tartysuz

Shakespeare week continues at Sequential Tart with an issue that's heavy on the meta.

I had the opportunity to interview Helen Hackett, who has written a book about the persistent myth of Shakespeare meeting Elizabeth. It's RPS that dates back to the Elizabethan era!
http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=1968


Also, I joined my sister Tarts in praising Kill Shakespeare, a kind of "Guildenstern and Rosenkrantz" meets "Six Characters in Search of an Author" comic featuring Shakespeare's characters in search of the Bard himself:
http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=1956


Speaking of getting meta, Supernatural Talk is about SPN 6.15 "The French Mistake," in which we learn that angels are big on morality plays:
http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=1958

I didn't Fringe a lot this year, but I Fringed well. Capping off my four-play fest was Edmund, written by my (Gemini-nominated!) friend, Matt Alden.

This was a great show: funny, beautiful, sad, Tetris-y!

The protagonist is Edmund (Jamie Cavanagh), an unflashy accountant with mental and emotional problems and a complex relationship with pills. Pills make him feel better, but pills they're also scapegoats. He blames them for problems he has when he's taking them, he blames them for problems he has when he's not taking them.

Either way, pills don't resolve Edmund's core issues. This might be due to Edmund's inability or refusal to really examine his situation, but regardless their effect, he decides to toss away the pills. This leaves the warring sides of his brain unchecked and going to extremes. The left side of his brain (Joshua Dalledonne) scolds him to buckle down and be a good, obedient employee, co-worker and fiance. The right side (Adam Cope) wants him to rebel, stand up for himself and generally be less of a wuss. However, Edmund is overwhelmed by the constant battles inside, outside -- and between inside and outside -- of his head, and he becomes suicidal.

Humour is a very useful tool for talking about some really difficult things. It may be a measure of how few punches Matt pulls that he lands so many quotable lines. One that really stood out for me was this exchange: "Is this a real story?" "No, this is just real."

I also loved the set and sound design, which were inspired by Edmund's favourite computer game, Tetris. Tetris is an important image in the script, conveying the idea of the irresistibly simple and sensical rightness of geometric shapes falling into place. Blue, yellow and red blocks made up the set. Blue, yellow and red comprised the colour palette for the costumes. And the music for the show? Tetris classics!

Edmund was a hit at the Fringe, but unfortunately, it is not held over. If you have any means to cajole Matt & co. to restage it, or if you feel like sponsoring 45 minutes of whip-smart, cathartic theatre -- please do it! I want to see it again!

(cross-posted to Facebook)

"Pipa" is a beautiful, charming piece of physical theatre.

Pipa is an accident-prone girl. Her mother told that she was born blind -- in the sense that she can't metaphorically see what's in front of her. But she just doesn't see the same relationship between things that the rest of us do. She can't quite seem to negotiate the spaces between objects and herself. On stage, she bumps into, or fails to stand in right relation with, everyday objects: a bench, a stool, a microphone stand.

We don't think we'd have that kind of trouble. But we're trained to go about our physical world in certain patterns; we move as if things aren't there. So really, we're the ones who are blind to our physical environment. As Pipa says, "People say butterflies are blind, but they don't see the same way we do."

(Speaking of butterflies, the very clever projection piece is an all-time Fringe highlight.)

"Pipa" was my Fringe roulette pick: I didn't know anything about the performer or the show. Turns out Minneapolis's Tamara Ober first came to the Edmonton Fringe last year, with a troupe that performed "The Gypsy and the General". She was so inspired by our welcoming theatre community that she biffed up the ginge to create her first solo work and to bring it here. That work is "Pipa". We're glad you came back, Tamara!

https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/DateSelect.aspx?item=566

(cross-posted to Facebook)