I was able to kickstart my 2025 Halifax Fringe Adventure tonight at the Opening of Matchstick Theatre’s production of Michael Ross Albert’s play The Huns, which plays at the Neptune Theatre Craig Boardroom until September 7th as part of the festival.
This play is set in a boardroom at a tech company so the venue choice here could not be more perfect. We watch the three characters who huddle around a conference call at the boardroom table from chairs on risers arranged on the far side of the room. The first thing that Gil Anderson does when entering as Iris, who is running this meeting, is she turns out the “house lights” and turns on a multitude of softer lamps that illuminate the space. Iris has gathered her colleagues Pete, played by Liam Fair, and Shelley, played by Katerina Bakolias, together with representatives from all their other offices scattered both across the United States, and in Canada and the UK to discuss a serious issue: a break in at their main office the evening before. Five laptops have been stolen, and it turns out that this has surprisingly serious ramifications.
As the play progresses we see that Iris has an ulterior motive, and she is using this meeting as a pretext to show off in front of the international colleagues, and, she hopes, the CEO showboating how diligent she is and how painstakingly she is able to overachieve in even the most mundane tasks. Her main antagonist is Shelley, a temporary contract worker, who seems to be much more effortlessly (and quietly) competent and efficient. The more desperate for recognition and approval Iris becomes the more the meeting careens off the rails, and both Pete and Shelley get caught up in reckoning with how much the soulless daily grind is starting to wear on them as well, especially against a backdrop of a culture that glamourizes “the hustle,” and also is less and less equipped to normalize a life where folks aren’t necessarily following their dreams. Sometimes you just want to be able to afford “the good cheese.”
Director Jake Planinc has done an exquisite job casting this play. Katerina Bakolias is easily likeable as Shelley; she has a down to earth and placating demeanour with her colleagues, and I think the audience is quick to empathize with her, which pays off in spades as the play goes on. Liam Fair’s Pete is anxious for this meeting to end, and Fair does an excellent job of both deferring to Shelley and Iris, who are both his superiors, while also choosing advantageous moments to throw around the innate power he has from simply being a straight white man. He oscillates as well between seeming both quite young and frenetic, and tired and cynical beyond his years. Gil Anderson’s Iris has an absolutely hilarious “professionalism” façade that she keeps trying to hide behind, but she cannot maintain it given the level of chaos that has rained down on her. Iris is the exact opposite of Shelley: high strung and overeager, and Anderson really milks every ounce of comedy from this high stakes scenario.
Planinc has also done an incredible job creating the technical aspects of this play. Every single aspect of the conference call, from the way the characters dial in, to the various shenanigans they encounter from the folks in other offices who are also on the line, the realism lends itself to a lot of the show’s comedy, and also gives the audience an even more vividly immersive experience.
I feel lucky that I do love the various things that I do, and I have never worked in an office setting before, but I found it very easy to relate to the themes that Albert is raising here both about the perils of burning yourself out, especially where you’re not appreciated, and also, conversely, the perils of being so checked out and bored at a job you don’t care about that you’re questioning the very point or value of your own existence. The Huns explores these pertinent themes in a way that is nimble, hilarious, and very much fun to watch.
TWISI Fringe Rating: Two Thumbs Jump!
The Huns plays at the Neptune Theatre Craig Boardroom (1589 Argyle Street, Halifax) as part of the Halifax Fringe Festival and Mayworks Kjipuktuk/Halifax’s Momentum series. The show runs until September 7th, 2025. Performances run Tuesday to Sunday at 7:30pm with 2:00pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Enter the Scotiabank Studio Theatre entrance, walk to the back towards the bar and the washrooms, through the doors toward the Windsor and Imperial Studios, and there is an elevator that will take you up to the Boardroom from there. Only Enter the Elevator with a Volunteer or you might get stuck!! Tickets are $22.43 and are available here. Seats are extremely limited for this production, so I suggest that you buy your tickets early. The venue is wheelchair accessible- please email matchsticktheatre@gmail.com to let them know if you need accommodation. For more information about the Halifax Fringe Festival click here, for more information about Mayworks Kjipuktuk/Halifax click here, and for more information about Matchstick Theatre click here.
A Note On TWISI Fringe Ratings:
I have never liked rating Fringe shows, or any shows, using the 5 Star system as I have done in the past, so I started doing something new. From now on I will just be highlighting what I think are 4 or 5 Star Fringe Shows. A Two Thumbs Up Rating equals roughly to 4 Stars, while A Two Thumbs Jump Rating equals 5 Stars. I have stolen (with permission) “Two Thumbs Jump” from my friend Lenny Clayton, who is awesome, who came up with this phrase when she was a young kid reviewing films on YouTube.
