You go, gill: Check out some more fringe fest reviews

CAUSING A COMMOTION

Momentum Aerial & Acrobatic TroupeMTYP Mainstage (Venue 21), to Saturday

Directed by Monica Goermann, this lively show combines aerial circus arts, theatre and acrobatics to keep you on the edge of your seat. The young Winnipeg performers are talented, executing incredible and professional stunts; the graceful aerial silk artists, in particular, are mesmerizing. The storyline, though a great idea, has some shaky moments, but the overall performance — which was billed at 60 minutes, but ran about 45 — is sweet and fun. The show also features cute dance numbers that add charm. Crowd participation is an absolute treat for the kids, making it family-friendly, and the message behind the story is meaningful. Despite some initial storyline issues, the skilled performers and the captivating stunts make it worth checking out, especially for the little ones. With a bit of fine-tuning, it could be even better.

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Feeling fintastic with latest fringe fest reviews

ACK NOW

Theatre & PlayThéâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 3), to Sunday , July 28

Do you struggle with making your own decisions? Do you freeze up when the waiter arrives at your table? Do you ever wish a tech company could just make the choice for you? In Ack Now, Kim (Kim Kay) rolls the dice and signs up for a newfangled app that boasts anticipatory cerebral knowledge, a product sold by a pink-haired pitchperson (Alex Mutcheson) from Ignatius Industries. Once Kim clicks download, the app provides a friendly avatar (Zanifa Rasool), and soon, both versions of Kim are ghosts in the shell.

A comedy that zaps the common trappings of Fantastic Voyage to the brave new world of AI, this show would be vastly improved if it relied less on pop-culture references and allowed itself to lean more in the direction of techie children’s programming (Cyberchase). One kid in the audience clearly loved it, repeating the lines with glee.

Fringe fest reviews keep swimming along

THE BIG BIG IMPROV SHOW

Leap Before You LookAsper Centre for Theatre & Film (Venue 10), to Sunday

Why sit through one three-hour movie, when you can experience four never-to-be-seen-again flicks in an hour flat?

A revamp of the long-running Big Stupid Improv Show, this production from Stephen Sim features a rotating cast of well-known Winnipeg improvisers working with and competing against one another to create a compelling made-up narrative.

Hollywood reacts to Joe Biden exiting the presidential race

Hollywood was quick to react to the news that President Joe Biden was ending his bid for reelection and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.

Barbra Streisand, a Democratic supporter, wrote Sunday on X that “we should be grateful for his upholding of our democracy.” While many paid tribute to Biden’s presidency, others wondered about the future.

Cher wrote on X that she was “tortured” because she doesn’t believe the Democrats could win without Biden. She said it was time to think “way outside the box” and proposed a split ticket.

In recent weeks, several high-profile Hollywood names had begun calling for Biden to exit the race. Just weeks after headlining a record-breaking fundraiser for the president's reelection campaign, George Clooney wrote a New York Times opinion piece calling for Biden to end his bid.

The tide of Fringe Fest reviews is not going down

THE GET LAID SHOW

The Other V Name ProductionsDuke of Kent Legion (Venue 13), to Sunday

Going by “V,” fringe vet Veronica Ternopolski shoots for a wild, raucous fringe experience in the intimate – some might say cramped – confines of the Duke of Kent Legion. V invites consenting adults to play games designed to open you up to relationships with new people. She employs a whiteboard spelling out the tenets of responsible mating: Participation, Risk, Vulnerability, Honesty.

If you go in knowing she’ll be polling patrons on their sexual histories, the bold extrovert may be happy to oblige. (All others beware.) Indeed, she takes up much of the show sharing her own sexual history, told through the device of an egg collection with each ovum representing a past lover, the best part of the evening.

These are better than catch and release: Check out some more fringe fest reviews

AWOL

RibbitRePublic Theatre

King’s Head Pub (Venue 14), to Sunday

🐟🐟🐟 ½

Freshly-picked fringe play reviews

AIRBORN(E)

Alien Dreams Production

Centre culturel franco-manitobain (Venue 4), to July 27

🐟🐟🐟 ½

Snag yourself more fringe play reviews

Between Gigs Tickle the Lemur Productions Rachel Browne Theatre (Venue 8), to Sunday, July 28 There are tens of dollars to be made in the world of musical accompaniment, Vince (Joseph Aragon) tells Moira (Heather Madill), a singer who never dreamed of becoming a soloist. For years, Vince has been slapping together multiple streams of income to keep his melodic dreams alive, writing private opuses and corporate hold music. “Compose eight bars and you loop that shit,” he says. Vince needs a voice and, in Moira, finds one who can sightread right as wedding season is upon him. A duet […]

In Kyiv, music fans rub shoulders with generals and famous artists, united by the inescapable war

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — This year, Ukraine’s largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Instead, the country’s most beloved local artists graced the stage this past weekend at the Atlas Festival. The stage was erected on a shopping mall parking lot, the only option that contained a shelter large enough to contain the 25,000 people that that organizers expected in the event of an air raid. Carefree youth rubbed shoulders with hardened military commanders and famous singers who crooned songs imbued with national pride. […]