Toronto – For those who keenly feel the bite of Winter, even during one as mild as this has been (no snow on Christmas? C’mon), and despair that summer is further away than it’s ever been, it will comfort you to know that everyone’s favourite annual summertime fest of theatre and wackiness, the Toronto Fringe, is bringing the Next Stage Theatre Festival to a stage near you once again.
Now in it’s fifth year, Next Stage brings you a selection of remounts of shows from recent Fringe’s and beyond to warm your hearts and minds in the dead of Winter from January 4 through the 15th. Plus there’s an outdoor beer tent, which may not warm you that much, but the tent is heated, so at least you won’t get too cold. The Panic Manual will have at least a couple of reviews, baby permitting (I think this is going to be my new catch phrase. “Yes, I’ll be at your house party – baby permitting, of course”), but until then here are some projected highlights of the festival.
Uncalled For Presents: Hypnogogic Logic
A hit not only at last summer’s Toronto Fringe, but an award winning show in Montreal’s Fringe as well, I reviewed Uncalled For’s offbeat show last summer. It’s funny, inventive, and polished sketch comedy from a seasoned troupe who really know what they’re doing. Watch for the sketch about the “Falling Wish Foundation,” who’s hardboiled officers won’t grant your wishes for money or power but will happily bring Freddy Mercury back to life in your body if you ask.
Living With Henry and Tiki Bikini Beach Paradise Party A-Go-Go
Two shows that were also hits of the 2011 Fringe, though two I didn’t see myself, both these shows are musicals but slightly different in tone. Living with Henry is about living with HIV/AIDS; Tiki Bikini is a parody of 60′s beach party movies. So yeah, one is likely a bit heavier than the other, but they both got five N’s from NOW in the summer, for whatever that’s worth. See them both in the same evening and you might gain some insight into what it’s like to have a manic-depressive episode!
Love is a Poverty You Can Sell and Morro & Jasp: Go Bake Yourself
Next Stage is trying something new this year, staging a couple of shows in the Factory Theatre “Antechamber.” I don’t know exactly where that is, but I think it must be in the small bar space they have at the top of the stairs, near the entrance to the Mainspace. At the very least, it’ll be cozy. Anyway, Love is a cabaret show that apparently had a cast of eleven at the 2010 Fringe, so you’d have to think this is a somewhat scaled back version. Morro & Jasp are one of the city’s favourite recurring Fringe acts; this appears to be a new show, so if the space is small you might want to get advance tickets. Both should be worth checking out just to see how they use the space.
LoveSexMoney
There is significant buzz at the moment around Theatre Brouhaha, who’s playwright/artistic director Kat Sandler won the Fringe’s 2012 New Play Contest. This is noteworthy, because last year’s New Play winner, Kim’s Convenience, was a runaway Fringe hit. LoveSexMoney is not the play that won that contest, which was a work called Help Yourself, but rather is a show that had a brief run last February at Factory. Based on a 2009 news story about a woman in Nevada who attempted to sell her virginity online, it’s said to be a comedy that explores “intimacy in the Information Age,” which sounds like a name for a line of really bad romance novels. Anyway, sounds like it could be good, and if you see it and Help Yourself is good next summer, you can be all “well, I heard of Kat Sandler WAY before you did” to somebody.
For a full listing of shows and the festival schedule, check out Next Stage’s website, and watch for a couple of reviews this weekend.
