\RTSSENTERTAINMENT
ringe Fest Special

lain W. Reeve, OP Assistant Editor

ich the Pick of the Fringe this weekend for encores of this year’s most memorable productions, including Jesus Christ: The Lost
irs and Legoland. Check www.vancouverfringe.com for showtimes.

 

   

us Christ: The Lost Years

p years of the life of Jesus between adolescence and adulthood have been used by a variety of writers over the years.

Js chronological black hole in the Old Testament has been used by The DaVinci Code to insist that JC made a baby,

by Dogma to tell the tale of the siblings of Christ. This manic little bit of minimalist comedy tries to fill us in on

pt the big guy got up to for all those years.

‘Toronto and Calgary based Monster Theatre put together a two person show with no set, no props besides a cou-

costume pieces, and a kamikaze storytelling style that reminds one of a an hour-long improv set. The role of the

in character is juggled between actors Bruce Horak and Katherine Sanders, as they jump back and forth to fill in the
+ characters Jesus comes across on his journey. A lot of running, jumping, miming, and laughing ensues as they

a Jesus as a confused young guy on a quest to figure out who his real father is.

Jesus meets lepers, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, Sir Edmund Hilary, aliens, the three wise men (played all at

re by Horak using a brilliant two headed puppet apparatus, with his own head filling in the third), and finally just

ut every God ever considered real by mankind.

While not terribly groundbreaking, and sticking down a well traveled road of slapstick and word play, The Lost Years

vides lots of laughs, a few of which—no doubt the best ones—will leave you feeling a little guilty.

oland

pss that when you hear the phrases “Noam Chomsky Skytrain,” “the tallest nail must be hammered down,” and
ck you with a chainsaw,” in one theatre over the course of 80 minutes you're at a Fringe festival play. Besides epito-
ing Fringe with its off-the-beaten-path subject matter and delivery, Legoland is one of the great sinful delights of this
’s festival, and one of the funniest productions I’ve seen in years.

'The play takes the form of a community service presentation by 16-year old Penny Lamb. She intends to help the
fience become better citizens, and ensure they do not repeat her mistakes. She is assisted in the retelling of her tragic
by her doubly eccentric 13-year old brother Ezra, whose vacant stationary stare and Riff-Raffesque voice has the

ience howling from his first line.

We are shown how the kids were raised in a hippy commune in rural Saskatchewan until tragedy struck and they
Ind themselves shipped off to boarding school. While there, Penny, whose tales of being picked on for being a femi-
lesbian—tee-hee—are pure comic angst, develops a love affair with Johnny Moon of fictional boy-band 7-Up. The
fst of an obsessed post-pubescent girl begins.

The story is delightfully deviant. The loopy-yet-innocent kids engage in sinful capitalist indulgences like McDonalds
ts, faking seizures for attention at Wal-Mart, and shotgunning beers in the American Southwest. This quest hits
comic note possible. Lego/and is one of extremes: cute and deplorable, sardonic and simplistic, fast paced and
fully patient, this play will get a laugh out of anyone, and dozens of laughs out of most. A must see.

 

  
   
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  

ety

ne-man show built on storytelling, minimal props, and a little touch of music, Anxiety is Reg Rowe’s way of telling
e should start getting worried about genetically modified foods.

Reg makes no bones about the point of the piece. Through a variety of mimed scenes, often loosely related stories,
Eric Idle-esque musical numbers, Reg tries to warn us about the impending doom we face if we continue to

se ourselves excessively to genetically modified foods. Reg is a fantastic storyteller, and is a very engaging per-

er. There were a few hearty chuckles along the way, and I certainly left wondering if I’d ever crack open a packet
ugar Twin ever again.

This piece, while appealing as a good piece of storytelling and with a heart of gold, was not a laugh-out-loud affair.
hed a few times, mostly because our host was so darn charming, but overall it was not a terribly standout show.

 

 

 

 

Faas Rotten Tomatoes

teh interweb! The eternal question which has plagued the bored and weary

on countless evenings across our fine country: “What movie _ site, pick a movie, and you'll be treated to snippets of hun-
__ do you want to go see?” What are we to do when we are dreds of reviews, along with an aggregated score of all the
‘made to wade through a sea of cinematic crap to find the one _ reviews Rosfen has pulled together. The best reviews get fea-
shining nugget of beauty? Well, often we hunt down a movie __ tured in the “cream of the crop section” and the full version
review and try and get some idea of what to expect. The of every review counted is only a click away.
our favourite and most reliable movie review- Besides reviews of current films, you can access older

od folks here at the Other Press, drop the ball _ films as well. Trailers, showtimes, DVD reviews, and discus-
sion forums are included to round out the experience. They
‘0 find a bunch of reviews even have a top movies section called “certified fresh,” where
rules and what drools. _ the top films universally loved by most critics are given their
just display.
So, if you want some solid movie advice, and a copy of
_ the Other Press is not near at hand, give Rotten Tomatoes a
_ whirl. Because we all know 147 opinions are better than one.

   

 
  

about every movie reviewer on the internet. Just head to the

 
 

 

 

 
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
  
 
 

 

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