MID PLAY by Angelo Rosso
Thematically, MID PLAY falls somewhere in the realm of a non-musical The Last Five Years, so thematically, this may not be a show for everyone.
This show was very polished from an acting perspective, with very good back and forth and excellent pacing.
An incredibly clever convention was the use of the narrator, and I would love to see more of this in future iterations. The narrator could be used to sarcastically comment, or even sew seeds of doubt. The narrator could alternatively have been used to fill in the voice of the absent wife.
Ultimately, what I struggled with was that I’m not fully sure of the why for either of these characters. I have a backstory, but it doesn’t make me want to cheer for their relationship to work, or for them to succeed. On some level, it would have been a more interesting story to have an unbalanced love story, or a friend seeking a friend.
The Hawk Lover by Nicholas Guerreiro
Those of us lucky enough to be acquainted with Bragi theatre know that there is always something new and exciting and fully unexpected coming out of their works.
The Hawk Lover is the next iteration in the poems of Marie de France, a medieval poetess. What could have been a disjointed series of tellings in different styles was masterfully navigated by Annie Konstantinov.
The stories are weird and wonderful in that inexplicable medieval worldview, but many are brought to life in a fully modern setting. There is use of puppets, physical storytelling, music, and more and yet somehow it feels like a dreamy campfire story, timeless in it’s own way, and we’re all just going along for the ride.
I would watch this on a mainstage again, anywhere, anyplace. There is so much packed into a brief 50 minutes, I want to savour this incredible work again.
Kin by Andrew Sayer
I adore twisted fairy tales, and for a workshop production, I was impressed by how “on their feet” this show was already. This show had a delightful bit of sweetness and tenderness, but also leaned into the clever humour. My biggest thumbs up is that the songs were so clearly written to advance the plot, and while dialogue was used, the music had a clear purpose every time.
If I could give feedback, the internal logic of the magic was sometimes unclear or confusing. For example, do the two magic camps live in opposition with one another or are they two sides of the same coin?
On a related note I felt like some characters lacked a specific purpose or reason for their actions, the why of their choices was sometimes either lost or not clearly explained.
Overall, there’s something here that is calling me back and I’m excited to see what they come up with for fringe!
Animals Crossing Paths by Arianna Loy
I was delighted by this premise, with nods to Edwin Drood’s choose your own adventure ending, and an Agatha Christie style mystery.
I have to commend the charming Winona Myles as detective Mink, adding your own flair to the canon of fictional investigators is not an easy task, but I felt that I was really watching a new model of a detective that I had never seen before.
For the most part, I think this was a polished, strong show that I hope in the future will be a bit longer. I felt we needed more time to meet the characters and get to parse out their motivations, and maybe even have a few more red herrings along the way.
Joany by Molly Jamin
Joany really drew me in with the premise, and the clever way of connecting the characters.
The cast navigated the aging of the characters and the non linear storyline adeptly, although if this gets staged again (and truly I hope it does!), there may need a bit of work to polish the transitions as there were so many of them and they did feel a little clunky at times, and sometimes the stage detritus caught my eye.
While sibling relationships and indeed, sister relationships are often portrayed on stage, there are always so many unique dynamics of every single sisterly relationship, playwright Molly Jamin zooms in so effectively on sweet and mean moments that define these two so clearly.
With a little more time, I might suggest a bit more time to work on the accents, as there was a little bit of lapsing, especially in the longer monologues, but this was a performance that was very strong and a thrilling pace from moment one.
In Summary
My hat goes off to everyone at Between Words! To run a festival is hard enough but to do so while incorporating fundraising initiatives for the artists (over 100 this year!), and to have a full sellout several days before the event starts, while only their third year, (whew!) is an incredible achievement!
At time of writing, the festival is sold out. It is ongoing until June 7th, so if you want to catch something, head over to the box office as soon as it opens and get your name on the waitlist. It’s very possible you might be able to get in – and you really do want to!
