Tag: Rod Peter Jr.

Kitt & Jane visits the 2018 Victoria Fringe Festival & The Apocalypse! A Review

null24By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Location:
Langham Court Theatre
805 Langham Crt
Victoria, BC

Remaining Shows:
Sep 1, 10:00 pm
Sep 2, 2:30 pm

Kitt & Jane is quirky enough to make me wonder if co-creator Ingrid Hansen also drew inspiration from Disney’s Star vs The Forces of Evil. If this cartoon ever gets made into a live action film, I feel she should be cast! The efforts she put into the characters she plays is unfettered and unique. She co-created this show with Kathleen Greenfield. The subtitle to this work is An Interactive Survival Guide to the Near-Post-Apocalyptic Future and I can see where the interactive comes in (more on this later). Other shows this play drew influence include Gravity Falls and Adventure Time. I feel Star is closer to this play than the others when considering I have been recently watching too much of this toon during DisneyXD’s free preview month.

This show is perhaps the most technically extravagant. In between the projection work, lighting effects and musical performances (including a real live streaming event; folks can follow along on #kittandjane. Just where it can be streamed, I could only find older streams than the latest), the tale between two prepubescent teens is especially poignant. I noticed the growing relationship more than the other story beats. Kitt (Hansen) believes the world is coming to an end, and the boy who stands by her side (oddly named Jane, played by the incomparable Rod Peter Jr.) is with her thick and thin!

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The War of 1812 Hits the 2018 Victoria Fringe Festival, and it’s a Hoot!

War of 1812 1008By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Location:
Langham Court Theatre
805 Langham Ct.
Victoria, BC

Remaining Showtimes:
Aug 31 7:15 pm
Sep 01 12:00 pm
Sep 02 8:15 pm

Wes Borg, Morgan Cranny, Mike Delamont, and Rod Peter Jr. need to teach Social Studies! While I can find them performing at the Victoria Fringe Festival, I have to wonder how they can handle a classroom of attention deficit youths. Back when I went to high school, I found Canadian history boring. The War of 1812 gets unpolitically correct. No one is being blamed for how it started, but to see how all three sides (Britain, USA and Canada) dealt with the annexing of trade was explored in comedic context. With this heavyweight of comedic talents—all of whom are well known in the Victoria, BC theatre scene—I can ace any final exam!

I am not sure how accurate the information in the “historical reenactments” is, but this comedic revue had a lot of moments which made me laugh out loud. There were cross-dressing and innuendo. To witness how this country was built certainly puts one song from Jefferson Starship to shame. While it’s easy to build a city on rock and roll, what about the politics and businesses involved? There were pointed shots which I loved. There was never a moment which did not have me in stitches.

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When this show started with a student (played by Borg) giving a presentation (it was obvious he had no sense of patriotism) and faster than anyone could say Charles Dickens, he gets visited by the ghost of Pierre Berton and they go back in time to learn how this country was made free. After several battles, role switches and home invasions, this boy gets it. I doubt the adults in the room (the audience) needed reminding, but to see two burly men, an average and one thin figure (Peter Jr.) just have fun made my night. There was singing and clapping, and even wiffle balls being thrown. The gang was not intentionally tripping each other up; I saw moments where giggles had to be stifled.

Borg’s artistry is infectious. He and Paul Mather originally wrote this work back in the late 90’s, and this show has seen revisions over the years and infrequent performances. It was an all musical production back in the early days, and just how much of it was revised requires knowing how the past versions looked. YouTube is great for looking some iterations up. With this new version, I empathized with the wrapping narrative. Plus, I want to see this show (and see Delamont in drag) again. Borg’s lyrical stylings are comparable to that of The Arrogant Worms. Both are similar in content, but to say I love to see all Borg all the time requires paying full attention to what goes on in the theatre scene. Yes, I have been assimilated.

5 Stars out of 5

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