The story is that a playwrite finds a suitcase full of family photo albums in an alley. He writes a play about the photos and makes the mistake of getting in touch with the family. They threaten to sue him if he uses their photos on stage.

This is both the background and the plot of the play Clark and I Somewhere Over Conneticut, for it is the most postmodern play I can imagine. I found the postmodernity charming, but it’s possible that you’d find it trite if you hate postmodernism. Highlights include:

• The sound and light technician sits at a table on the side of the stage and interacts with the actor.
• The play opens by the actor taking a photo of the audience, which is then projected onto the backdrop.
• Actions are used to signify characters/people.
• A story told by the actor is then retold by his friends and family as surreal and unreliable narrators.
• Some of the photos are kitsch of an overly-adored toy dog.
• It’s unclear what parts of the play are fiction, which are about the family in the photos and which are autobiographical about the actor.
• The actor spends most of the play in a bunny suit, just because.

The play feels kind of epic with a number of recurring threads and I was engaged throughout. I left the play with a desire to work out the “truth” in my head, as well as a realization that attempting to do so was futile. I’d recommend the play to anyone who is into postmodernity or experimental theatre, but don’t bother if your idea of good theatre is yet another Fringe comedy monologue.

Each show was given 2 minutes on stage to sell their show. Here are the previews I enjoyed the most:

High Life – Ryuzanji Company (Japan)

A Canadian play written in English translated into Japanese then performed in Canada by Japanese actors with surtitles. They’re doing two productions: one set in Ontario, one in Japan. I’m not sure whether it’s actually going to be any good, but it’s cool.

History: Deleted Scenes and Extras – Nile Saguin (Toronto)

Intelligent stand-up.

In And Out Of The Dark – Treehouse Productions (Toronto)

The program guide describes this as “physical theatre” and the actress does indeed have great physicality. But there was also a bunch of speaking going on in the preview. It made no sense but it was great.

Not Fit For Flight – Modern Myth Physical Theatre (Victoria)

Great avant-garde modern dance movement.

Nouns Are People Too – Dave Morris and Missie Peters (Victoria)

Spoken word improv by the top improv performer and one of the top spoken word poets in town.

Oh Winnipeg! A Surprising Musical Memoir – John Pippus (Vancouver)

The preview was a great little bit about learning to play blues harmonica, which Pippus definitely can do. I have no idea what the rest of the show is about (I hope not Winnipeg), but if you like blues harmonica…?

Today Is All Your Birthdays – Uncalled For (Montreal)

The preview was really high energy and made no sense but dropped all the right phrases to get my interest: “the self is a narrative construct”, “Large Hadron Collider”, etc.