Montreal Fringe Festival 2014 Reviews Round 4: The Quitter and The Dysmoprhia Diet

A Reason to Leave Your Comfy Job, Move to St. Bart’s, and Teach Scuba

A first glance at the title may make you think that The Quitter is a show about a guy who quits a lot of stuff. Realistically, it is. I’m pretty sure I’ve even read something about a drinking game where you take a drink each time writer/performer Al Lafrance quits something. But it’s about way more than just quitting. At the end of The Quitter, I felt this need to get off my self-sabotaging butt and stop doing things I don’t want to be doing anymore and stop putting up with things I just don’t care about. Al Lafrance presents a narrative, his narrative, about the importance of taking risks and holding out for something more. Sometimes quitting is the first step to paving the path you’d rather be walking down. This guy and his water bottle will make you wonder why you haven’t started quitting sooner. He is engaging, funny, relatable, and just being down-right honest about living on this planet. Don’t worry. He doesn’t preach. Julie Santini

Women, Food, and Must See Fringe

Last night, I caught The Dysmorphia Diet. I mean, I went to see it. I didn’t actually catch anything. The Dysmorphia Diet, a tight narrative woven by Clay Nikiforuk (writer, producer, director), stems from the stories of “a handful of people” told as one. What was special about watching Clay morph into “a handful of characters” wasn’t just that she played a handful of characters, but that multiple people can be seen in each of those characters. In a moment, I was able to recognize several women in my own life. Clay manages to present, what I hesitate to call, universal themes in eating and relationship to food. As difficult as it is to make big claims about such sensitive topics, one that can be made about this show is that that it’s a must see. The Dysmorphia Diet is theatre that gives its audience food for thought. But beware, this show is not “Eating Disorder 101.” Julie Santini

The Montreal Fringe Festival continues until June 22. See HERE for schedule and shows.