonton with its humor. Since none of it is scripted, the guests change depending on the show, and the tasks are once and never again, the show remains fresh, yet still familiar.
From making art out of a pile of flour to reciting The Itsy Bitsy Spider backwards, the challenges themselves were so fun to watch – especially when combined with the quick-witted humor of both the guests and the hosts. The audience laughed so often it would probably average to once every fifteen seconds if anyone had actually tracked.
A “mostly-true” story of the Edmonton queer scene in the ‘80s, hilarious and deeply tragic, an exploration of what it means to live.
This amazing piece written by Darrin Hagen returns for its 30th anniversary staging, starring Zachary Parsons-Lozinski (a.k.a. Lilith Fair) telling the story of the Edmontonian Drag Queens of the eighties and the Flashback gay club. The show stays true to the drag medium by allowing room for some audience interaction, making jokes throughout the show about the audience’s reactions, even breaking character in a way that somehow feels even more sincere.
Surrounded by printed “snapshots” from the eighties is a throne, framed along with the images in an amazingly dynamic lighting design, keeping the world whole – whether in the Flashback nightclub, a K-Days parade, or the world of the stage in front of us.
Though it is a long show, there is not a moment of boredom, and it leaves you longing for even more time. Its fast-paced humor and heartfelt story are bound to linger in your mind. “The Edmonton Queen” is a must-see for queer people, drag fans, and local history buffs alike.
“Welcome to Egypt!”
A reimagining of the lives of ancient poets Jalal al-din Rumi and Shams Tabrizi, but instead of being two old Persian men, they are instead modern-day woman and man, meeting for the first time on Bumble. This play by Moemen Gaafar strings along a story of love from Cairo to Alexandria to Tehran to Edmonton to Persia in the 13th century. The story itself is beautifully entertaining, following Galal and Shams as their relationship slowly develops over the course of a weekend. The two leads, Brijesh Nagarathinam and Fatemeh Jelveh-Garan (playing Galal and Shams respectively) had excellent chemistry and character, balancing disagreement and admiration in a way that truly felt real.
For technical aspects of the show, there wasn’t much that really stood out, with simple lighting, simple set, and slightly too-loud microphones. What did stand out, though, was the projections. The stage featured three white screens, projected with images to show each location the characters existed in at the time. Unfortunately, some of the images were difficult to see based on how brightly the fabrics were lit, as the pictures sometimes faded into the white, but the concept itself, and the images chosen, were a great way to provide more to the world with minimal movement-heavy scene transitions.
In the end, “Shams by Rumi” is a show that explores what unites all of us as a species, not language, not religion, not a specific location – but art, food, poetry, dance, sunrises, and ultimately, love.
When simplicity meets complexity, when classic blends with modern. When the issues of today are actually just the same as the issues of generations ago, with different technology.
"GORE (i want to disappear)" is a modern, queer, sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll retelling of Aeschylus' The Oresteia that features four actors – each effortlessly switching from character to character, with the swiftness and ease that beginner drama students dream about. Geoffrey Simon Brown stood out in that skill, switching from the loving yet closed-off Orestes to the friendly and reminiscing vaper that is Cassandra to the monotone and questioning chorus so easily that there was almost no need to specify which character was which as it was so easy to tell by stance and facial expressions alone. The four actors each brought such skill to the show, sincerely relating to each other and the audience to present Elena Belyea’s story of the tragedies of colonialism, war, societal treatment of queer identities and women, and classic Greek literature.
The show is not perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. The story is complex and experimental, following many characters, at different ages, portrayed by four actors, with so much symbolism in the set and props that it leaves you wondering what some of it was even supposed to represent. It’s not seamless in any sense, but it is absolutely worth the watch.
With its simple set, minimal actors, and spectacular lighting design, this show managed to create a deeply enticing, realised world of the highs and lows of the characters’ (and the audience’s) lives.
Have you ever felt like the North Saskatchewan river was too gross? Well, believe it or not, it could get way worse…
In a future world where the air is sponsored, the Oilers still can’t win a game, and the pollution of the river has caused the next generation to mutate into lizard children, this amazingly entertaining comedy musical by Grindstone Theatre follows a teenaged lizard-boy named Harry as he travels back in time on a lifeguard chair to meet his father, a sea-doo riding bad boy named Razor. Mistakes and obstacles occur, and Harry has to fight to not disappear from existence, save his parents’ relationship, and “surf-vive” to see the rest of his life.
With only four cast members, they somehow managed to create a fully imagined world, with a feeling there was more space on the small stage, and more people in the ensemble supporting them. The vocals and harmonies were great, backed up by their wonderful live band, working in sync with the actors’ voices. Any mishaps were expertly covered by the actors and their lightning fast improvisational skills, making the show somehow even more entertaining.
With never ending comedy, infinite dirty jokes, and every single reference to Edmonton you could ever possibly think of, this show was snappingly funny from start to finish, the audience leaving for the night with sore faces from their laughter.
A setting based on escape rooms, a story where the twists are up to the audience, some classic improv game moments, and a different director every time. This is the concept for Bribe the Director by Big Dumb Babies. An improv show where the audience controls the plot through various bribes. At the start of the show, placed on the audience’s seats are some sheets of fake money (big dumb dollars) to bribe the director with. The improvisers were forced to do silly accents, speak in one voice, make their own songs, and even use only Nickelback song titles for their dialogue in one scene. While it sounds like the best time you could have, it was confusing whether or not real money was involved or if you could only use the fake dollars or if all of it was a completely fictional free-for-all.
Bribe the Director is an interesting concept that ultimately falls short due to under-explanation and forgotten offers between the improvisers. Though much of the comedy didn’t hit for me, the rest of the audience seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely, laughing themselves to the end.