Gay Samurai Revue

Between prancing, dancing, stripteasing and fuck-or-fight play, the J-Boys found ample time to relate Japan’s homo history and tenderly ponder eternal love. Very sweet, but after several stretches of long, awkward delivery (and sometimes sketchy modern dance), the piece cried out for more action. There was, however, some ace energetic choreography, a few jokes, lots of ass, a quasi-hardcore sex scene and many dazzling costumes evoking samurais, kabuki players, SM fags and boy bands (if boy bands wore tear-away pants, that is). In their favour, the Boys are cute, cut, colourful and often exciting. Venue 9, La Chapelle. » Lorraine Carpenter

Etch-A-Sketch

A funny, astounding and all-around-delightful show from the eight-member Solid State Breakdance Collective. Choreographed entirely by the collective, and featuring music from DJ Mini, Etch-A-Sketch is a joy to watch. The dancers mix it up quite a bit, performing together all at once, as well as in trios, duos and solo pieces. There’s a bit of video, one awesome silent dance, and nothing in the hour or so of performance feels redundant. Don’t miss it! Venue 1, the MAI. » Mark Slutsky

Last of the Red-Hot Dadas

Based on the true story of Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, Last of the Red-Hot Dadas is a one-woman play performed by Christina Augello. The clown-like Baroness is in New York reflecting upon her life travels, art, relationships and the price for telling the truth. Watching this production without any prior knowledge of the Dadaist movement - the early 20th-century Zurich-based nihilist anti-art philosophy - could be trying. But Augello pulls off a charismatic and professional performance with intriguing use of props and such found-object art as a wire crown adorned with dildos. Venue 4, 4247 St-Dominique. » Amy German

The One Man Star Wars Trilogy

Okay, I’ve seen this done before. My buds John and Chippy used to likewise act out Star Wars, Empire and Jedi - sound effects, standout lines and all - at 20 minutes each, prop-free. Gotta give B.C.’s Charles Ross credit, though, for doing it all himself. No wonder he was sweating like Jabba the Hutt (who he does nicely, BTW, his forearms doubling for huge, gross tongue and lips). The shortcoming of this production, directed by Fringe wunderkind T.J. Dawe, is that in its speed and density, it frequently loses the thread for a moment or two, leaving those who didn’t watch the films the night before scratching their heads, going, "Uh, what was that part again?" On the other hand, Ross nails the details perfectly, catching those essential quotes, gestures and actions, and mimicking Chewie and R2 to a tee. He’s got the charisma, too, that makes this feel like a Sunday well wasted in your best geek pal’s basement. Venue 8, 3997 St-Laurent. » Rupert Bottenberg

Star Wars Survivor

I really thought the Survivor shtick would have worn thin by now, but for some reason - perhaps because the whole show was so damn corny and groan-inducing - it worked out okay. The bigger names of the trilogy - Han, Luke, Leia, Vader, Boba Fett, the Emperor, Lando and more - join Jeff Probst to outwit, outplay and outforce, preying upon each other’s insecurities, weaknesses and gullibility. Tons of bad jokes, hilarious asides and wry sub-references throughout keep the Jedi geek in this Star Wars fan, at least, sated. Venue 6, Infinit Bath. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Uncle Jack

This one-woman psychodrama starring Melissa-Lynn Dozois is almost too easy to rip into. Armed with a tape recorder and a bottle of JD (hence "Uncle Jack"), the Ani DiFranco obsessive spews (sometimes sober) diatribes about her mid-20s crisis and other collegiate concerns. That’s a fairly accurate synopsis and, yes, it sounds really dodgy, but the piece is actually well acted, well paced and relatively well written. The subject matter will put a lot of people off, but Uncle Jack is more eventful than a mere navel-gazing session, with enough tension and black humour to entertain any takers. Venue 8, 3997 St-Laurent. » Lorraine Carpenter

Sabotage: In Fine Form

Albuquerque natives Mark Chavez and Shenoah Allen are back for their fourth rendition of Sabotage but are they really in fine form? The ’03 edition of this normally lightning-speed production of sketches and interwoven characters has turned it down a notch, though it does remain high-energy. We see some of the same characters from last year in different scenarios as we continue along the nonsense journey. Bright and witty, In Fine Form is guaranteed laughs. » Amy German

A Canadian Bartender at Butlin’s

The charming darling of the Fringe circuit, T.J. Dawe, is back with another raconteured tale. This time we find him at a well known, though timeworn, British family resort. Drudgerous time in a teen summer job is speckled with social commentary ("How many mouths has this restaurant fork been in?") and personal stories connected with notions of falling. With musings of Canadians’ views on Brits, this show would be well received in the U.K. Venue 9, La Chapelle. » Janis Kirshner

Bitty Idiot’s "Discombobulated"

National Theatre School graduate and Toronto comedian Sunday Muse stars as her alter ego Bitty Idiot in Discombobulated. The part–improv, part-scripted comedy has Bitty struggling with the meaning of life and her place in the world. Muse comes off as Muppet-like with her super-high voice (something about a "childhood ice cube accident") and childlike impressions of the world. Endearing and adorable, Bitty goes from playing her own rendition of Shaggy’s "It Wasn’t Me" on flute to stripping and dancing sexy to the Star Trek theme in a pair of red stilettos. A fresh, cute and highly entertaining piece. Venue 3, Geordie Space. » Amy German

Big Word

Jem Rolls, the British-born, Edinburgh-based dynamo, returns to the Montreal Fringe with Big Word, a show that is straight-up spoken word poetry. There’s no plot, no props, no characters, and only rudimentary lighting changes. Rolls doesn’t even follow a script, strictly speaking; he picks and chooses whatever performance pieces seem right. The show suffers not one whit from being such a pared-down experience. On opening night, Rolls had a sizeable audience captivated from the get-go, working himself into a lather over big issues and small, from lager louts to "How to Rule the World in Ten Easy Lessons." Venue 8, 3997 St-Laurent » Vincent Tinguely

In the Mouth ff Juney Bug: A Play by John Cocktoasten

It never really becomes clear what the relationship is between the title of this piece and the play itself. Anyway, three twentysomething roommates struggle to deal with life, love, consumerism and death in the face of one roommate’s breakdown. Between acts, abstract puppet/sculptures are shown in coloured lighting suggesting a somewhat intangible subplot. This multimedia tale of the consumer becoming consumed starts off with good intentions but gets lost in subtext and an overwhelming array of pop culture references. They do, however, manage to keep track of whose beer is who’s as they pound them back on stage. Venue 3, Geordie Space. Amy German

All Classical Music Explained

Not really an explanation of classical music, but a series of associated comic bits on the theme by Brit Rainer Hersch. It’s just him alone on the stage with various props - a keyboard, a recorder and some handmade signs. Some bits are funnier than others, though too many of them have to do with little samples of music Hersch plays from a MiniDisc player, which is hardly the most exciting thing to watch. He’s also a little too aggressive in enticing the audience to laugh at his jokes (even the successful ones seem to get the "Come on, it’s a joke!" treatment). Venue 7, Portuguese Association. » Mark Slutsky

The Contract

This piece is current, high-end Fringe. It’s about the sweet ineptitude of bumbling criminals as they try to earn money for life investments like college tuition and a car. Guy Sprung’s sharp directing elevates the story of hopeless hoodlums and double-crossings to something that can only be described as theatre-of-film, complete with a wide-screen panavision TV–view. The real fun comes from the skewed perspective and the anticipation of which angle we’ll see the next location from. Keep an eye out for special "cross-frame" gun tosses and a great motel bed scene. Venue 6, Infinit Bath. » Janis Kirshner

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