Day 3 of the Fringe

To celebrate Day 3 of the Fringe, I saw 3 shows back to back to back.  That wasn't intentional on my part, but I really wanted to check out what was going on at Video Cabaret (and to see anything I wanted to see there at one time), and the timing worked out well.  

This is the only official Fringe venue east of the Don.  I was told Crow's just wanted too much money.  I'm trying to remember if Soulpepper was part of Fringe before.  I definitely remember Tarragon and TPM being much more central to Fringe in the past.  (And I'm quite sure the Fringe patio was much further west, first in Mirvish Village, and then after that was torn up, either at the skating rink area behind the library at Bathurst or near Trazac.  Now it is tucked away in the Distillery and frankly is absurdly tiny...)  Interestingly, TPM pulled out of Fringe, but then someone came along and put up a whole bunch of musicals there and linked them back to Fringe.

Some years there have been several site specific shows in the East End.  I didn't notice that there were that many this time around, but I didn't look that hard either.  (It looks like there is one show up on Danforth near Chester, which I might check out.)

The shows I was seeing were #1 Clown Comedy, Very Shady Arab Ladies, and Jimmy Hogg: The Potato King.  

I was able to bike over from work just after 6.  I had time to get over to stop in at Queen Books (sadly the book I was looking for had sold out), Craig's cookies and then got in line.

I happened to run into Nina Kaye, who was one of the writers of #1 Clown Comedy.  Our paths crossed a bit at Sing-for-Your-Supper and Toronto Cold Reads, though we weren't super close.  In terms of other celebrity sightings, I ended up sitting next to Peter Tabuns, who is MPP for the district.  (He actually came out to my Fringe show in 2018, as it was one of the very few shows in the East End that year.)  

After the #1 Clown Comedy, I had a chance to chat with Nina a bit more and one of her friends.  We talked a bit about the fact that Video Cabaret really isn't doing the History of the Long Boats any longer and may or may not return to that.  It's really a shame that they never got the funding to record the full series in a proper way, though I imagine they may have archival copies.  We stopped in briefly at a pub, but I had to get back right away.  I mentioned that I was thinking of doing something like Sing-for-Your-Supper East, and she thought that was a great idea (though it means I now need to follow through).  We agreed to get back in touch after Fringe was over.

The #1 Clown Comedy was very funny and got positive reviews.  It looks like there are 4 or so shows left, so go check it out.

I had mixed feelings about Very Shady Arab Ladies.  I was surprised Glenn Sumi liked it a fair bit.  I liked bits of it, but some parts dragged, particularly the running around in the underground tunnels.  And the jazz-playing cops were an interesting touch.  What this reminded me of the most was one of George F. Walker's stranger plays (Beautiful City).

I had basically an hour between this play and Jimmy Hogg, so I did go over to Eat BKK Thai around the corner.  I have not been disappointed at this location, though the one on Bloor near Bathurst once served me a terrible meal, and I haven't been back.

It's good that I managed to eat something, as long stretches of Jimmy Hogg's show were about food preparation, and how he would never again date a woman that turned up late, resulting in spoiled risotto.  This was quite polished and a very entertaining show.  It is basically sold out, though there is a good chance they will add a Sunday show as a Patron's Pick, so keep your eyes out.

However, the evening was definitely spoiled a bit when I picked up my bike and realized someone had nicked the front light.  Come on, Toronto.  Do better!!!