2019 Archives | Otaku No Culture

[VFF2019] Quoth the Raven, Nevermore! The Musical Returns to Victoria

Nevermore! The Musical in Victoria, BC Location:
Metro Studio Theatre
(Fringe Venue 3)
1411 Quadra Street

Remaining Performances:
Aug 25 08:15 pm
Aug 28 05:45 pm
Aug 30 10:45 pm
Aug 31 09:30 pm

It’s very rare for me to get to see Nevermore put on by different theatre companies. It was first performed back in 2009 by Catalyst Theatre in Alberta and since then, other versions have popped up. Both gained accolades. Back in 2011, Urban Arts (defunct now) offered a Halloween thrilled spectacle recounting the life of Edgar Allan Poe. This company got permission to perform in the old courtroom in Bastion Square–the oldest part of Victoria–to give this show a special ambience different from a stage production. Because of the set, the life and times of this seminal poet, madman and architect of the macabre was center stage; audiences had the freedom to be either courtroom visitors watching or jurors waiting to cast a verdict on this person’s life.

At Intrepid Theatre‘s Metro Theatre, the 2019 Victoria Fringe Festival version has the benefit of proper stage lighting and a misty setting to give the performance a different vibe. It was more gothic. This version by Hapax Theatre stars Elliott James as Poe, Sasha Moriarty-Schieven as the Mother, Keeley Teuber as Muddy, Lara Hamburg as Elmira, Abby Corpus as Virginia and Ingrid Moore the Whore. Watching the ghosts this author faced as they descended upon him was thrilling. This setting gave a different point of view; we are looking through the looking glass at what Poe faced. Torment came at him in many directions, including us as one spirit appeared mid-audience and descended onto the stage. The people he saw were indeed etheric.

Continue reading “[VFF2019] Quoth the Raven, Nevermore! The Musical Returns to Victoria”

[VFF2019] Timeline for Homo Sapiens, A Review

Homo Sapiens Location:
Victoria Event Centre
(Fringe Venue 1)
1415 Broad Street

Remaining Shows:
Aug 25 07:00 pm
Aug 28 05:45 pm
Aug 30 05:00 pm
Aug 31 12:30 pm

It’s rare to find an act in any Fringe Festival that is more educational than it is entertaining. Timeline for Homo Sapiens is billed at a T-Edge talk, an irreverent non-academic intellectual redneck look at prehistory. Freeman the Handyman is a street polymath that looks at the growth of civilization through the lens of an amateur anthropologist, biologist and geologist who loves to talk. All the ideas are worthy of a Travel Channel or DTOUR network special. It’s all about alternative theories exploring how we evolved and arrived to what we are today (and what we are doing to this planet). To be offered material much like how Erich von Däniken posits the development of ancient civilizations is a show I had to check out.

Continue reading “[VFF2019] Timeline for Homo Sapiens, A Review”

[VFF2019] Battery Operated Boyfriend, An Analysis & Review

Battery Operated Boyfriend Publicity Still Location:
Victoria Event Centre
1415 Broad Street.

Remaining Shows:
Aug 24 4:30 pm
Aug 28 7:45 pm
Aug 31 4:30 pm
Sep 01 5:00 pm

A lot of themes are explored in Giant Nerd Australia‘s Battery Operated Boyfriend, which is making its North American premiere at the 2019 Victoria Fringe Festival. Please check this performance group’s Facebook page for future dates. In what you’ll see is a very in-depth look at loneliness in the eyes of Samantha (Nicol Cabe), a scientist/computer programmer. She lost her beau many years ago and programmed a facsimile of him–an artificial intelligence (Steve Brady) aptly named B.O.B.–to cope. While android technology is unknown in this minimalist sci-fi world, I get the sense that technology is advanced enough to allow for space exploration. Also, smart homes are a lot more common. Continue reading “[VFF2019] Battery Operated Boyfriend, An Analysis & Review”

The Vintage Tempest’s Nerdy Picks: Victoria Fringe Festival 2019 Edition

August 21 to Sept 1
Victoria, British Columbia

Summer in Victoria, BC can never feel complete without going to the Fringe Festival! This event has been defining the local arts scene for the past 34 or so years now with its unjuried selection of local and travelling acts. I always gravitate to the nerdy type shows, and to get my zombie on does not always happen every year. Intrepid Theatre, the organizers, cemented my love for their show with Z-Day: The Anthem for Post-Zombie Apocalypse by Jay Mitchell. I’m thankful some of that past is preserved on Youtube, but that’s not why I keep going.

Continue reading “The Vintage Tempest’s Nerdy Picks: Victoria Fringe Festival 2019 Edition”

The Vintage Tempest’s Top 5 Favourite News from SDCC 2019

Homo Sapiens — By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Attendees go to San Diego Comic Con 2019 for many reasons. For some, it’s all about the networking potential to get their feet in the door of the comic book industry (plenty of panels exist to learn from the best). For the casual fan, there’s the crazy shopping experience or discovering new works they have not heard about.

Others want to hear the latest news then wait for the online recap and then there are the special screenings! After parties goes without saying and just nerding out there is the reason some go. However, I was torn as Fantasia Film Festival and SDCC overlap. Looking at both shows remotely was my choice.

Those people curious in what I’m excited for, here’s my top five geek out moments. Sorry Marvel, but I’m not super excited for your Phase 4 action just yet. Black Widow, Loki, and Doctor Strange 2, yes. Everything else, I just do not know.

The following is what I want: Continue reading “The Vintage Tempest’s Top 5 Favourite News from SDCC 2019”

Free Comic Book Day & May the Fourth! Ed’s Top 10 Picks

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

For the best picks, please arrive at your local comic book store early. Each title offered is while supplies last.

Today is Free Comic Book Day and May the Fourth Be With You! It’s not every year where the several major geeky events take place. This particular one is a somber one as Peter “Chewbacca” Mayhew passed away. This gentle giant of a man will be missed. #RIP.

Fans of Star Wars should take a moment, if they have not already, to remember Mayhew, this weekend. I may need a tissue when I read the comic featuring Chewie and Solo in an all-new adventure in a galaxy far, far away. The style has me thinking it’s on par with the Resistance animated series, and that’s okay.

For this particular weekend, it’s also Wizards of the Coast‘s official War of the Spark release and Open House Weekend where card game enthusiasts can either partake in the latest set or learn how to play.

My plan is to enjoy a bit of everything. The morning will be picking up the comics, the afternoon will be a few rounds of the card game (drafting the set or playing with free packs; I haven’t decided yet) and the evening plan is a viewing of the definitive fan-edit of Empire Strikes Back a good friend says he has.

In no particular order, my picks are:

(W) Jeff Lemire, Ray Fawkes, Jody Houser
(A) David Rubin, Ibrahim Moustafa (CA) Chun Lo

Tales from two diverse worlds!

In Stranger Things, Eleven and the Demogorgon have disappeared from Hawkins, IN. Steve and Nancy try to cheer Mike up, encouraging him to get the adventuring party back together again.

Then, in the world of the Eisner Award-winning Black Hammer series, Madame Dragonfly takes the reader on an EC-style tour through her mysterious Cabin of Horrors to witness two groups of brand-new Black Hammer heroes from the past!