Wellington Oracle

For up-to-date reviews of every show at this year’s Ottawa Fringe Festival check our coverage at FullyFringed.ca – a co-production of the Wellington Oracle and Apartment613.

We’re really proud of the site; it’s the first time such ambitious coverage of Ottawa’s premier theatre festival has been attempted by anyone, and we’re thrilled to be the first media outlet giving full coverage to what we believe is the most creative annual event in the nation’s capital.

Theatre review by Jared Davidson

A suicide of a friend, rampant paranoia and loneliness punctuated by naughty comments from dirty old men – make no mistake, Heroes is a comedy. But there is more than a quick laugh to be had at Lise Ann Johnson’s production of this translated French play. At its core, the play contemplates suffering, life and death. It follows three old men as they attempt to escape their veteran’s group home while dealing with the consequences of the first world war and their growing disconnection from the world.

At the same time, it delivers some of the best laughs available anywhere. Truly, the effective delivery of such a funny script is an achievement in itself, but Peter Froehlich, John Koensgen and Paul Rainville go above and beyond in their interpretation of the characters. Each of them wonderfully portrays a different portion of the spectrum of aging. They never resort to stereotypes; their characters are well-rounded, realistic old men. It is their performances that make the play as engaging and hilarious as it is. Their control of the audience is remarkable; they skilfully guide the audience through the quick turns in the emotion of the play so that the play moves fluidly from laughter to sorrow and back again, which would be jarring were it not done so well. (more…)

By Heather Marie Scheerschmidt

For most of us, the subject of airport security is all too familiar: the little plastic bags for liquids and gels, the ever-changing rules about carry-on luggage, lining up to go through metal detectors, being questioned by stern looking security officers, having bags opened and inspected, and these days, even full body scans. Hardly a week goes by without an airport security issue in the news. And the fear those stories produce means we put up with delays and inconveniences because we understand the system is in place to protect us.

But are we actually any safer?

That is the question raised in “Airport Security”, a new play from indie theatre company Gruppo Rubato.

Hot on the heels of his RBC Emerging Artist of the Year Award, Patrick Gauthier wears the playwright, producer, and director hats on this project. The last show he directed, “Countries Shaped Like Stars” for Mi Casa Theatre, recently took home “Outstanding Fringe Production” and “Outstanding New Creation” at the third annual Les Prix Rideau Awards. “What’s beautiful about using the topic of airports and airport security” Patrick tells me, “is that everybody has a story connected to it…so you can draw on that energy in the rehearsal hall but you can also then draw on that energy from the audience. Everyone has a story, and everyone’s interested in it.”

Gruppo Rubato is a company Patrick founded with Tania Levy and Gavriella Silverstone in 2002. Local actor Kris Joseph joined the company in 2004, and to date they have produced seven original shows – including 2007’s Fringe Festival hit, “Churchill Protocol” which won the Rideau Award that year for “Best New Creation”. The idea for “Airport Security” came during that tour, when they were spending a lot of time in airports, dealing with all of the inconveniences of air travel and watching the experiences of travellers around them. “Airport security is designed to do two things,” Patrick states, “it’s designed to actually make us safer, but I think it’s primary design is to make us feel safer; which I call the pageantry of security.” (more…)

photo: (L-R) John Koensgen, Kris Joseph and Sam Kalilieh star in "Facts" by Arthur Milner; directed by Patrick MacDonald. Costumes designed by Sarah Waghorn. Set and lighting design by Martin Conboy; with associate set designer, Yvan Cazabon. Photo by Steve Boyton of Paul Toogood Photography.

Theatre Review by Sterling Lynch

Arthur Milner’s latest play, Facts, begins as an engaging, intelligent, and character-driven murder mystery. Then, it jumps its narrative rails and careens into a sudden and unresolved ending. Watching this Great Canadian Theatre Company / New Theatre of Ottawa co-production is seventy minutes well-spent but the script probably needs seventy more minutes to finish the engaging journey Milner starts but does not finish.

In the early-going, Facts isn’t a play about the West Bank, even if it happens to be set in the West Bank. Instead, Milner expertly reveals to us what West Bank life is like, by letting us watch an Israeli detective and a Palestinian inspector discuss the unsolved murder of an American archaeologist. (more…)

-Theatre review by Lesley Buxton

I love Shakespeare. I’m an addict. All throughout high school, I proudly wore a button featuring the famous bard’s face that proclaimed “Will power” pinned to my black leather jacket. This is why I decided my twelve-year-old daughter would accompany me to Third Wall’s production of “As You Like It.” It was not a mistake. She loved it. The most remarkable thing about Charles McFarland’s production is the energy of the actors and their commitment to their roles. From the moment the first actor walks onto to the stage the air crackles with possibility and, we the viewers sense we are in for an intriguing ride.

McFarland faces the violence of the first scenes head on. The lighting is gritty and the feeling is reminiscent of an episode of The Sopranos. I congratulate him on casting Glenn Kulka as Charles, the Wrestler. Though Kulka was obviously nervous—this is his theatrical début—his physical confidence gave the fight scenes a dimension and realism seldom realized in most theatrical productions. The fight match alone is worth the price of admission. Last night the audience including my daughter got so involved they were clapping and hissing at the actors. Tania Levy and Mishka Lavigne were fabulous in this scene as Kulka’s supporters. Though they didn’t say a word their body language was wonderful. (more…)

Oracle theatre review by Wayne Current

On January 14th I saw my first-ever gay rap opera, Bash’d, at the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre. To be honest, I wasn’t at all sure what to expect from this show. Would this production be a campy comedy? A politically-driven hip hop performance? A love story?

Impressively, the performance is a compelling blend of all three.

Written and performed by Chris Craddock and Nathan Cukow, this is the story of two men Jack (Craddock) and Dylan (Cukow) who meet and fall and love as teenagers. The first part of the performance is about being a gay man in a small town, the pain of coming out to your family, and the giddy joy of finally finding real community after moving to the big city.

After the passage of the Civil Marriage Act (2005), Jack and Dylan decide to get married. Of course, despite the new law, currents of homophobic violence still run deep in Canadian society. This is made evident in an emotionally powerful scene where Jack is brutally assaulted. As the second half of the performance unfolds, we see the impact of this violent act on the couple; the fear, the anger, and then, unexpectedly, something more – a desire for revenge. (more…)

-Oracle theatre review by Sterling Lynch

Chamber Theatre Hintonburg’s production of The Mechanicsville Monologues, written and directed by Donnie Laflamme, is a collection of monologues that tell the — sometimes interlocking — stories of people and places firmly rooted in Mechanicsville.

There is much to be admired in this production but it is hampered by an uncertainty of intention. The production wavers like a drunk between a desire to mirror the history of this neighborhood and a desire to glorify its many myths.

On the one hand, there are monologues which seem genuinely illuminating about the history of Mechanicsville.

For example, “Taxi Driver”, expertly performed by Robert Reynolds, is almost pitch perfect. As soon as this guy wandering through the Carleton asks, “Someone order a cab?” I know I’ve met him before — probably picking up my grandmother — and, thanks to the story he tells, I feel I learn something about him and this community.

On the other hand, there are a number of monologues which fail to ring true.

For example, Will Somers plays the part of a lovable doofus who tells us the story of how he was busted for soliciting sex from an undercover police officer. The performance is comically entertaining, but the piece feels like a sketch and his character is a caricature. If I’ve ever met this guy before, it’s only on television. (more…)

-Oracle theatre review by Wayne Current

On Thursday November 5, I was pleased to attend the world premiere of Ottawa native Hannah Moscovitch’s new work The Children’s Republic at the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre. The play tells the story of Janusz Korczak, a Polish-Jewish pediatrician and celebrated children’s author who runs a remarkable orphanage in Poland.

Korczak was a visionary who believed that an orphanage should be governed like a democratic adult community. Under his guidance, the orphans participated directly in the governance of their orphanage. This included the establishment of a “children’s court” to which everyone including the teachers and staff were accountable.

The first half of Moscovitch’s play introduces Korczak (Paul Rainville), his assistant Stefa (Kate Hurman), and the orphans. It becomes apparent that while the wards of the orphanage experience their share of conflicts, these are resolved with kindness and fairness. This is contrasted with the second act, which is much darker and takes place after the Nazis invade and occupy Poland.

(more…)

Stewart Matthews (front) and Richard Gélinas in Arabian Night - photo by Tim Ginley

-Theatre review by Lesley Buxton

Roland Shimmelpfennig ‘s Arabian Night is a dreamscape, a symphony of movement and sound. In her director’s notes Natalie Joy Quesnel says that she was drawn to this work because it offers “a glimpse into the sub-conscious and unconscious mind where we can all be the author of our own fairytale.”

Set in a high rise apartment block on the hottest night of the year, this whimsical piece examines the inner lives of five characters all linked through proximity and their imaginings: the apartment’s superintendent, two female roommates, a boyfriend and a voyeuristic neighbor. Unlike conventional plays however, the setting of this piece is almost inconsequential. For as the play progresses and the line between reality and fantasy becomes indistinct we grow more involved in their fantastical surroundings. This is a play in which we are never quite sure where the truth lies. (more…)

– Oracle restaurant review by Don Chow of foodiePrints

Please don’t mind the title.  I have not made a favourite of a restaurant I have only visited twice.  We at foodiePrints have had many a fine meal at Allium, both lunches and dinners.  I celebrated my 29th birthday there, a surprise party thrown by my better half with many of my closest friends.  We reserve seats there on many special occasions.  We bring out-of-town house guests there.  We drop in spontaneously when it’s quiet.  Though, we were slightly disappointed by our last outing during the New Year.

The Allium restaurant has actually shut its doors to customers twice during our tenure in the Hintonburg/Wellington West neighbourhoods.  The first time was due to an out-of-control grease fire spreading from the kitchen belonging to the upper floor tenant of the building, Les Grillades.  The second was during the month of July when Allium closed its doors for renovations. (more…)