Feast on the Fringe

>> Brace yourselves for 11 days of theatre,
dance, doomsday vaudeville, burlesque, beer,
two Miss Sugarpuss’s, one Fatty Arbuckle and
a whole lot of fishnet stockings at the 17th
annual Montreal Fringe Festival

MISS SUGARPUSS (NUMBER TWO): Caberlesque

I don’t want to cause a panic, but I came away from last week’s Fringe-for-All with this thought: the 17th annual Montreal Fringe Festival risks creating a citywide fishnet stocking shortage!

The evening’s hosts, Sweet Sweet Jimmy Priest, Zack Winters and Rufus O’Hallahan, were among the few participants not clad in fishnets at the event showcasing two-minute segments from, or ads for, 56 Fringe shows. The evening was long and loud, and next year I might just skip it in favour of Uncalled For Improv’s two-minute recap.

Uncalled For is easily the hardest-working company in this Fringe. Don’t believe me? They’ll be doing seven performances of their all-improv show The High Five Ultimatum; seven more of Thunderspank!, which is heavier on the sketch-comedy; and eight instalments of late-night talk show The 13th Hour. Plus, various members of the troupe are bound to show up at Théâtre Ste-Catherine’s All-Star Improv show, happening nightly. Those are not even all the places these lunatic fringers will be showing up, so keep your eyes peeled.

17-Block Party

For any Fringe virgins out there, the festival is 11 days of theatre, dance, comedy, music and burlesque, as well as (the list keeps growing) arts and crafts, cooking, film, acrobatics and happenings that defy categorization (check out Hmmm on page five of the Fringe programme). There are 10 official Fringe venues this year, plus a record number of Off-venues: 13. The number of companies involved in the Fringe—approximately 100—is about the same as last year.

The beer tent and the box office should be safely ensconced in the Parc des Amériques by noon today (June 7). Last year’s wrangling with the city over hours of operation and whether the outdoor site would be allowed at all were not repeated this year. It would have been pretty nervy of nearby condo owners to complain that the Fringe is too noisy when they have been listening to jackhammers and backhoes digging up the Main since the fall. The outdoor stage in the park is home to many special events and live music programming, courtesy of Pop Montreal, starting at six every evening. This year, there are also two indoor Fringe Clubs: Club Lambi has free programming from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., including The 13th Hour every night at 1 a.m.

With three official venues now located in Mile-End, it was time to add a “Fringe Club North”: The Green Room at St-Laurent near St-Viateur has accepted the role, and will host a number of events, many associated with Indyish. Indyish is so hip and funky that I’m frankly too old to follow. Your best bet is to check out page six of the Fringe programme and/or visit indyish.com/events.

LOCAL MOTION

Along with everything else under the sun, this Fringe also has some straight theatre. Scapegoat Carnivale, the company that co-produced Holly O’Brien’s Last Call last summer, is presenting The Works, a new play by Joseph Shragge. The short, absurdist piece has actors Andreas Apergis and Daniel Brochu playing guards in a dilapidated prison who are, frankly, frightened of their prisoner (David Potter), and thus try to exercise their authority as often as possible. Described as doomsday vaudeville, it’s directed by Alison Darcy.

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS: Housekeeping & Homewrecking

Speaking of shows just dripping with local talent, get a load of Housekeeping & Homewrecking, by Alexandria Haber. It’s actually two interconnected plays from the author of psychologically insightful plays like Birthmarks, Arrhythmia and A Grown Girl’s Guide to an Almost Perfect Existence (a CBC Radio play). A cast of seven is almost unheard of at the Fringe, let alone seven actors of this calibre. Directed by Alain Goulem, they are: Danielle Desormeaux, Paula Jean Hixson, Neil Napier, Eleanor Noble, Brett Watson, Jane Wheeler and Haber herself.

Another local show to watch out for is Bad Weather, a black comedy from a new company called Urgent Productions. Set in Montreal during a heat wave (something we’re almost guaranteed to experience during the Fringe), following a devastating ice storm (hopefully not in the cards for June), it asks the question: What if the island were cut off from the rest of civilization?

Out-of-Towners in town

TJ Dawe isn’t afraid of the weather: he comes back year after year to the Montreal Fringe, usually ready to rattle off fascinating and hilarious stories and observations in a new solo show. This year, Dawe, a resident of nowhere in particular, presents Maxim & Cosmo, named after the two magazines, which he uses as a jumping off point for observations about gender politics and stereotypes.

Kafka and Son is based on an actual letter written, but never delivered, by Franz Kafka to his overbearing dad.

In Fatty, Torontonian Darryl Pring tackles silent screen legend Fatty Arbuckle. He had fame and fortune until accusations of rape and murder brought it all crashing down. Cara Yeates of Vancouver went to India hoping to write a play. She didn’t expect to start working as a Bollywood actor. Bye Bye Bombay is inspired by her real-life adventures.

O Solo Mio

One-person shows are as popular as ever at this Fringe. Apart from a couple already mentioned above, I’d recommend local actor Paul Van Dyck’s Sahara Crossing, a monologue about backpacking through Africa; Derek Lengwenus’s George Bush: Live in Press Conference (self-explanatory, I think); and Nile Seguin’s History: Deleted Scenes and Extras. Seguin’s razor sharp yet good-natured observations about how the world works have made him a favourite with Fringe audiences (Fear of a Brown Planet) and CBC viewers (The Hour) alike.

Also on my list: Local actor Attila Clemann wrote, but doesn’t perform, the one-man piece ...and stockings for the ladies. Based on the true story of a Canadian squadron leader who helped Jewish displaced persons in Germany after WWII, it’s performed by Brendan McMurtry-Howlett and directed by Zach Fraser.

Clown aficionados should check out Joe: The Perfect Man, by Toronto-based Rachelle Elie. Glowingly reviewed in Edmonton and Winnipeg, the show follows the (mis)adventures of a bumbler who dreams of playing all the roles in Shakespeare’s Scottish play.

I’m still looking forward to catching My Origami Motorcycle, by former Montrealer Rebecca Singh (previewed in last week’s Mirror). Another ex-Montrealer, Michael Whitehead, returns after a 20-year absence with his solo show, Creeping like a snail willingly, which is inspired by this actor’s day job, teaching CPR.

SINGERS AND SYNCH-ERS

-Le Spotlight is Montreal’s own Musical Theatre Idol. Ten finalists chosen from open auditions will compete to hold le spotlight in this live event at Théâtre Calixa-Lavallée on June 11 at 8 p.m.

-Lady J is an 18+ murder mystery from Mischief Theatre, a Montreal and Toronto-based collective. It takes place in and around the Foufounes Électriques.

-The guys from Never Surrender are back, but instead of everybody’s favourite lip-synch act, Tim Rabnett and Mike Paterson are making their own music as the Dan D Lyons. They are directed by Never Surrender lead synch-er Ryan Wilner.

FRINGE FACTOIDS

Favourite show titles at Fringe 17: Jihad Me at Hello (improv/sketch comedy from Calgary); Die Roten Punkte, an Australian creation about a fictional German brother/sister band; Great, Now I Have to Burn My Sheets, a piece about sex and dating from Montrealer Kate Searle.

Fishnet Factoid: During the Fringe, our city will be host to not one but two burlesque queens called Miss Sugarpuss. The local Miss Sugarpuss will be performing tonight in Diary of a Lost Circus, the indoor portion of the opening party at Club Lambi. Miss Sugarpuss 2, an interloper from out Saskatchewan way, is in the show Caberlesque!. The 13th Hour should definitely get these two together and see what happens (I give you that one for free, guys).

By MATTHEW WOODLEY

“I feel that male genitalia doesn’t sell a Fringe as well,” says Amy Blackmore. “But I did think of Softcore Penis.”

The playwright/performer behind HardCore Pussy comes by her use of the sex-sells methodology honestly. After all, it’s the louder the better when it comes to pulling in crowds at the Fringe. For good measure, there’s a six-foot-tall smoking, drinking cat in the mix.

Blackmore plays Emily, a visual artist who gleans creative inspiration from her dreams, a feat made difficult by an insomnia problem. She lives with San (Nicola Galante), her obsessive-compulsive partner who can’t stop rearranging the bedroom, and their cat, Puss (Shawn Baichoo), who has a weakness for gin. Allison Burns rounds out the cast, playing a variety of roles in a show that combines theatre, dance, spoken word, video and, if the recent Fringe-for-All teaser was any indication, a healthy amount of skin.

Talking cat aside, the play stems largely from a personal experience. “The same day as the lottery for last year’s Fringe, I got dumped,” Blackmore explains. “I came home late that night to find a half-empty apartment, including the bed being gone. So I kind of developed this anxiety about sleeping, especially at home, since I didn’t have a bed.”

She did win the lottery that night though, giving I Love New York a spot in last year’s line-up, and ultimately winning Blackmore the Spirit of the Fringe Award for her assiduous volunteering. The Concordia dance student followed that with a role in MainLine’s Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. “Yeah, my father asked if I was doing ‘another one of those lesbian shows,’” she recalls. “I had been kind of avoiding it, but I told him what my new play’s called. He wasn’t thrilled. But my mom’s coming.”

Hardcore Pussy, at Venue 10, Theatre
La Chapelle (3700 St-Dominique),
$7, mature audiences only

Catwalk creations

>> The Montreal Fashion and Design Festival brings beauties, bikinis, booze and a bountiful array of designer clothes to McGill Avenue

DEPARTURE FROM DESIGN: A Renata Morales painting

by CHLOE ROUBERT

A year ago yesterday, Montreal celebrated a certificate ceremony making official its appointment as a UNESCO City of Design. Local fashionistas are celebrating their part in this international distinction with four days of stylish festivities. To commemorate our city’s avant-gardist trends and fashions, the seventh edition of the Montreal Fashion and Design Festival is bringing together a smattering of eye-candy—good-looking models, beauty bars, bikinis and free food and drinks—to McGill Avenue.

Chantal Durivage, co-president of the event, describes it best: “As much as [this festival] is about highlighting Montreal’s position in the international fashion scene and the city’s creative effervescence, it is also fashiontertainment.”

So in the name of fashiontertainment, the celebrations began grandiosely yesterday, with 50 Quebec clothing designers presenting their collections to the beats of Plaster, Ariane Moffatt and more.

Tonight, June 7, at 10 p.m., Carte Blanche marks the work of three Montreal stylists, as Ludique (Caroline Alexandre and Jeff Golf), Olivia Leblanc and Patrick Vimbor take free reign in three excessive, yet very trendy, defilés. Ludique’s Alexandre promises that their show, set to the musical accompaniment of local VJs This Is not Design, will be an “extravagant, hyper-stylized fashion event.”

Renata Morales, in a departure from fashion design, exposes the world of her imagination through her paintings, five of which are on display on McGill Avenue in the exhibit Carnet de rêves. Across the street, the design collective Sid Lee present posters showcasing various graphic designers’ takes on the theme, Montreal, City of Design.

Other highlights include Helmer, the noted success of the Montreal Fashion Week last March, who will show his new designs on June 9 at 6 p.m. And finally, to end the festivities, the next generation of Montreal trendsetters present their designs, 1–2 p.m., Sunday.

The festival continues to June 10 and includes outdoor terrasses, fashion shows daily from noon–10 p.m., free make-up sessions, after-parties with DJs Team Canada and Louie Vega, an erotic dance by the Pinup Saints, a Bikini Village swimsuit show, not to mention all of the beautiful people celebrating in the name of fashion. For the full program see: www.sensationmode.com.