TK Fringe — Kingston Theatre Alliance

Hysterical Historical Improv delivers on its promise of making history hysterical. From local group Improv Kingston, local history comes to life in a way you haven’t seen before. Dan Walmsley directs, writes, and performs, with the help of additional performers Jon Britton and Henry Korba-Babcock (as well as occasional promised special guests, although none appeared in the performance I attended).  The premise of this “historical improv” is that Walmsley has […]

A stage set with only a wooden cross draped in lingerie, Christian Slut puts the sexual content right back into a Christian upbringing. The show is a one-person “confessional” (not the Catholic kind), written and performed by Erik Karklins, about their experiences as a self-identified slut while also being a devout Christian. They tease (literally) out the nuances between these two seemingly conflicted identities, critiquing restrictive religious doctrine. Despite its […]

Taking the “sketch” in sketch comedy perhaps a little too literally, A Sketchy Kind of Show is a performance by Collected Novellas, who are self-described as focusing on “subversion, quirkiness and social commentary.” Unfortunately, I found the show itself a little lukewarm on all three counts.  The performance held potential with its interesting start—it begins with a framing device of God flipping through Netflix on the seventh day of rest […]

Listen to the wind whisper the story of The Cape as Red as Blood—a loose retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood folktale as a folk musical. Written by Kathleen Greening, this is a contemporary version of the story with a powerfully feminine vibe—soft and caring, but not weak by any means, and not to be underestimated. The five storytellers—Nightingale (Syd Chinnick), Crow (Meg Gibson), Phoenix (Hailey Hatfield), Bluebird (Elsa […]

With 23 characters, including two animals, Circus Gothic is a unique one-woman show. Jan Kudelka plays all the roles in a truly incredible performance, as might be expected given that she’s had fifty years (yes, fifty) of performing this particular show in order to perfect it. This fact alone makes it worth seeing and informs a really powerful performance.  The story is a memoir of Kudelka’s experience joining the circus […]

A self-identified bitch and a boss—Crazy Bitch/Boss Bitch is a one-woman show written by and starring Thea Fitz-James, and centering around a millennial woman’s experience of being a corporate worker. She has 18 people directly reporting to her and is on the executive track but lately, she’s been wondering if she might be a bit crazy. The show follows her struggles with work and the prospect of a promotion, while […]

“I was in the car the other day, listening to music and thinking about loss.” So begins Threshold Theatre’s ABD with Mark the C, a gently humorous memoir of the 60s and 70s delivered from inside a DJ booth. Written and performed by Mark Cassidy and directed by Hume Baugh, the show traces Cassidy’s journey through small-town Ontario as a child of hotel entrepreneurs.  Let’s tackle the title letter by […]

Mercury is in retrograde at Kingston Fringe this August as the stars collide in Death of a Starman, starring real life astrologer Zaid Bustami. I had the pleasure of chatting with co-writer and director of the show, Kay Komizara, about toxic masculinity, storytelling, and of course, the stars. Komizara has been a creator for the last 11 years, having worked in Victoria, Montreal, and is now touring Ontario for Death […]

After brushing off the sawdust and rinsing milkshake residue out of their hair, students from the DAN School of Drama and Music returned to Theological Hall for a second night of TK Theo Fringe—a showcase of short, fringe-style solo performances presented at Theological Hall in partnership with Theatre Kingston. Following an intense evening of site-specific theatre on Wednesday, I returned, too, and experienced what the second (and last) day of […]

I spent last evening exploring Theological Hall and finding theatre in unexpected places. In partnership with Theatre Kingston, Queen’s students in DRAM 339 present the inaugural TK Theo Fringe, a showcase of short solo works that celebrate the style and format of fringe theatre.  Over the course of the two-day mini fringe festival, I’ll be catching as many shows as I can and writing about them in the little pockets […]

An experience I don’t think I will ever forget. One Night Only is a one man show written, produced, and performed by Nicholas Eddie, directed by Sepehr Reybod, and assistant producer is Adrian Chevalier. An audience follows Eddie throughout the night as he is faced with a challenge which can only be completed in the following morning.  This review has mentions of suicide. This show felt like an experience rather […]

Krapp’s Last Tape is a one man show written by the legendary playwright Samuel Beckett and is being performed by Jim Garrard at the Baby Grand Theatre in Kingston. It’s a story about isolation, regret, and accepting one’s fate. Audiences follow Krapp, a 69 year old man as he listens to an audio recording of his 39 year old self.  Krapp is an elderly man who appears to be on […]