This year, going on their 39th, Victoria Fringe Fest returned with over 35 shows from small creators across the country. As a reviewer I’m limited in my ability to see all of them, and as such, I have to base my observations on an extremely small sample size. This time, two out of three shows I saw were severely lacking, but I will acknowledge that this may not be accurate to the majority of the shows on offer.
1ForUOne4Me
If you’ve always wanted to see a clown in a lumpy pink jumpsuit scream in your face, this is the show for you. 1ForUOne4Me is a performance by comedian Leslie Cserepy where he swaps between doing one absurd task for himself and one for the audience. There is certainly originality involved, but very little of it is actually funny.
The most important element of comedy is timing, which Cserepy can’t seem to figure out. Unfunny jokes drag on too long with the hope that continuing long enough will eventually lead somebody to laughter. There’s an over-reliance on crass sexual humour, and Cserepy seems to think that if it contains the word “fuck” or is grossly sexual then it’s an automatic ticket to hilarity. One notable sequence was when he spent more than 10 minutes miming having raunchy porn sex with the actual earth, together with a bizarre house/dance soundtrack overlaid with gross sexual phrases.
The rest of the time was spent expressing his anger and rage at life’s perceived injustice, culminating in him literally screaming about the things he hated. It all came off as tedious and unimportant, like someone endlessly complaining about the guy who cut them off on the way to work. For a show that was supposed to be funny, the level of bitter anger was off the charts.
The only really funny moment was when a skit he had planned fell apart and Cserepy had to improvise his way out of it. He showed actual skill here, and I don’t know why he didn’t just make an improv show. It seemed like he didn’t have the confidence in his improv ability to think on his feet, and so his solution was to write an overwrought pre-scripted mess.
Another crucial element of comedy is reading the room and adjusting to crowd reaction, and this is why improv, or the ability to modify a script, is so versatile. Cserepy, on the other hand, seemed to have no idea how wearisome he actually was, and flogged his tired script until his audience could thankfully escape.
The Last 5.5 Years (not to be confused with the musical)
Written by Kayla Hart, this is a biographical story about the life of an individual severely suffering from OCD and her struggles to survive the pandemic and try to write a Fringe show. The problems began right away, when it became clear that the “performance” consisted of Hart sitting motionless in a chair and reading hesitantly off a literal script in her hands (according to Fringe, this show was accepted and put together in a month and “should be considered more of a workshop production”). Occasionally she would spice things up by rising and standing behind or beside the chair while she fumbled through her multi-page manuscript, before sitting down again a few seconds later.
The theme of the story was that despite her challenges, she managed to somehow overcome her OCD and perform a Fringe show. However, it was clear she was not ready. She has no stage presence and is extremely uncomfortable in front of a crowd. She had memorized nothing, so her nervous performance came across like an elementary-school talent show that parents are polite enough to applaud their way through.
The story was uninteresting and delivered with no dynamism or understanding of how to engage an audience. Hart has clearly had no acting training and is not a performer, and it seemed like all of this was a way for her to get free therapy and sympathy applause by a group of people trapped in a room with no alternative but to politely listen.
From her story, it’s clear that Hart has come a long way in battling her illness, and this has clearly been a triumphant journey for her, but this is a monologue that’s more suited to her counsellor than a Fringe show.
The Lady in the Fountain
After the first two duds, I was happy to witness a performance by Hannah Ockenden, where she tells a romantic adventure story set in the 1920s, revolving around an unexpected romance between two women in Italy and their attempts to hide a murder of passion. The story itself was short and simple, and Ockenden clearly had a strong understanding of theatre and engaging stage presence. Using a minimalistic stage with very few props, she used the space dynamically to tell an energetic story.
Ockenden had a surprisingly good Italian accent, and the characters she created were distinct and memorable in their delivery. The storyline leaned a little too heavily into the themes of sexual diversity and one-dimensional misogynistic males that oversaturate pop culture these days, but, despite this, it was a strong minimalistic performance that didn’t overstay its welcome. It told a simple story with excellent delivery and showcased Ockenden’s talent as a thespian.
Fringe celebrates small theatrical talent, and the quality there can be a bit of a gamble. While I think their audition and screening process would benefit from being far more selective, I respect the dedication to alternative theatre and breaking out of the constrictions of conventional theatre to present the audience with something more raw and expressive.
Correction: We initially referred to Fringe’s audition and screening process in this story, when in fact performers are chosen by lottery. We also spelled Hannah Ockenden’s name incorrectly. We apologize for the mistakes.