Two Plays In Two Days

So Toronto's Fringe Festival is on. I didn't go last year, and I never went in Vancouver... I always intended to, except how do you know which plays are good!?! But when someone else says, "Hey, let's go!" it is very easy to say yes.

And it turns out, we went 2 for 2.

Sunday night: Hypnogogic Logic, a comedy from the Montreal troupe "Uncalled For."

Basic premise: Man falls asleep and has crazy dreams, following the strange non-logic that we have all experienced...

Thoughts: As my date pointed out, "Dreamland kind of offers a blank slate." Nothing is off-limits, but there isn't precisely a storyline either. At least not one that makes sense in our wide-awake world. What it IS, is slightly bizarre and laugh out loud funny. And easy to relate to - we've all had dreams with that vaguely-known cousin, the house that is really a cruiseboat, and the strange conspiracy theory. And then we walk out the door onto the main stage of a concert, and WE ARE THE FAMOUS PERFORMER.

At least, I have.

Conclusion: I liked it. Laughed a lot. Surprisingly non-offensive. Worth the $10 ticket.

Monday night: Padre X, a one-man drama by Marc Moir, from Winnipeg's Looking Glass Productions.

Basic Premise: A Canadian WWII chaplain tells his story.

Thoughts: In pre-show conversation, I commented that one-man shows make me nervous. You have to be really excellent to carry the audience for almost an hour and a half.

"Plus," I added, "I have a soft spot for World War II... (Date looks at me strangely) That did not come out right. I mean, it will bother me a lot if it is bad."

It wasn't. I left wanting to hug my grampie and somehow undo the hell that too many people lived through.

Conclusion: Excellent performance. Thoughtful and historical "info-tainment." Highly recommend it if you are at all interested in WWII. Worth more than the $10 admission. (if you go, just note that the intermission is not actually long enough to get up)

Comments

MLW said…

Glad to hear you got to take in these two plays and that you enjoyed them. I am a bit envious that you have so many "cultural" opportunities at your door step.

12:57 PM

Fostering FAQ: How Can You Say Goodbye?

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--

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Despite my morning efficiency, I'm already beginning to see that even with the happiest, most easygoing, and smiliest baby, like we somehow managed to be given, parenting is a grind. On Friday night, I couldn't join friends for $5 pints at a local joint. Instead, I blearily washed the same 8 bottles again, and then made another ba…

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It comes in many forms:

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"Is her mom in the picture?"
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I get it. It's natural curiousity, and I know I've asked similar questions of my friends who are adoptive parents.

But here's what I'm learning: a child's story is their own. And equally as important, the parent's story is their own.

Imagine how it might feel to hear that for the foreseeable future, you are not allowed to care for your child. On top of whatever difficult circumstances you are already in - perhaps poverty, social isolation, lack of adequate housing, domestic violence, intergenerational trauma, drug or alcohol dependency, low cognitive functioning, or a myriad of other complex strug…

* not with ink

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