Halifax Fringe: Day 9

I started Day 9 of the Halifax Fringe Festival at the Neptune Theatre Scotiabank Studio Theatre to see Emily Lux’s play (Half) Sisters. 

We are introduced to Kerry and Helen in a café and quickly realize that they are meeting one another for the first time, despite the fact that they have the same father. At some point this father abandoned Helen, her brothers, and her mother, and then eventually remarried, and was a doting father while raising Kerry. This dynamic, understandably, creates a lot of resentment and frustration for Helen as the two women finally see each other face to face.

I was a little unclear about what tone Lux wanted to strike with Kerry, and whether she was deliberately written to be tone deaf for comedic effect, because, otherwise, I think the audience really connects to the scenario, and wants to sympathize with both sisters, but Kerry’s lack of empathy for Helen seems a bit over the top, especially since, simultaneously, she is the most desperate of the two to have a familial relationship with a sibling. I think it also might be helpful for Lux to keep in mind the constraints that the public locale of a café might provide for these two characters- how are they behaving and moving in a small space where they can easily be overheard, that may be crammed with other people? Having just gone through this myself, and having been in an eerily similar situation years ago with my own half sisters, I’d also encourage Lux to look into the legality around wills, to further ground the story in realism. 

Kaitlyn Thompkins and Trish Whitehead are giving passionate performances in this play, especially Whitehead, who starts out maybe a bit too hostile, but by the end of the play I felt that everything she said to her clueless sister was justified. This play really took me on an emotional journey, especially, of course, because I can relate to it so much. I think it has excellent potential and hope that Lux will continue to develop it.

(Half) Sisters at Halifax Fringe has closed.

Next I walked up to The Bus Stop Theatre to see Dan Bray’s play Tragedy starring August Van Meekeren as Will Shakespeare and Jessica Oliver as Annie Hathaway. This play is exactly what it purports to be in the Fringe programme. It is literally a short parody of the Stephen King story Misery, where the famous author in question is William Shakespeare. 

Dan Bray’s script is filled with references to Shakespeare’s plays, and his world surrounding the Globe Theatre; the characters speak in a fun mixture of Shakespearean and colloquial verbiage that fans of Bray’s work will be familiar with. For King fans this condensed little fringe nugget includes most of Misery’s most memorable moments- just the hits, if you will. Although, I think even for folks who have never seen or read Misery and only have a cursory sense of Shakespeare, this play is absurd and silly enough in its premise to appeal to anyone.

Jessica Oliver gives an amazing performance as the deranged Annie Hathaway, and August Van Meekeren creates a Will Shakespeare who is squirrelly and pompous, but who you still find yourself rooting for in this strange context. 

I don’t want to say too much because a lot of Bray’s play and his direction of it hinges on the element of surprise and subverting expectations, and this creates a very fun ambiance. There was a moment where the entire audience jumped. My favourite was a clever coordination between Shakespeare screaming and a lighting effect. 

If you have never been to The Villains’ Playhouse of Horror, as I have never been, this will be a good enticement for you to attend next time. 

TWISI Fringe Rating: Two Thumbs Up!

The Villains Theatre production of Tragedy, written and directed by Dan Bray, closes tomorrow September 7th at 5:45 p.m.

I went back down to the Neptune Theatre Scotiabank Studio Theatre for what is always one of the highlights of my Fringe Festival, to see Vincenzo Ravina, Halifax’s Actual Wizard, to see his sixth astonishing magic show: Actual Sorcery. Unfortunately, I can’t really tell you anything about it, as it is highly confidential. 

What I can tell you is that if you have already seen Vincenzo Ravina perform, I know you already have your tickets to this show, and to those who haven’t seen him: he is an actual wizard who knows how to do actual magic that leaves entire audiences blown away by a series of objectively, absolutely, scientifically impossible things they have witnessed occur in front of their faces. 

Ravina’s shows always have a clever and unique conceit about them, and Actual Sorcery is no different. The only difference about this show is that I’m sworn to secrecy about it. It is definitely a show that needs to be seen to be believed, and even then, you might have trouble believing your own eyes. I’ve found that it is fun to watch other people in the audience, especially those seeing Ravina for the first time, because their reactions are always the most spectacular. You won’t see more impressive magic anywhere else- not even in Las Vegas or some such place. Obviously, wizards live in Halifax. Elbows Up.

There is only one more chance for you to get in on the secret and to witness this outstanding feat of brilliant, skillful magicianship for yourself. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

TWISI Fringe Rating: Two Thumbs Jump!

Actual Sorcery closes tomorrow, September 7th at 3:00pm at Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Studio Theatre.

Then I returned to The Bus Stop Theatre to see Lee-Anne Poole’s new work How To Knit directed by Stephanie MacDonald. 

Poole begins onstage and she is knitting. Once the play begins she continues to knit, but she starts counting her stitches out loud. The play is described as “semi-autobiographical” in the description on The Fringe website, and, like her play Talk Sexxxy, which premiered earlier this year, I think there is a tendency for audience members to assume that it is entirely autobiographical, and so there is an inherent tension there between what is real and what is not. This is compounded by Poole’s frank, conversational storytelling style, that always sounds like she is confiding directly in you, and everyone else who happens to be in the space kind of drifts away. 

In How to Knit Poole speaks to us both directly and also in voice over, but I found the intimacy between me and the story, since I was still watching her sitting in front of me knitting, remained the same. Also, as in Talk Sexxxy, we are given a programme that contains the script of the play, so, if we wanted to, we could follow along. 

I found this play very compelling. The crux of it is that Poole has been learning how to knit, although her knowledge has sort of plateaued, and she is embracing that. But, she learned to knit, and continues to work on this knitting project in memory of her grandmother. When I write these words, and as Poole points out in the play, folks have a specific assumption about what that means in terms of their relationship: and yet this is where Poole subverts the audience’s expectations in a really interesting way. 

The play explores a specific kind of familial love and connection that is less commonly explored on stage- one that sits somewhere in between affectionate and traumatizing. How does grief and loss manifest in this space? What is the legacy that is left behind here? Our protagonist also explores questions of her own mortality and legacy, all while creating something that is visually brand new right in front of us. 

This is a beautifully written, gently told story from Poole that completely captivated the whole audience I was with at an 11pm show. I found there were elements in this story that were so different from my own experience, and then there were some that I could relate to viscerally. In both it’s very easy to empathize with Poole’s protagonist and to love and care about her. 

TWISI Fringe Rating: Two Thumbs Jump!

How To Knit by Lee-Anne Poole directed by Stephanie MacDonald closes tomorrow September 7th at 8:30 at the Bus Stop Theatre as part of the Halifax Fringe Festival.

Halifax Fringe runs from August 27th to September 7th, 2025 in venues throughout the downtown and North End of Halifax. For more information and to make your Fringe schedule please visit this website. All official Fringe venues are wheelchair accessible and have all gender washrooms. For Fort Massey Church, if you are a wheelchair user, please contact the Box Office ahead of the show. Each show has at least one mask mandatory performance. Grab a Fringe Guide at any of the venues for a handy way to follow along with all the events at the festival. See ya there! 

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.