THEATRE | Vancouver Fringe Fest serves up winners and losers at every level.

Granville Island Stage Building, Vancouver.

Expect high-brow, low-brow offerings, and everything in between at the 2005 Vancouver Fringe Fest. Here are just a few examples of what’s on offer.

High: Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer is serious. Fringe shows tend toward the comedic, so this is worth noting. It is a one-man show written and performed by South African, Peter Krummeck, and it’s about the life and times of real-life historical figure Dietrich Bonhoeffer – a German theologian and priest who participated in a conspiracy against the Nazis and Hitler. Bonhoeffer was caught and imprisoned as a traitor for much of the war.

Krummeck stands out as a legit grownup at Fringe, and is likely one of the most talented performers at the festival this year [’05]. His ability to invoke more than one character at a time is impressive, and on the whole, his turn as Bonhoeffer is both subtle and intense.

Krummeck is best known for his The Passion (which was written well before the Mel Gibson film stirred up controversy), and Bonhoeffer himself is just as heavy, if not as controversial.

There’s a little full frontal nudity, so be prepared.

Bonhoeffer performances take place at Lind Hall, Granville Island.

Low: Death By Promiscuity

If it weren’t a mere 15 minutes long, Death By Promiscuity might kill you. The show’s brevity is its only redeeming feature.

The play begs the question, ‘What would happen if everyone attending the same funeral was in love with the deceased?’ Intended to be farcical, it features a parade of sketch comedy caricatures (Brits, alcoholics, pirates, etc.), played by actors who seem exceedingly young and inexperienced (think high school talent show).

It might have been funny if it made any sense.

Give Death by Promiscuity a miss,but note that not all Venuette shows are quite as bewildering. The small venue allows for vignettes and shorts (none more than 30 minutes long) that provide a taste of what the Fringe has to offer, without the price or time commitment.

Venuettes take place on the BBW Pit Stage at the South End of Old Bridge St., Granville Island.  

Somewhere in between: The Wet Spots’ Big Ass Show 

The Wet Spots’ Big Ass Show invites you to “meet your kinky neighbours.” Torontonian duo John Woods and Cass King offer up a “sex-positive musical revue” that features cabaret-styled songs and a more-racy-than burlesque stage show that will either crack you up, or ick you out.

Woods and King are accompanied by a live band as they sing about bi-curiosity, anal, and more. Songs include “Bi-Curious George” and “Drunken College Same-Sex Experimentation”. The music varies in style (it’s a little bit country, a little bit rock, a little bit of everything) but it’s generally jazzy, as most musical theatre tends to be.

There are moments when the show falters, but The Wet Spots’ Big Ass Show is fairly polished. Particularly for a Vancouver Fringe offering. Wood and King are infinitely talented. But the real draw of this show is its total commitment to the shockingly taboo. Sex just isn’t a typical topic of conversation, or of theatre. The Wet Spots’ Big Ass Show puts it out there and in your face, and the result isn’t bad. Some might even call it hilarious.

The Wet Spots’ Big Ass Show plays on at Stage 9, Performance Works Theatre, Granville Island.

Versions of these Vancouver Fringe Fest reviews published in Dose, around the end of September, 2005. Clippings are below. Check out these additional Fringe reviews from the same year: Sparkle Bunny: The Last Raver Dancing, and Cannibal! The Musical.

Published in Dose, September 2005.

Published in Dose, September 2005.

Published in Dose, September 2005.