Having never attended a Fringe production before, I figured it was about time this hometown tourist took in some local theatre at this annual festival.
Life List by Alex Eddington is a storytelling walking tour performance starting at the Randolph Theatre and meandering through the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto. With clipboards in hand, audience participation is encouraged as we hunt for a rare white speckled robin spotted in the area.
We were paired off and given the task of recording all the birds we saw along our walk. Some of the crowd took this role more seriously than others.
At each brief stop Alex shared stories about his mother, who got him on to birding and continuing her life list after she passed, Spike his cockatiel with a big personality, and his childhood.
Andrew, Alex's ukulele playing friend, pops up every so often to add a little musical accompaniment and direction.
The somewhat frantic search for this little white robin brought us to back alleys, private gardens, parks and parkettes. My mum turned to me at one point with a huge grin on her face and said, 'I am completely lost!' One of my mother's delights in life is getting utterly lost and finding her way back. I think this was her favourite bit of the production.
Finally, a nest is discovered and all the stories and shared memories come together and the real message of the play is revealed. We have all lost someone in our lives and we continue to search for and miss them.
It was a very touching tribute to Alex's mother. I can't imagine the heavy emotion he had to go through for each performance. I was certainly moved by this seemingly light, little show.
Missed this year's Fringe Festival? Don't make the same mistake next year. Tickets are only $10-12 and this year there were over 150 shows. So there's got to be something for everyone! I'm going to be a Fringe head (is that a thing? I'm making it a thing) and go every year from here on out!
See you at Toronto Fringe!
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Wow, I've never tried or known about a walking tour performance before but it sounds so fascinating. I sometimes end up finding that I'm the worst at going to festivals and trying out things in my own area as it's so easy to take it for granted and often it's people from farther away who end up making me aware of such things!
ReplyDeleteIt is very difficult to find the motivation to go out and try new things in your home environment, like many things, it just takes practice.
ReplyDeleteI was a bit nervous about the 'audience participation' aspect of the walking tour performance, but it turned out to be brilliant.