Fringe Festival Reviews Part 6: The Potvin Perspective
Jon Bennett. It's Rabbit Night. Fringe Festival. Photo Rachel Levine
While I feel like my body is beaten, it is not yet broken. Like the immortal Danny Glover said in Lethal Weapon, in movie that you are undoubtedly too young to have seen in theaters, I am getting too old for this shit. But I can’t stop won’t stop. I feel like I can say that I love the smell of napalm in the morning with a straight face. Fringe is a marathon, not a sprint, and as opening weekend fades from us like a sepia toned liquorice-flavored memory, my liver will not be forgetting the damage that it has sustained quite so soon. But on to the show reviews.
The Orchid and the Crow
The Orchid and the Crow is stunning. Daniel Tobias tells a deeply beautiful and touching story of how he coped with testicular cancer while all the while making you laugh out loud about the absurdity of it all. Incorporating song and storytelling, he takes you on a journey where he confronts his Jewishness, his relationship to the Almighty, to family, to his manhood, with a lightheartedness that belies the seriousness of his condition. This is a celebration piece to a certain extent, not a dirge, so don’t be afraid of a downer, and see this little gem of a shows as soon as you can. AP
Playing at Petit Campus at the Montreal Fringe Festival.
Rabbit Night
Jon Bennett. It’s Rabbit Night. Fringe Festival. Photo Rachel Levine
Rabbit Night. It’s mother-freakin Rabbit Night. I can’t say anything about Rabbit Night, because what happens at Rabbit Night, stays at Rabbit Night. But know this: this is not your typical Jon Bennett storytelling gig. Yes, there are silly costumes, and crowd surfing, and even a poem, but you really need to walk into this one with an open mind. This is the Fringiest of the Fringe shows. Jon has created a space in time where anything can happen and if you are lucky, anything will. To give you an idea, yours truly performed an interpretive dance based on the preparation of rabbit stew and someone else gave birth to a chicken. Anything. Can. Happen. AP
playing at Petit Campus at the Montreal Fringe festival
The Bunheads
Les Bunheads. Fringe For All. Photo Rachel Levine
The Bunheads is a cabaret style clown show that incorporates improv, comedy, dance and of course, clown. Mark Rowland charms as the dim MC character, forever surprised that he is even there at all. The Bunheads themselves are hilarious in their forever rivalry, marvellously expressive in their pieces. However, the other supporting acts were a bit less than enchanting. I think quite frankly that I would have liked to see a shorter show with just them at the helm and quite frankly, their act is strong enough to carry it. AP
playing at the wiggle room at the Montreal Fringe Festival
I have self-billeted at a friend’s house, where I terrifyingly do not have the wifi password, as even though I am through reviewing for this year, I prepare to take on my second mantle as beer tent manager going forward, and of course plan on seeing more shows. The sun shines on, illuminating our aspirations, our snarky commentary, our creative impulses and most importantly, our sick dance moves. I wish you love and Fringe, dear friends, as we continuously move through this special space and time. Allow yourself to be touched in all your weird places, have all of the confusing conversations, fall in love, break your heart, drink beer, repeat. Till next year and stay brave, dear Fringers, stay beautiful and brave.
To check out more Montreal Fringe Festival times and shows, click HERE.
For more Fringe Festival reviews here are our reviews Round 1,Round 2, Round 3, and Round 4 part a, Round 4 part b, Round 5.
