\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"(Eric](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/the-Commensality-Project-credit-Eric-Roberts.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Eric Roberts photo)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Winnipeg choreographer\/performer Alex Elliott explores time-honoured rituals of food and family in her latest contemporary dance show, also paying homage to her father, who suffered a debilitating stroke.<\/p>\n
The 45-minute production, co-created with Winnipeg\u2019s Emma Beech, Justine Erickson and Andrew Jimenez Meija, sees antique lace tablecloths suspended against the studio walls, creating a cosy cocoon of inter-generational memory.<\/p>\n
Abstract modern dance isn\u2019t everyone\u2019s cup of tea, but this show offers both integrity and heart; it originally premi\u00e8red inside the St. Boniface Hospital kitchens.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also unapologetically meditative, allowing the ensemble to establish an evocative dreamscape for their carefully controlled, fluid choreography. The energy changes when composer Dasha Plett\u2019s electronic score, infused with multi-lingual voiceovers \u2014 how tos for preparing homemade French fries and pasta \u2014 breaks into more pulsating rhythms that provides welcome texture and contrast. More knitting together of these sections would create stronger cohesion; however, Elliott\u2019s flattened body lifted aloft at the end, as we hear of the \u201cone thing\u201d her ailing father could eat \u2014 buttery pasta \u2013 brings this truly moving work full circle, a tender ode to her parent, home.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Holly Harris<\/p>\n
COUCH SURFERS<\/p>\n
The Kinkonauts<\/p>\n
Tom Hendry Warehouse (Venue 6), to July 25<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e 1\/2<\/p>\n
What a treat to discover a fantastic short\/long-form improv troupe known to the scene but new to this reviewer.<\/p>\n
The Kinkonauts, a tight six-pack from Cowtown, were nearly telepathic in the way they played off each other and spun an hour of absurd, truly weird and cool group scenarios, absent all the assumptions and tropes of the Whose Line Is It Anyway? generation.<\/p>\n
And theatrically solid. Offstage shifts in story were led by small a cappella breaks that were even sweetly harmonized and the half-dozen performers all had their own superpowers: imagine an improv Avengers.<\/p>\n
The Warehouse is a big barn and one can only imagine what these artists could do in front of a huge house \u2014 a house they well deserve.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Lara Rae<\/p>\n
FALSE PROFITS<\/p>\n
Active Salad Productions<\/p>\n
School of Contemporary Dancers (Venue 7), to July 25<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e 1\/2<\/p>\n
This one-man show from Vancouver\u2019s Jeff Leard is billed as a comedy, but be warned: the laughs, while copious, are bitter and mostly of the \u201cif you didn\u2019t, you\u2019d cry\u201d variety. That is a compliment, as over the course of 70 minutes, the actor eloquently (sometimes profanely) rails against the one per cent in a bravura performance that sees him demolish trickle-down economics and eviscerate the ultra-wealthy.<\/p>\n
Leard (Sperm Wars) is an utterly magnetic performer with a coiled energy and a compelling physical presence. His eyes can glitter with avarice or with tears, as he portrays evil lobbyists or recounts the death of an oil refinery worker.<\/p>\n
The lighting occasionally works against the dramatic moments and the pacing gets erratic near the end, but it\u2019s saved by both some welcome silliness and real emotion. Well worth your hard-earned money.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jill Wilson<\/p>\n
MARTIN DOCKERY: FORBIDDEN CITY!<\/p>\n
Martin Dockery<\/p>\n
King\u2019s Head Pub (Venue 14), to July 25<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e<\/p>\n
Fringe favourite Martin Dockery (also appearing in The Review) is back with a bang, with the Brooklyn-based storyteller this time whisking audience members into China\u2019s Forbidden City on a trip he took with his \u201cbeautiful wife,\u201d Vanessa. As he treats his fans to another staccato word salad delivered at blistering speed, we hear about his malfunctioning audio guide, his love for cargo pants, and how the magic of YouTube has provided him with his own life\u2019s soundtrack.<\/p>\n
The intimate, 60-minute monologue is unevenly paced at times, despite the actor\u2019s take-no-prisoners energy that overrides even his overly repetitious false intros. However a \u201ctrigger warning\u201d of his own devising is clever and fun.<\/p>\n
The show is at its best when Dockery offers wry insights about human nature and the games people play, lagging at other times, such as more didactic stuff about China\u2019s Tiananmen Square and its former ruler, Mao Zedong.<\/p>\n
And ironically, a promised tale of his now eight-year old daughter\u2019s birth is squished into the end. More personal revelations like these would help humanize his performances, adding welcome ballast to the gale storms of comedy.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Holly Harris<\/p>\n
THE GAME OF BLUFF<\/p>\n
Susan Jeremy Productions<\/p>\n
West End Cultural Centre (Venue 26), to July 25<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e<\/p>\n
Brooklyn\u2019s Susan Jeremy comes from a long line of women gamblers, deftly portraying her mother and grandmother \u2014 and a cast of colourful side characters \u2014 in this touching one-woman show about playing the hands we are dealt.<\/p>\n
Jeremy\u2019s mother Cathy is poker obsessed to the point that it causes fractures throughout their relationship, of which Jeremy shares vignettes from childhood to present day, where her mother is now suffering from dementia. Meantime, Jeremy is trying to bet on herself and make it as a comedian and actor in New York City, then Los Angeles, then Vegas while trying to learn about her family, including Franny, the bookie grandmother she never knew.<\/p>\n
While Jeremy fully inhabits her characters \u2014 her mother\u2019s Queens accent is a feat \u2014 this piece would benefit from more emotional peaks and valleys (as well as losing an unnecessary bit of audience participation). Still, this is a beautifully written look at a complicated mother-daughter relationship, what poker took away and, ultimately, what it ended up giving back.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jen Zoratti<\/p>\n
HOW MUCH CAN YOU CHANGE FOR SOMEONE YOU LOVE?<\/p>\n
Randy Ross<\/p>\n
Asper Centre for Theatre and Film (Venue 10), to July 26<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc7e 1\/2<\/p>\n
Therapy is in session, and in this 45-minute slide show presentation, the audience is the therapist.<\/p>\n
The Bostonian author presents an abridged version of his recently published novel, The Squid and the Spaceman, while weaving in conversations about relationship theories and attachment styles.<\/p>\n
Throughout the show, Ross sprinkles in digs at inclusivity culture, the dating pool these days and his inability to maintain any meaningful relationship. In saying this, however, he does make sure to let the audience know about all the women he\u2019s dated, though the validity of the list of 20-some names is \u2026 unverifiable.<\/p>\n
The show concludes with a wallow in self-pity, which he immediately combats with words of self-affirmation and a plug for his book.<\/p>\n
Ross is a great orator, but the content of his show largely falls flat.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Tyler Hodgson<\/p>\n
HUMAN$<\/p>\n
Jurasco<\/p>\n
Son of Warehouse (Venue 5), to July 26<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e<\/p>\n
If you prompt ChatGPT for a 20-minute history of humanity, then sit back and listen to it narrate that history while staring at a photo of Donald Sutherland, you\u2019ll get the gist of this one-man spoken word performance from Beausejour\u2019s Wayne James.<\/p>\n
The dense historical opening is followed by a much-needed musical break with an acoustic cover of Willie Dunn\u2019s The Ballad of Crowfoot, a 10-minute 1968 protest song about colonial betrayal and Indigenous land loss. The song is well done and James shows real skill on guitar, particularly on the instrumental outro.<\/p>\n
From there, he moves into personal stories that go nowhere and lack a clear throughline, before closing with a rant about capitalism, climate change and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s certainly a feat to memorize content this dense, but it takes more than memorization to make a show. And, unfortunately, this one doesn\u2019t just need a point of view, it needs any point at all.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jeffrey Vallis<\/p>\n
THE MISTRESS OF WHOLESOME<\/p>\n
R-G Productions<\/p>\n
One88 (Venue 23), to July 26<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e 1\/2<\/p>\n
This is a three-person comedy about a mistress named Gwen who loses her lover when he returns to his wife Margaret because they\u2019re trying to adopt a baby. Things take a turn when a woman from the adoption agency comes to interview Margaret and her husband.<\/p>\n
At a little over its promised one hour, the highlight were local performers Rebecca Cooke, Cora Faste and Heather Forgie, who gave every ounce of their energy. Most of the comedic moments come from the delusional mistress trying to convince Margaret to help her keep the affair going.<\/p>\n
Playwright Jacob Appel fails to explain why Margaret is so unbothered that her husband has been cheating on her for 11 years, other than indicating she would rather be in the dark, plus she couldn\u2019t adopt a child alone. Beyond the laughs, we are left with a niggling feeling Margaret needs some fleshing out.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Tiago Resko<\/p>\n
WINNIPEG IS A LIE<\/p>\n
Portage and Mayhemnts<\/p>\n
Duke of Kent Legion (Venue 13), to July 25<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e 1\/2<\/p>\n
You won\u2019t be in any jeopardy when you come on down to be the studio audience at the city\u2019s newest game show, where two out of three answers are lies, much like TV\u2019s The Liar\u2019s Club.<\/p>\n
The setup to the 45-minute improvised comedy is that Clay Pasdejeune (Curtis Brown) is a once-famous broadcaster working his way back to the big time via hosting the game show on YouTube. Featuring a three-person panel of local improv vets, the sold-out opening night\u2019s theme was entertainment, with questions about historical facts, such as: Which Winnipeg musician\u2019s house did Bob Dylan once visit?<\/p>\n
The comedy stemmed from the quick, on-the-spot answers and interactions between the guests, whose unique personalities (Judy, promiscuous; Rahbynn, serious; and Mitch, laid-back) helped form their answers. Survey says not every joke was a winner, but the answers that hit the jackpot earned big laughs and no whammies.<\/p>\n
With rotating themes, questions and special guests each night, every show is different, so the price is definitely right.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Rob Williams<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CELINE & CHER: DIVINE DIVAS Marysia Trembecka John Hirsch Mainstage (Venue 1), to July 26 \ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e\ud83d\udc7e U.K.-based writer\/performer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811816,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-811815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}