Fringe Festival

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We are in the midst of a global pandemic. With death rates on the rise and public gatherings of more than ten people banned to prevent the spread of COVID-19, performance artists and festival organizers are trying to make the best of a bad situation despite cancellations of their events.

One of the artists trying to make the best of things is Amy Blackmore, the Executive and Artistic Director of the Festival St-Ambroise FRINGE de Montréal, The MainLine Theatre, and Ceci N’est Pas un Fringe…This Is Not a Fringe Festival, an alternative, socially distanced theatre festival developed when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of the annual Montreal Fringe Festival.

The Fringe was postponed rather than cancelled because this year would have been the festival’s thirtieth anniversary. Given that participants are chosen by lottery, the artists set to participate in the now-postponed festival were offered the option of formally withdrawing along with a refund of their participation fee or have their participation deferred to next year’s event.

I had the opportunity to speak to Blackmore about This Is Not a Fringe Festival on the phone earlier this week. As I suspected, it was developed as an alternative to the regular Fringe Festival.

“The Fringe just means so much to so many folks and we don’t want to abandon our community,” she said, adding that This Is Not a Fringe Festival is not meant to replace the St-Ambroise Fringe. “We’re not pretending to be the Fringe. You can’t Fringe without all the artists. It just doesn’t work,” she laughed.

In the spirit of Fringe, Blackmore and her team, which includes Kenny Streule, the event’s producer, put together a lineup to satisfy fans of the festival and “fill that Fringe need.” Unlike the regular Fringe, the lineup of This Is Not a Fringe Festival is smaller and a lot more curated, selecting artists based on their experiences running past St-Ambroise Fringe Festivals.

Where the Fringe often has over a five hundred artists participating, This Is Not a Fringe Festival only has about 150 artists involved. The festival was developed and curated paying close attention to what’s been happening online since the theatres have closed due to the pandemic.

The artists for the event were found via a couple of calls for submissions as well as through people Blackmore and other organizers met over the years of running Fringe, mainly festival alumni.

Like Fringe, This Is Not a Fringe Festival has a wide variety of programming. They divided it into a series of strains, with the main one being the Signature Series: a series of events in the evening running from June 11th to the 21st with one or two shows a night.

Performances include an opening concert with Paul Cargnello, Crowd Karaoke and Being Brown is my Superpower in partnership with Fringe Live Stream. Another exciting event is the Fringe fundraiser Lip Sync Bingo in collaboration with House of Laureen. Some of the events are free, others are pay-what-you-can.

“It’s very open this year in terms of money because everyone is in a slightly different situation, we’re finding, so we’re trying to be flexible with that.”

When I asked Blackmore how payments to the pay-what-you-can events would be facilitated. She explained that it would vary from event to event, and that in many cases, just like the now-postponed Fringe Festival, audiences will be able to buy tickets through the MainLine Theatre website.

“Every event has its own needs, so instead of having a blanket approach to everything, we’re trying to really honour that,” Blackmore said, explaining that because This Is Not a Fringe Festival is not as large as the regular Fringe, they are actually able to do that.

In addition to the Signature Series, This Is Not a Fringe Festival also has a strain of events called The Daily Dose in which every day at 11am audiences can get a daily dose of Fringe as the festival release a series of videos. Said videos include a contemporary dance video, a magic act, storytelling videos in collaboration with Confabulation, as well a series of online activities and challenges organized by the Festival Tout Tout Court. Blackmore affectionately refers to this strain as “art in small packages” that people can take in when it’s convenient for them.

As a recent participant in Festival de la Bete Noire’s last Sunday Night Live Scream before the summer, I was curious as to whether the event would be a series of videos submitted by artists or whether it would be live streamed events. Blackmore explained that it would be a combination of both, with, for example, The Daily Dose as a series of videos submitted to them, and some of the events are live streamed. The festival will be a combination of Facebook live streams, YouTube, and Zoom Hangouts depending on what they are.

“I think what people can expect is the spirit of the Fringe, the spirit of our event. I’m expecting folks to participate and have conversations with us,” Blackmore said, mentioning a series at This Is Not a Fringe Festival called The Transformation Series, five talks Blackmore is facilitating on the five current topics including what it’s like to make art during a pandemic, green theatre-making, and work-life balance.

When I asked Blackmore what she felt the overarching theme of the event is, she spoke of resilience and hope.

“It’s an ode to a festival that never was.”

Ceci N’est Pas un Fringe / This Is Not a Fringe Festival is running from June 11 to 2020 in participation with Fringe Live Stream, MainLine Theatre, and Festival St-Ambroise FRINGE. Tickets and info available through montrealfringe.ca

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Even though the 30th Edition of the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival won’t happen until June 2021, MainLine Theatre hopes to remain engaged with the community during these difficult times. With that in mind, they are planning This Is Not a Fringe Festival.

“Just because we’re pressing the pause button on the Fringe doesn’t mean that we can’t gather. I’m looking forward to encouraging artists and audiences to connect in new and exciting ways,” said MainLine’s Executive and Artistic Director Amy Blackmore about the upcoming festival.

In the era of the Covid-19 pandemic, this online socially distanced art festival will take place from June 11-21, 2020. Full programming, which will include micro-dance videos, storytelling events, theatrical parties, community art projects, mail-in art and more – will be announced on June 1.

For more information, please visit montrealfringe.ca

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This summer was supposed to be the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival’s 30th anniversary edition. Now, due to COVID-19, the celebration and theatrical performances by hundreds of groups and performers originally scheduled to run June 1-21 will have to wait until next summer.

“I sincerely feel that as leaders in the Montreal cultural landscape, it is our responsibility to temporarily close our spaces and to postpone the Fringe Festival in order to protect the health and of our artists and patrons,” the festival’s Executive and Artistic Director Amy Blackmore said in a press release. “The conditions for in-person art-making and consumption amid this crisis are significantly challenging since many are unable to rehearse, have been laid off from work and are trying to manage shifting priorities.”

MainLine Theatre, which produces the festival, will also keep its performance and rehearsal space on St-Laurent Boulevard closed until May 31st as per public health directives. The festival will offer alternate online programming this June in place of the public theatre shows.

The Fringe is generally the event that kicks off Montreal’s jam-packed festival season. This year it is the first major summer arts festival to postpone or cancel due to COVID-19.

We will update you if any other arts events follow suit.

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The 27th consecutive edition of the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival is in full swing. With just a week to go, there are still hundreds of theatrical performances coming up, not to mention daily outdoor concerts at Fringe Park.

It’s still not possible to catch all of it. FTB’s Ellana Blacher will be reviewing shows in the days to come, but for now, here are a small handful of performances we plan to catch:

Peter Pansexual

Glam Gam Productions are back! The team behind previous fun, debaucherous and thought-provoking Fringe hits If Looks Can Kill…They Will! and The Little Beau Peep Show, not to mention the monthly strip Karaoke series Bareoke are offering a queer interpretation of the classic fairy tale Peter Pan.

This isn’t Disney’s version, though it is clearly aware of the 1953 film, which their press release describes as “wholesome fun for whole family, with women pitted against each other, marginalized groups exploited and gender stereotypes reinforced.” Given Glam Gam’s history, this promises to be the exact opposite.

Here is one of the many video character teasers they released:

Peter Pansexual runs until June 16th, info at montrealfringe.ca

The Ballad of Frank Allen

Montreal Fringe veterans Shane Adamczak (Trampoline, Zack Adams and Greg Fleet’s This Is Not A Love Song) and St John Cowcher (The Red Balloon, Farm and The Adventures Of Alvin Sputnik) star in The Ballad of Frank Allen, a musical about a janitor who, due to a scientific accident, has to live in another man’s beard.

There’s even a soundtrack available on Bandcamp. Here’s a taste:

The Ballad of Frank Allen runs until June 18th, info at montrealfringe.ca

Poet vs Pageant

Melbourne, Australia-based performer, writer and poet Telia Nevile is bringing her one woman show Poet vs Pageant all the way to Montreal after being named Best Emerging Writer at the Melbourne Fringe.

This show promises an Epic Poetry treatment of an awkward outsider’s journey into the world of beauty pageants. Think Homer’s Odyssey “with extra sequins.”

Poet vs Pageant runs until June 18th, info at montrealfringe.ca

PERISCOPE

This is the story of one night where Megan takes a shortcut back to happiness with a pill. It’s a comedy show about first-hand experience with mental health.

Vancouver-based writer and performer Megan Phillips was named one of the top artists to see at the 2016 Edmonton Fringe Festival. She created this solo show with the help of Fringe veterans TJ Dawe and Jeff Leard

PERISCOPE runs until June 18th, info at montrealfringe.ca

* The 2017 St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival runs through June 18th, for tickets and info: montrealfringe.ca

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I will be attending the Montreal Infringement Festival this year and simultaneously protesting the World Fringe Conference. Everyone who tried to attend the conference from both the Montreal and Buffalo Infringement Festivals have been denied without reason.

Why do we scare you so much? If you want to have a well run festival you must know the counterculture you have excluded. Fringe artists are supposed to be cutting edge and on the fringe of new and exciting artistic expression. They must pay money to be part of the festival. Politically motivated acts are not welcome due to the chance of pissing off sponsors. Censorship and corporate sponsorship are evil.

The Montreal Infringement Festival was created by Donovan King in 2004 after the St. Ambroise (a beer company) Fringe censored the artist in 2001. The sponsor Can-West Global, a media company that owns the Montreal Gazette was to blame.

The theatre critic from the Gazette wanted a free ticket to Car Stories (experimental politically charged interactive street theatre where the audience moves and becomes the show) and after being told “no” caused a stink and decided not to cover the festival until the artists were ejected. The festival not only kicked the artists out but also refused to pay them their ticket sales after a sold out week or reimburse the registration fee associated with the Fringe trademark.

The following year Infringement spread to Buffalo. Infringement is a non-profit, non-hierarchal, grassroots art festival. It is a revolution that brings together independent, free spirited, and often controversial and experimental expression.

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Donovan and I Montreal Infringement 2014

Donovan King attended the World Fringe Congresses in Edinburgh in 2012 and 2014 . He was invited as a representative of the infringement festivals. This year he the conference is in his hometown and he was denied access.

This is a blatant disrespectful slap in the face. Donovan was excited at the prospect of attending the 2016 Congress to continue the conversation in his home city and to try and finally resolve issues.

He has written and performed pieces that criticize the Fringe Festival and its ethics. Other artists have combined efforts to artistically challenge their exclusion from the St. Ambroise Fringe through culture jamming. The festival has responded with the complete exclusion of activist artists.

The police are called whenever there is a protest, even though the right to protest in Canada is protected by their constitution. Instead of communicating we are shunned, this cultural battle that has gone on for well over a decade and it must end now!

This year for the 3rd World Fringe Congress Donovan proposed a workshop on strategies to help ensure safer artistic festivals after unfortunate instances of sexual assault and discrimination against disabled people at recent Fringe Festivals. We need to create policies to ensure safety and inclusion of all people in our festivals.

He wrote a letter to the new Fringe CEO, Ms. Shona McCarthy, in response to the rejection of Infringement representatives:

“I find it really unfortunate that my colleagues in Buffalo are being rejected simply for being associated with me. It is important to remember that these artists simply wanted to do Fringe theatre until they were threatened by the Fringe in NYC, who claimed to control a Fringe trademark. Instead, they started an infringement festival, just like we did because of the Canadian trademark that prevented us from doing a populist form of arts we have been doing since we helped found the Fringe in Montreal. We are about as Fringe as it gets – if people won’t let us play in their ‘official’ festival, we are going to do it ourselves, just like the artists who invented the 1947 Fringe Festival in the first place.”

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Infringement Festivals accept and celebrate all artists

The Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) also threatens unfounded legal action against any independent artists who try to use the word Fringe without their permission. This is the antithesis of creative expression. There is an exclusion of artists actually on the fringe of societal norms.

The Infringement Festivals do not fit corporate agendas and are not allowed to voice creative solutions to critical questions. In order to spark our own counter conversation there will be a World Infringement Congress on Saturday November 19th in Montreal.

Infringement is about community, inclusion for all, challenging unjust politics, celebrating diversity, and changing the world through artistic expression. Buffalo comrades should make the trip.

My last performance with Candy Ass was incredible
My last performance with Candy Ass Cabaret

I will be exposed and covered in corporate logos for the world to see and performing with The Candyass Caberet at the historic Cafe Cleopatra. I have been one of the visual arts organizers, a participating artist, and performer in the Buffalo festival for years and am also proud to say that I won the 2017 poster contest.

I am dedicated to the conservation of artistic integrity worldwide. My paintings have been ripped off walls and people have walked out of my performances. If people are offended then you are doing it right.

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Buffalo stands with Montreal to protect Infringement

I was surprised when I saw a giant ad and schedule for the Rochester Fringe Festival in a local Buffalo art publication. This is Infringement territory! We celebrate diversity and the pure unedited brilliance of local artists.

Try to tell me that what we are doing is wrong, that bringing the community together and celebrating the beauty of unity, artists of all walks of life and experience standing side by side making the world stronger, exposing children to art, collaborating with our neighbors and connecting to out of town artists who will soon become family.

Authentic and exhilarating politically charged art, discrediting idea of art as a commodity and fighting for the rights of all humans, and challenging mainstream ideas. No budget, totally volunteer run, guerrilla music, burlesque, dance, theatre, visual arts, poetry, comedy, and under the radar art that defies all categorization.

It is my everything, a citywide sprawling sweet escape from reality. I will fight for the integrity of this festival and others like it to the end.

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It’s approaching that time of year, where Saint Laurent Boulevard gets shut down, the theatre folk flock and it’s officially Fringe Festival. Each year Fringe comes by and there are an over-whelming amount of shows to go to. From drag shows to theatre to music to puppetry to burlesque, it’s hard to know where to go with a bevy of great options to choose from. But do not fret my friends because I’m here to narrow down your fringe choices to the best of the best. That way you can spend your cold hard cash on good shows and good times (by which I mean beer).

Here are my OFFICIAL recommendations of what you should check out at this year’s Montreal Fringe Festival:

Bedrock Burlesque

What’s that I hear? All your favorite characters from The Flintstones have come back with a little more bump n’ grind! Sitcom Burlesque takes you back ALL THE WAY!

We all know and love Bedrock, but what happens when the lights go out? Join all your favorite characters for a night of misadventure, music, dance and, of course, Burlesque. Think strip-tease with pterodactyl wings. It’ll have you shouting YABBA DABBA BOOOOOOOBS!!!  (Please Note: The author of this piece is part of the team putting on this show, but then again, who wouldn’t want to be) (tickets)

Grit 'n Gusto_Photo2_Fringe2016Messy Bitch

I personally love any show that’s telling me to drink whiskey and become my inner bitchy self (pretty sure I’m already there). That’s exactly what Jessica Rae does in her one woman show Messy Bitch.

Featuring humour, sass and two disturbing puppets, Messy Bitch is a 30 minute storytelling adventure about learning to give #zerofucks.

So grab yourself a bottle of whiskey, put your bitch face and join Jessica Rae in an extremely messy and all out ridiculous show. You won’t regret it. (tickets)

Sexpectations

Do you like to be confused, aroused and a little bit taken aback? Then this is the show you definitely want to go see. Five-time Fringe performer, Maxine Segalowitz is not only the human behind PHACHINAH but also probably one of the silliest performers you’ll ever witness.

Find out what exactly her first one-woman show has in store with a whole cast of different character every night. That’s right folks, you might just be in it. (tickets)

House of Laureen: Backdoor Queens

The drag house that brought you Laureen: Queen of the Tundra is back and ready to take you behind the scenes. Enter through the backdoor and discover the secrets of all that’s hidden in the wondrous world of drag. Leave your misconceptions at home and join these queens in a night of pure and utter naughtiness. (tickets)

The Mysteries of the Unseen World of the Clavis Argentum

Think dark theatre, magic, live music and all that you’ve been waiting for…. burlesque. The Mystical order of the Clavis Argentum is ready to envelope you into it’s world of secrecy. There’s a lot of surprises in this show brought to you by Jimmy Phule and Matt Risk. Prepare to be confronted and maybe a little disturbed. (tickets)

Ladies Advice For Ladies

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Are you a lady? Are you a gentleman? Are you none of the above/all of the above? Whatever the case come on down to witness the epicness that is Cafe O’Lait Cabaret. Ladies Advice for Ladies is a satirical cabaret for ladies, gentlemen and all who are both or neither. Brought to you by Marianne Trenka, Tessa J. Brown and Kendall Savage you’ll be in for a treat that has more surprises than you’re prepared for. (tickets)

Well there you have it folks, those are my backstage recommendations to all the goodies of Fringe. So grab yourself a beer (or ten) and find out just what this year’s Fringe Festival has in store for you. The mayhem awaits you…

Full schedule at montrealfringe.ca

AudioPodcast

Panelists Samantha Gold and Enzo Sabbagha discuss Jian Ghomeshi’s  second trial, the latest bathroom laws in the US and the Montreal festival season at its start. Plus the Community Calendar and Predictions!

Host: Jason C. McLean
Producer: Hannah Besseau
Production Assistant: Enzo Sabbagha

Panelists

Samantha Gold : FTB Legal Columnist

Enzo Sabbagha: Musician, Podcast Production Assistant

* Ghomeshi and Bathroom Law Reports by Hannah Besseau

*Festivals Report by Enzo Sabbagha

* CLARIFICATION: The Peace Bond Ghomeshi signed doesn’t preclude other victims pressing charges. It only applies to Kathryn Borel.

Microphone image: Ernest Duffoo / Flickr Creative Commons

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The Shiner is a charming one-woman show about the two selves we have inside us at all times; the adult and the child. Performed by Katie Legitt and directed by Al Lafrance, this show crams thirty-odd years of experience into one solid hour of storytelling. And like any good story there’s moments of happiness and sadness, silliness and wonder.

Just like LaFrance’s last Fringe show The Quitter, The Shiner relies completely on the ability of its star to captivate the audience. Whereas Lafrance relied on his snarky wit, Legitt brings her own unique strengths to the table. For Legitt this means demonstrating her passion for her day job as a spiritual animator, as well as being able to transform into a naïve, scrappy version of her younger self.

Legitt does both masterfully. Kudos also has to be given to the scriptwriting; the show has just the right amount of younger/older self to balance the serious/silliness aspect. Too much of either and the show would have veered off course. What a pleasure to see a strong woman who embraces the pain of the past and the passion for her work and literally turns it into a work of art!

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Spoiler alert: Shirley Gnome is not mature, and she likes it that way.

This feisty musical comedienne from Vancouver makes her second appearance at the Montreal Fringe with a whole new set of songs to make you blush. This show is most definitely not for the prude or faint of heart. Gnome makes that abundantly clear when within the first two minutes of her show she’s singing a song about glitter in her pussy. “I took a peek underneath, what did I find/mystery glitter where the sun don’t shine.”

But don’t let that scare you off from buying a ticket. First off, the lady can sing. Her impressive singing chops are easily worth the price of admission alone. Even if she puts those vocal talents to use singing about dicks and things falling out of her vagina.

As the show progresses you start to realize that in between the ridiculousness are serious issues like the pain of denial, a broken heart, and gender equality. “You don’t need to buy me a meal or a drink to fuck me/no you never need to spend a dime/ to get your sexy vagina time/Instead if you could insist in your daily life/in any way that you can/to work towards a world where a woman gets paid the same as a man.”

It’s then you realize realize writing Gnome off as a frivolous Fringe act would be a mistake. Instead this sexually adventurous lady forces the audience to think about all the raw, emotional pain that comes from sexual relationships and realizes it’s mostly bullshit. Life is so much more fun when we can laugh through it, take a swig from a sparkly flask and move on.

Shirley Gnome: Real Mature plays at Le petit campus until June 21st. Tickets and info available on the Montreal Fringe website

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Tranna Wintour knows how to command an audience. In her new show Trantasy, this Trans stand up comedienne has the audience eating out of the palm of her hand from the moment she walks out onto the stage.

Like any great diva the audience clearly loves her, and she loves them right back. With hugs and winks and calling people “baby” this performer seems nothing like a certain Vogue editor in New York City.

Instead of a stone-cold fashion bitch, Tranna is instead a witty glamour girl with the party dresses and perfectly coiffed nails to prove it. She’s also an unabashedly proud queer who loves sex, music and toying with straight boys online. Over the course of 60 minutes Tranna shares some of her most amusing and filthy stories of trying to find love and fame when you’re a pretty lady with a penis.

Whether you’re gay or straight, Tranna delivers plenty of raunchy jokes to fit your appetite. Some of the funniest moments in the show include Tranna riffing on old classics; after all who wouldn’t want to hear a parody of one of Streisand’s greatest hits entitled You don’t send me dickpics anymore?

After successful shows in Montreal, New York and now a CULT Mtl cover, it’s only a matter of time before Tranna Wintour becomes a superstar in her own right. So make sure to check her out while you can still afford to!

* Trantasy runs at the Wiggle Room until June 21, for tickets and info, consult the Montreal Fringe website

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This year the bilingual, multi-disciplinary Montreal Fringe Festival turns 25. Running mostly out of The Plateau, this year’s festival boasts over 700 shows from over 500 artists. As always the offerings range from sweet to naughty, amusing to just plain out there.

So whether you want to take part in a strip spelling bee, watch drag queens race on tricycles, or take in a night of indie music, Fringe has you covered. The tricky part is what lie you’re going tell your boss so you can fit in all the fun!

Here are some of the shows that Forget the Box is excited to see this year:

  1. Trantasy: Stand-up comedienne Tranna Wintor explores her wildest fantasies onstage at The Wiggle Room from June 4th-21st
  2. No More Radio Showcase: Every year the folks from No More Radio put on a free showcase of indie music at Fringe Park. This year’s line-up on June 12th includes Heirloom, Grand Bend’s Stegall, and Sarah Segal-Lazar.
  3. Attention Seeker: British comedian Gerard Harris (Let’s Start a Country) returns for another year at The Fringe with a one-man show that seeks your attention from June 12th-21st at the Studio Multimedia de Conservatoire.
  4. Laureen: Queen of the Tundra Named after the Prime Minister’s wife, this show is whimsical exploration of what it means to be Canadian for a group of drag queens. Playing at Café Cleopatre from June 12th-21st
  5. Shirley Gnome: Real Mature This Vancouver act promises to take the audience on a hilarious 60 minute musical ride at Café Campus From June 12th-21st.

Make sure to visit Forget the Box often for upcoming reviews of all these shows and more! The Montreal Fringe Festival runs until June 21st. For ticket information, visit montrealfringe.ca

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With a title like Johnny LegDick: A Rock Opera  this show gives you a pretty clear sense of what you’re walking into right off the bat. A musical about a group of travelling circus show freaks who break free of their oppressive owner (who happens to be named “sucka-da-cocka”), is without a doubt silly to its very core. But just like a good Meat Loaf song, every now and then who doesn’t want an epic power ballad in their life?

For a festival full of minimalist stages it’s a treat to see a Fringe show full of elaborate props, costumes, and a live band. The songs of course are meant to make you laugh more than make you think (unless of course, you really do want to ponder how a man pees when “he has a leg where his dick ‘suppose to be…”).

The funniest part of all is that everyone in the show is quite the talented singer. And somehow that brings a gravitas to songs about bananas, horse men with no pants and homo island. The lead of the show especially (whose real name I can’t seem to find anywhere online!) will blow you away with his voice. I sincerely hope that actor goes on to star in many other musical productions in the future.

Dick jokes aside, this is a solid show that is more than worth the price of admission. It would be great to see the play get some funding so they could go even further down the rabbit hole; expand the show into a two-hour odyssey of outcasts falling in love and standing up to the man. In many other cases of Fringe shows the standard hour length production is more than enough, but in this case I was definitely left wanting more.

After you’ve seen the show, make sure you like Playwright Hero Productions’ Facebook page and then you too can get all those insane songs suck in your head for a week.)

Johnny LegDick: A Rock Opera plays at Theater Sainte Catherine until Sunday as part of the Montreal Fringe Festival

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God is back in town ladies and gentleman, and she’s got loads of new stuff to bitch about. After a buzz-worthy show at the 2012 Fringe, Mike Delamont makes a triumphant return as everybody’s favorite deity in God is a Scottish Drag Queen 2.

Don’t worry, you won’t get lost if you missed Delamont’s hilarious stand-up performance the first time ’round. Here’s all you need to know to get caught up: shows are performed by Delamont in-character, in the role of God. Delamont’s version of God also happens to wear a wig, a woman’s 1980s floral power suit, and be Scottish.

God in the worst drag outfit of all time is, of course, a completely ridiculous character. Seeing Delamont complete in-character at the 2012 Drag Races at Fringe Park was one of my favorite Fringe moments of all time. Here’s hoping he competes with Montreal’s drag queen beauties again this year!)

But upon reflection it’s easy to see there’s a method to Delamont’s “sweats like a mutant farm animal” madness. When a tall, bulky man wears a cropped wig, shoulder pads and speaks in a Scottish accent (Delamont is actually from Victoria BC), as an audience member  it’s easy to let your guard down.

And in that state, Delamont effortlessly commands your attention for the hour-long show. Throughout that hour you can expect God to drift in an out of rants that are both topical and universal in nature. The west Edmonton mall, Scientology, and my favorite bit of the evening – circumcision, are just a few of the things you and God are going to talk about. If that seems like a bizarre grouping of topics now, trust me, go see the show and within minutes you’ll also be laughing your mortal ass off.

Having toured the Fringe circuit across North America in two different shows, Delamont certainly loves being God. And we the audience love him playing it. God is a Scottish Drag Queen 2 was just as fun the second time, but I look forward to Delamont returning to the Montreal Fringe in a new ridiculous character or just maybe even as himself. After all, you wouldn’t want God to wear out his welcome.

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Sad face time everyone; another Fringe Festival has come and gone.

I am thrilled to have just completed my second year of covering the Montreal Fringe Festival. I may not have been able to cover as much as say our creative director here at Forget The Box, Chris Zacchia. Then again, that man is a ball of frantic energy and just thinking about all the shows he runs around town catching makes me want to take a nap. I did though manage to see a bunch of shows of varying style and quality. The whole Fringe experience yet again made me happy that I live in this kooky, cracked out and wonderful city.

Just like last year, I began my Fringe Festival experience by heading down to Café Cléopatre to see my friends at the burlesque troupe Glam Gam productions. This time those naughty folks were putting on a fairytale-themed show entitled Little Beau Peep which amongst many things included a horny Pinocchio.

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Since the show had stolen all my close friend Jessica Klein’s free time the past couple of months, I wanted to go support her on opening night and see what all the fuss was about. Now, I admit I’m extremely biased when it comes to Glam Gam and have never really given them a bad review. But this year they really outdid themselves focusing on costumes, glitter and taking off their clothes. You know, because when it comes down to it, boobies are one of life’s most important things. And those folks sure know how to shake ’em.

Over the next days I caught other shows like Single Black Female and Zack Adams: Zack to the Future which, despite their problems, I thought were great and some other shows which were not so great. I’m not going to name names here, but I can imagine if you were out at the Fringe Festival you know which shows I’m talking about.

I also learned a few valuable lessons this year that I will make sure to remember for future Fringe Festivals. First off, whenever you want to find No More Radio co-founder Paul Aflalo, you never have to look much further than Fringe Park. And, more importantly, when you want to see any show in the first couple of days, especially highly buzzed about shows, make sure you get to the box office EARLY! Unlike every other show in Montreal it seems, Fringe shows start on time and sell out quickly.

I would have loved to have written a post last weekend to help promote Dan Bigham‘s show Now that I have your Attention!  but twice when I showed up I was sadly turned away. I am thrilled though that this past Friday I was able to catch one of the last performances.

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It’s very rare in life when your expectations are not met but surpassed, and Bigham’s show is without a doubt my favourite of this year’s festival. The show was a brutally honest but comedic look back at his romantic history. Dan this is an official call out; please do another performance of this show in the future so I can give you a proper article devoted completely to your awesome self.

I want to thank the folks at the Fringe Festival, especially anglophone press coordinator Cam McKinnon and festival director Amy Blackmore for giving Forget The Box the chance cover the festival again this year. Now that the Fringe Festival has come to a close, I can sit back and enjoy a calm, laid-back summer without much else going on. This is Montreal and the summertime after all. Oh wait a minute….

Glam Gam photos by Iana Kazakova. Dan Bingham photo by Chris Zacchia. 

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Traveling through one’s own body can be a very, very dirty and downright rotten job.

That’s what you will be in for at Peter Carlone and Chris Wilson‘s fourth production, Peter n’ Chris Explore their Bodies . Back after last year’s hit Peter n’ Chris Save The World, this time they’re delving into the bowels of, well, Chris’ bowels.

After finding out Chris no longer controls his own body, the duo have no choice but to wear a magical housecoat which allows them to dive into his body as a microscopic incarnation of themselves. In Chris’ body, a dark figure known as The Dark One convinces Chris, who happens to have hypochondria, that he has liver cancer.

From there the adventure begins as Chris and Peter dive farther and farther down Chris’ system to find The Dark One and restore Chris’ body to its rightful owner.

Dealing with many philosophical and theological issues, there is much this play attempts to explore but does so in funny, action-packed sequences that will amaze any audience with a pulse. As they move down into Chris’ body, they deal with with issues of appearance, self-loathing, obsessions and friendship. Details on the organ functions make for a  hodge-podge cocktail of identity crisis issues and is painfully funny. There is one great scene here where Chris ventures into his liver to meet a Scot who hangs out surrounded by processed alcohol.

Peter n' Chris Explore their Bodies - Program Photo

This two-piece are so full of energy I laughed nonstop.

What really made the show for me was beyond the stage and in the sound booth at Cabaret Mile End. It was the best damn sound-equipped show I’ve seen in years. These guys queued up their music in perfect timing with accompanied action sequences.

The sound here is professionally done and is injected with pop culture references from The Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings and The Wardrobe. The play has an epic feel yet keeps its improv comedy sensibilities.

The death scenes are also hilarious. One in particular had me hacking away, I almost induced a spleen injury.

 

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Fire in the Meth Lab is fucking hilarious!

“Everyone just wants to do what they love in life. My brother was lucky, he got to make meth. He loved it so much he even brought it home with him…” starts versatile comedian Jon Bennett. Jon tells the story of his asshole brother Tim, who went to jail for burning down a biker gang’s meth lab and stealing all their meth. Not quite the usual recipe for a side-splitting hour of comedy but this guy is funny. Practically every little bit and story is laugh out loud funny!

Jon takes us through his relationship with his brother growing up. A sampling of stories include his brother pissing on a seal, his brother sticking his dick in Jon’s ear, them attending Jesus camp then receiving an impromptu exorcism… it goes on.

Putting acid in his parents’ drinks before church… Where his father was the minister! (Best sermon E-V-E-R!)

Jon goes through his brother’s various life addictions in an attempt to discover how to love his asshole of a brother and comes away from it with an unorthodox but nonetheless heartwarming tale.

I definitely recommend this show. Jon Bennett is a whirlwind of comedy! If you didn’t get a chance to see him at this year’s Fringe Festival, he will be performing Pretending Things Are A Cock as part of the Zoofest comedy festival in July. See their website for more details.