Nicholas Guerreiro
What a roller coaster! Ants on a Leash knows how to tell a scary story! From the atmosphere to pacing to the ominous sound design, everything in The Dogs serves to ratchet up the tension. Even the brief flickers of laugh-out-loud humour provide just enough relief that Anya and team can crank up the dread even further. The prose is incredibly strong and sophisticated, and the performance is precisely calbirated to first charm and then unnerve. It's a masterclass on what can be achieved with simple elements running at top capacity. Plus, beneath all of the fearsome plotting, the raw emotional core of the piece feels urgent and meaningful.
This show is what happens when a master story teller takes on material that means something. It's a tribute to the stories of older women, whether from folklore or within one's own community, delivered by a master of her craft. Left me feeling warmed and inspired.
This show was fun for theatre newbs and fans For Dana shapes the works of Avon’s bard To give non-actors the exciting chance To speak his words—and makes it not so hard! It felt akin to English class in school Except if it did make you laugh out loud, And if you got to act the silly fool And chant lines alongside a cheering crowd! The interaction with the audience Was handled so all could participate To the full level of their comfort – hence, All could a classic play help co-create! In case you think that this review is jokey, I recommend this Shakespeare Karaoke!
In all seriousness, this was a great show. I only wish we could have gotten all the way through the play somehow--ending at the end of Act II left me wanting more!
I had a great time at Senescence. Don is a newer Fringe artist, and you could still see him getting his sea legs, but it just added to the charm for me. Don can tell a great joke, and his perspectives on aging are insightful too: I particularly liked the bit about the 'Insurrection of the Inanimate." But my favourite parts were when he explored his own feelings about his "graceless aging" - there were several brave, vulnerable moments that I found unexpectedly touching, from his feelings about his "weak hams" and his dewlap to his deepened relationship with women and femininity. I hope this show keeps developing and growing, because I think there's something really special here. If you can look past some occasionally shaky delivery, I'd absolutely recommend it: maybe you'll be moved too!
Happy birthday, Don! Welcome to Fringeing!
A real tour de force. Five Handz is such a talented performer, and they use this show to explore a wide variety of skills, from live mixing and looping to clown to accordion--all without speaking! Passing the Cold has a really neat grungy, edgy aesthetic, but there's real, genuine heart underneath too. And then the ending is glorious and uplifting in a way I didn't expect. Absolutely worth catching.
I've never seen anything quite like this! A show that will make you cringe, laugh, and shudder at the justifications and excuses offered by "normal" men online. Elsa's analysis is insightful, her findings are infuriating, and the creativity and craft needed to take a nightmarish situation and transform it into a piece of art like this is genuinely impressive. Must-watch theatre for our internet age.