Now in its fifth year, The Toronto Fringe’s Next Stage Theatre Festival arrived in the wake of red wine hangovers and newly restrictive jeans, as most good things do*. The ten shows on the bill show a sophisticated mix of artists and productions–sketch comedy, musicals, and dramatic two-handers–plus a heated courtyard beer tent where audiences, artists, and administrators can mingle until long after the shows let out. I can’t tell if it’s the sexy Next Stage fare, but those courtyard gatherings are fraught. Maybe that’s just the nature of tents.
Outside the tent, here are two shows that caught my fancy, and one that didn’t.
Tomasso’s Party — Rooftop Creations
A play with a male point of view is not unusual, but it is rare to see one that takes that perspective to such engaging lengths. Hugo (Simon Bracken) watches his girlfriend Madeleine (Leah Doz) sleep beside him, her naked back a taunting reminder of the distance between them. Playwright Jules Lewis has written a fascinating study of male insecurity, carefully affecting some of the enigmatic tricks of Pinter and Albee. A story about how the two lovers met is as confidently directed by Nigel Shawn Williams as it is performed by Bracken, whose gangling vulnerability conceals a bitter soul. As the obscured Madeleine — we never see her face — Doz is seductive and unavailable. Initially, she seems to be a grumpy odalisque trying to get back to sleep, but when Madeleine does tell of her strange sexual history and her own sense of ugliness, it’s as unnerving as anything that Hugo has shared. Cleverly, Lewis limits our understanding of Madeleine to a few fragmented stories. Instead we’re left to imagine what more she might be as André du Toit’s backlighting turns her into a tantalizing silhouette. I almost wish they’d skipped the curtain call just to keep up the illusion.
Modern Love — Theatre Caravel
In a post-I, Claudia world, it’s tempting to hunt around for something that shares the qualities of Kristen Thomson’s heartfelt coming-of-age solo show. But the comparison is a true one in the case of writer/performer Jessica Moss’ dynamic monologue–her Trish a mid-20s Claudia, grappling with a lonely existence via the Internet instead of a goldfish. Despite being constantly connected, Trish despairs over the lack of real intimacy in her life, inspiring her to take ambivalent solace in an online friendship. The typed conversations (brought to outsized life by multimedia designer, Kyle Purcell) with faceless suitor Charlie Brown are gripping in their authenticity, and Moss pushes the limits on what is safe to show an audience. If some of the observations about feeling alone with hundreds of friends at your fingertips have been made before, Moss fills them with her own trenchant longing, and under Eric Double’s taut direction, we’re in Moss’ pocket from start to finish.
Living With Henry — Beyond Boundaries
Christopher Wilson’s 2011 Fringe hit Living With Henry is the kind of fledgling musical that you’ll either want to cradle in your palm or crush with your boot heel. “When I saw what HIV did to you, it became my enemy!” cries one character, fists balled in anger at the personified virus, played here by David Silvestri. The central figure is Michael (Ryan Kelly), a sweet if feckless young man playing host to the bullying Man-Virus. Wilson’s ambitions are admirable, but Living With Henry doesn’t quite confidently express what it means to live with HIV in the 21st century. A musical like Next to Normal has a similar conceit (take something internal and realize it in a character), but Henry’s presence only obscures the development of Michael’s story. Kelly is sympathetic as Michael, but the other characters come off as flat and pointless, the performances feeling like filler. In the end, Wilson’s intentions as book, lyric, and music writer are commendable, but elements aren’t individually strong enough: the lyrics, silly; the book, merely providing feeble links to the next generic song.
The Next Stage Festival runs through Jan. 15 at the Factory Theatre.
*Like grilled cheese and sweatpants!
Naomi Skwarna is Toronto Standard’s theatre critic. Follow her on Twitter at @awomanskwarned.
