When Andrew Bailey’s Brain Machine is Operating at the Victoria Fringe Festival 2024, Not Everything is Meant to Compute!

…but when it does, this brilliant play about the life and times of the narrator against society, machine learning (hence the title Brain Machine) and Life(tm) does have meaning in that strange Monty Python type of way.

Andrew Bailey's Brain MachineAnyone not familiar with Andrew Bailey‘s work may find Brain Machine disjointed and seemingly randomly transitioning from one story to another. It’s like those monologues one sees on a late night talk show, where the host can talk about anything, and audiences will laugh. Although I stopped watching these types of shows when Arsenio Hall’s show went off the air, this spoken word comedy caught my attention because I liked the title.

As a result, I paid more attention to his thoughts on the growth of Silicon Valley. Although he lived nowhere near, the stuff he had to say about the development of ARPANET to distributed data in a network and eventually the Internet, makes up one third of the show.

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Jon Bennett’s Ameri-can’t at Victoria Fringe 2024 Is Heartfelt Than Just A Rant

Whichever spelling people want to use to describe Jon Bennett’s Ameri-can’t or simply American’t, this show is about the can do attitude this comedian eventually decided to follow than not to be the success that he is!

American't Promo Card2Hoots Productions

When Jon Bennett‘s latest Fringe show, Ameri-can’t, hints at a performance about what the United States of America is incapable of getting back in control, that’s because what’s revealed isn’t too far from the truth. The reports he shows regarding gun control and limiting its use are spot on. And there are aspects he loves, namely the people and how lively the arts scene is here.

Even in 2024, there’s no denying the impact of the pandemic is still lingering around, and while some talents struggled to get by, he’s turned his experience into one rip-roaring, hilarious show that’s not without a message. Anyone who has experienced suicidal thoughts during this time should seek help, and his openness about it is truly eye-opening.

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Amit Solanki’s Spiritualarious is Back for Victoria Fringe 2022! One Hilarious Show Left!

Sometimes a good belly laugh is all you need to indicate that you’ve enjoyed Solanki’s show, whether it’s from this year or the last time he was in town.

SpiritualariousAnyone who missed seeing Amit Solanki’s Spiritualarious back in 2017 sees it again at the 2022 Victoria Fringe Festival. It’s very chuckle-licious (if that can be a word). That’s because this comedian who is also a Yoga teacher knows how to bring out a smile. In the original programme, “he’s taking the edge out of yoga and bringing the light on where we lost in the west and now east as well.”

In this year’s guide, this performance is described as “a show looking at the funny side of yoga in western society,” and I can pick up on how he’s refined this act so that audiences can laugh along. This update includes observations about everything that’s happened in his life then. With no surprise, he speaks about the pandemic; He talks about his time in India, where it’s a load worse, and yet he managed to survive through it all–including his parents wanting to see him get hitched.

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Ed’s Top Three Comedic Picks Coming to 2018 Vancouver Fringe Festival

Vancouver Fringe FestivalBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Fringe theatre enthusiasts need not fret! Just days after the Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival ended, not everyone is going to rest. The fun continues on the mainland, in Vancouver, BC!  This event has started and far be it from me to not plug both! I saw these three shows in the Victoria show, and these talents are certainly worth following! I offer my top three picks to look at in the stand-up comedy world. The titles will take you to venue and ticket purchases.

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