Evil Is the New Good

People are so beaten down by the insane, powerful cretins bent on wrecking everything— Republicans, homophobes, gundamentalists, etc—that when a reasonable guy gets up and starts making them the butt of his jokes, the impact is mind-blowingly funny. That was the impression I got from Nile Seguin’s nice, loosely woven bit of storytelling. In the course of an hour he takes the audience on an interior trip—where does the comedian’s mind wander while he’s waiting to be checked through Fresno airport security? From condoms to PETA, Guantanamo Bay to Amsterdam’s live sex shows, no stone is left unturned. Put this guy on TV! (Venue 4, Mirror Stage, 4247 St-Dominique) —Vincent Tinguely

Fresh Meat

It may have been unwise for this NYC trio to cite their (dubious) connections to Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show in the Fringe program. It undoubtedly got more people into their shows, but with the bar set so high, most of them were probably as disappointed as I was. Their hour of short live sketches and video and audio clips included some choice bits about a Jewish/Arab odd couple, closet-homo sports fans and loudmouth tourists, but these were outnumbered by sitcom clichés and instances of swearing and bluster camouflaging weak material. (Venue 9, Mile-End Cultural Centre, 5390 St-Laurent) —Lorraine Carpenter

Ben Hur

William Wyler’s 1959 epic Ben-Hur was a classic cinematic masterpiece, but at three-and-a-half hours could be trying for even the most ardent movie buff. As a favour to our sorry generation and our limited attention spans, Ben Hur is now being retold by three guys (with some help from the audience) in only an hour. It’s about as faithful an adaptation as Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch (although, similarly, this play blends the life of Ben-Hur with its star, Charlton Heston), but has an enthusiastic cast capable of improvising some good one-liners. Even God took time from his busy schedule to make a funny cameo. (Off A, Théâtre Ste-Catherine, 264 Ste-Catherine E.) —Erik Leijon

Never Surrender: Centaur Centaur Centaur!

The third annual Fringe show by this local lip-synch trio is a success, a step up from last year’s ballad-heavy groan-fest. Some of the songs are recycled, but an expanded cast including Swedish royalty and William Shatner as Captain Kirk as a newsreader (and let’s not forget that centaur) created a fresh context for familiar cheese-drenched tunes like “You Got the Touch” and new Never Surrender covers like “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” which has a pretty sweet set-up. A warning for ladies: sitting up front has its rewards and its perils. (Venue 6, MainLine Theatre, 3997 St-Laurent) —Lorraine Carpenter

Hanakengo

They’re white, sparkly and have zip-up genitals, they dress-up like teletubby-boogieman aliens dipped in drag queen, and frolick about like cheerleaders on LSD. So what is Hanakengo? Who knows, and, really, who cares? I almost peed my pants laughing. And through it all, Hana and Kengo manage to work out a pretty tight little dance routine. It’s a healthy lift to any mood and surely one of the weirder ways of familiarizing yourself with Japanese culture. Plus, it’s only 20 minutes long, so you can’t go wrong. Do yourself a favour and treat yourself to this insanely hilarious show. (Venue 5, Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, 3900 St-Denis) —Hanako Hoshimi

Crossroads

Music is Barbara Lewis’s life and she’s got the opera chops to belt it through Club Lambi, down the stairs and into the bustle of St-Laurent. The seasoned performer is heartfelt, sharing tidbits about her youth, living through 9/11 and the loss of her soulmate. The most fun is when she’s a New York agent who proffers a star machine makeover. Crossroads works best, however, when Lewis’s training doesn’t get in the way, letting her drop it down and be natural. I wanted to be more inspired, but I liked seeing the older audience digging Lewis’s never-too-late-to-follow-new-dreams theme. (Venue 2, Club Lambi, 4465 St-Laurent) —Janis Kirshner

This Fairytale is not working out

Speaking with your hands and speaking with your body are two concepts Alysia Woodruff explores in her choreography. For me, the highlight of this group piece is Woodruff’s powerful opening solo, which melds American Sign Language and modern dance all into one. Shortly after, our guide, who labels herself as a “a third-rate fairy tale character,” takes us through fragments of her life by recounting tales that involve her grandmother being eaten by a wolf, and a stalker who leaves her fruit and vegetables. Although Boston company inFluxdance explores modes of communication and language, for the most part, this work didn’t speak volumes to me. (Venue 1, MAI, 3680 Jeanne-Mance) —Marites Carino

Immaculates

Sintroca’s interdisciplinary production tells of a general’s attempts at solving the population problem with an army of perfect female soldiers. Unfortunately, after a strong introduction, we were left in the dark, slightly perplexed to say the least. The text was an incomprehensible patchwork of snippets and the one scene with choreographed movement felt awkward and misplaced. Two of the performers treated us to their beautiful voices but this was little consolation in the struggle to figure out what, exactly, was going on. (Venue 5, Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, 3900 St-Denis) —Hanako Hoshimi

The Sketchersons— Sunday Night Live: On Tour!

Intended to be a smaller, raunchier cousin to Saturday Night Live, this sketch comedy show from Toronto feels like a slightly more contemporary version of a high school variety show. Lorne Michaels need not worry about Sunday Night Live stealing any of his thunder, except he might frown at how the unimaginative redneck hospital sketches from his show found their way here. The satirical takes on The Apprentice were good for a few chuckles, but it’s assumed Harry Potter and Bennifer jokes were too au courant for the Sketchersons. (Venue 9, Mile-End Cultural Centre, 5390 St-Laurent) —Erik Leijon

From Under the Umbrella

Two Ryerson dance grads, Andrea Spaziani and Geordan Coupland, choreograph and connect for this double program that touches upon a couple of very different subjects. Up first is Spaziani’s The Stand, stepping up to the news with an ironic sensibility. Actor Mike Hughes joins the duo and acts as a forecaster for both weather and events.

With a completely different vibe, Coupland follows with her duet Sinking Thoughts, where a daughter witnesses her mother’s quiet struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Through emotional memory flashbacks, we feel and see the mother’s confusion, isolation and frustration, intensified by an original soundtrack by Toronto DJ and producer Jet. (Venue 1, MAI, 3680 Jeanne-Mance) —Marites Carino

Terrain de jeux pour marionnettes

This 45-minute show is a playground for Dominique Leroux and her tattered, leggy marionette she calls La. Leroux, who has a background in music and costume design, presents excerpts from a creative exploration that drew from the forms of butoh, afro-contemporary dance and tai chi. There were moments during this engaging movement for manipulator and manipulated where it was surprisingly easy to lose track of who was leading who. I hope Leroux’s creative process continues with her on-stage collaborators (double bassist, “tourneuse de disques” and shadow artist), and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the sequel. (Venue 4, Mirror Stage, 4247 St-Dominique) —Marites Carino

Journey the Transformation

If we’re to believe folks like David Suzuki, the coming decades will see enormous transformations of both our natural and our social environment. How are we supposed to deal with this? As artists, NEeMA and her creative partner François Turgeon have made it their task to sort out the ramifications of this unfolding reality on a personal, poetic level, using spoken word, song, music, movement, dance and video projection. (One of the video sequences, “She Flows,” a collaboration with Josh Usheroff, will be screened at the UN World Urban Forum in Vancouver next month). It’s slow-paced, meditative and engaging. Bring the kids! (Venue 9, Mile-End Cultural Centre, 5390 St-Laurent) —Vincent Tinguely

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