Thoughts From Night Zero - July 17, 2019
Here are my thoughts as we await the start of the Winnipeg Fringe later tonight.
1. The Pantages Playhouse is no longer a Fringe venue. Venues 3 and 4 have moved to the former Globe Cinema, which is right next to the Prairie Theatre Exchange on the third floor of Portage Place. Hopefully the strong attendance at the two PTE venues will help boost the attendance at the Globe Cinema venues.
2. There are 13 repeated shows at this year’s Fringe, which is less than last year. Groups usually repeat shows because they’re doing a national tour or because their new show isn’t quite ready. Four shows are repeated from last year, including Josephine, which is back for the third consecutive year.
3. After a few years away, Chris Gibbs is back at the Fringe with Not Quite Sherlock. It’s about a bumbling detective and this is the same show he did in the mid 2000s, under the title Antoine Feval.
4. Even though there are a lot of familiar faces at this year’s Fringe, including TJ Dawe, Martin Dockery and Chase Padgett, I think much of the excitement at this year’s Fringe will be coming from the many new faces. Some of them will present really good shows and some will probably be lacking. I always look forward to seeing new groups impress me with imaginative and widely creative shows.
5. There seems to be a lot of shows in the horror/ghost story genre at this year’s Fringe. I count 7 shows, and some of them are even comedies.
6. There seems to be more magic shows this year. I count 7, which seems like a lot.
7. So far, only 2 shows have cancelled their entire run — Studio 76 (Venue 2) and Singing Without Ears, Randy’s Farewell Tour (Venue 11).
8. I’d like to introduce you to our team of reviewers — Kevin Longfield, Terry Moor and Cindy Murdoch. Every day, we will have new reviews and insights from the Fringe on umfm.com.