To Pieces
Two former lovers from a small town meet in a bar. One has moved to the city to pursue research and the other stayed behind to teach high school. As their conversation continues, we discover not just the nature of their past relationship and their thoughts on it, but also who has really changed the most. The script is sharp — witty, punchy dialogue and a lot of latitude for the actresses to interpret and form their characters. The script also plays with the linearity of the narrative and at times, blurring past and present and interiority. It makes for a very demanding play; For example, the two do a great job continuing conversations in the present while re-enactinig the physical intimacy of talking together about dreams while in bed on the floor. At least that’s what I think is going on. While some might find this muddling, I think it prevents the play from feeling claustrophobic. There are places to go even in the space of a small town bar. The monologues provide fantastic opportunities to delve into the rich complexity in the minds of the two characters. This is further enhanced by the use of the television as a medium to convey mood. All in all, this play really captures the lingering pain of a break up and its aftermath, especially when one person’s feelings are stronger than the other’s.
To Pieces is playing June 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15. Tickets HERE.
Jem Rolls : Adventures in Canadian Parking Lots
Jem is a staple at the Fringe Festival. He’s reliably entertaining and impressive, with a gift for engagement. He’s also a master of words. Every year he arrives with a completely new set of performance poems that twist and tease words and ideas. Framing the poems are Jem’s odes to Canada and the places he inhabits as he works. In Canada, his office consists of parking lots and alleyways in towns big and small. The poems go to very imaginative places — a dystopian world where billionaires of the past get their due, an invitation to rethink the world as if casting a movie. His focused, non-stop delivery and his crisp, British appearance in his button down shirt and bare feet create an impression that he is a Shakespearean-trained actor gone rogue. Jem is fantastic if you want something that feels high brow but is simultaneously accessible. If you dislike poetry, he’s probably not for you.
Jem Rolls is playing June 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. Tickets HERE.
Harlem of the North
The earnestness of the cast of a play about a brother and sister who want to make it out of their low, new-immigrant station and into the big time is endearing. Ella and her brother chafe under their strict father and the judgement of the gossip at church in 1920s Montreal. Ella especially, since her brother is given more freedom as a boy than she has as a young woman who must keep her reputation spotless. Unfortunately, Ella has a thirst to sing and perform that is far from her parents’ expectations. You can guess where this goes. The two end up in New York, where the fast city life brings both bigger success but also bigger problems. All of this is played out as a quasi-musical, and the characters sing and belt with gorgeous jazz voices, especially Ella. I loved how the father’s presence haunted the characters throughout the show. The premise of this show is decent and I especially liked seeing Monteal’s black history on stage — something I would probably say about any race or ethnic group in the city. However, the show dragged as scene changes happened almost every few lines of dialogue, which was both jarring and time consuming.
Harlem of the North is playing June 11, 12, 13, and 14. Tickets HERE.
The Montreal Fringe continues until June 15. Tickets for all shows HERE. To see our previous reviews, check out Meat Factory : Mommy, Homecumming, The Routine, and Colonial Circus.
