The best play yet, Jesus Jello: The Miraculous Confection, is written by a witty and talented playwright and directed with great imagination and humour. Joanne Sarazen has crafted a very funny script and when Tristan Lalla does a poignant disquisition on the use of a narrator, while actually doing the job as God, she demonstrates a wicked and delightful sense of theatre.
Lalla is disquietingly hilarious as God and is perfectly cast. He has perfect sense of timing and irony to go with his parts as the almighty and a preacher.
George Bekiaris is perfect as the gay partner who hates all things gay and has issues with his mother. Joseph Bembridge as his partner is delightful as a joyous and witty partner for Bekiaris’ curmudgeon. His dialogue is beautiful written and Bembridge’s delivery is just amazing.
Emily Quail added just the right tone of sarcasm to make the religious scenes palatable. Her performance was acerbic and wise, and not at all grating. Thomas Preece was terrific as the milquetoast son. He was utterly believable and wholly sympathetic as the wimp who wanted to escape the ordinariness of his family.
Patrick Charron is always a pleasure on the stage, and he did give a wonderful over the top father/husband performance that was funny without being too extreme. His restraint as the husband of overbearing Catherine Lemieux was perfectly calibrated. Catherine was magnificent as the wild eyed tormented mother who takes over the jello and rides the religious wave of her town. She delivers a credible performance of a woman trapped in a church environment which has smothered her.
Not enough has been written about Joanna Noyes, she simply glows with talent. She adorns the stage with intelligent and gifted performances, and here, in this little fringe play she just shines. A thorough professional, she gives us the most moving moments as the forgotten widow of a rotten husband who makes excuses for every one who has not attended his funeral. One senses her quiet support of the cast and her flawless delivery is worth the price of admission.
Afternoon Tea with Jane Austen
Afternoon Tea with Jane Austen is not a play. It is a long and often tedious lecture on the life achievements and sometimes endless opinions of this fabulous author. There have been one woman shows that work; the one about Emily Dickenson comes to mind, but they were written by playwrights and directed to within an inch of perfection. This was more of a lecture on obscure and often uninspiring points about Austen’s well-researched and much written about life. I should have preferred a reading of her biography, in the comfort of my own home.
Please Excuse the Mess
Please Excuse the Mess by Joint predicament theatre, lived down to its name. These were four absolutely adorably Brit chicks who have not yet hatched a real performance piece. The writing and directing were weak and the performances self conscious, and not in a good way. They have come an awful long way to say very little.
Spots of Time
Spots of Time by DB Productions was a very early draft of a very uninteresting subject. An academic played reasonably well by Len Richman, is literally haunted by his younger self, played anemically by Jeremy Lacombe. Pat is having a nervous breakdown exacerbated by visits from a brother played by Stephpane Malka. In the mix is the girl who got away played by Christina Sciortino.
It is true that in theatre one is literally receiving one’s artistic education in public. Unfortunately the writing direction and performance of this play are not quite ready for performance in a theatre.
Feels Like the First Time
Feels Like the First Time by The Dirty Little Spoons ROCKS!!! They come out fighting and everything that follows their no-holds-barred opening fight scene is fast paced, well written, daringly performed and hilariously directed. Léa Rondot, Rosaruby Kagan, Léanna Glance and Katherine O’Brian are priceless, and their pacing is undaunted for the entire show. Their personae are wonderfully realized for sketch comedy, particularly the poor putz whose girlfriends abuse, neglect and bad mouth him in succession. The religious fanatic who lectures on her belief system and then delivers a punch line as a throwaway was particularly magical. If you can get in, there is nothing like live comedy by thorough professionals. I laughed out loud and barely caught my breath. Yes, this is fringe gold.
