Clayton James-Plamondon
I was super excited for this show! I have always been obsessed with baking and baking shows, and love the idea of merging that with theatre. I am also very fond of dragging Paul Hollywood through the coals! This show however was not for me. There was some crowd work which included bringing up an audience member to teach some baking techniques. The performer did use this time to roast the person on stage, and it felt more uncomfortable in the audience as opposed to funny. Making fun of someone is a skill that you have to be really good at, and I felt it leaned more toward cruel than funny. (Although I know the intention was not cruelty). I was looking forward to the story telling about her mom, her queerness, and her disability, and how those helped shape who she is today (along with the joy of baking). Sadly for me, those elements felt underbaked, and surface level. An audience member did walk out during this show. (Maybe an emergency?) and I felt the performer handled this poorly. A comment was made by her that left a sour taste In my mouth for the rest of the performance, and I felt the moment should have been handled with more grace or ignored completely.
This show was wonderful. As opposed to a concrete narrative, we get many different scenes showing the many ups and downs of love. The four actors who were in this did a great job, but the standout for me was Darienne who gave one of my favorite performance this year, with such specificity to the many characters she played. It was my first time seeing her perform and I will be sure to watch her next projects! Each scene was written with a great attention to detail, and the writing did an amazing job at making you feel attached to these characters who you are only seeing for such a short time. Perhaps too good of a job! If I was to see this again, I would love to see a version where we have less quantity of new scenes, and instead return to some of the other characters journeys. I’m also curious if there is a better way to handle transitions between scenes so there is less down time!
Shut the door! Rose with no thorns is a wonderfully delightful hour thanks to the incredible charm provided by Ranee. She effortlessly delivers a hilarious and heartfelt story about her life that you can’t help but think about for days to come! 5/5 elephants!
I went into this show completely blind! I had no idea what the premise would be, but within the first 5 minutes the performer did an excellent job communicating exactly what type of show was about to commence. A fast paced comedic one man show with lots of elements of magic that wowed a lot of the audience. Although the comedy wasn’t my cup of tea, the audience was enjoying themselves greatly at every clearly well rehearsed joke. Enjoying the show vicariously through the other patrons who were clearly having the time of their lives, amplified my enjoyment greatly! The actor and tech team worked hand and hand together executing perfectly timed transitions at the snap of a finger, and each audience interaction moment was satisfying thanks to the lighting fast wit of our lead detective!
The best thing about this show was the ensemble. Every single cast member was at the top of their game. Aran Wilson-McAnally wowed the audience with his perfect vocals, while cast members Michael Vetsch, Alyson Horne, and Nico Maionara gave some of my favourite acting performances this year!
An effortlessly funny man performs ghostbusters in 1 hour. What more could ask for?!
Two incredible stories, led by two masterful performances.
A show that passed by in the blink of an eye. Elon Muskrat was an absolute blast. Thanks to an incredible script, and a captivating performance from an amazing story teller, this is one show you won’t wanna miss!
Insanely impressive story telling! Amazing chemistry amongst the entire cast, and every 10 seconds I was laughing out loud!