Fringe Review: Hanging by a Branch

At last! A beautiful sunny day! Thank goodness the sun came this weekend, because down at St-Laurent and Rachel, outside the beer tent, we’ve got the Art Marts, where I’ve already procured a ’70s vintage dress and two lovely scented soy candles. Last year, the poor market dwellers got rained on… Let’s hope we don’t have a sequel this year! (In other words, dear sun, please come out and play — to stay! — tomorrow as well.)

As soon as I got outside today I knew it was the day to go see the one show the rain’s been keeping me away from: Hanging by a Branch: A circus-theatre fairy tale.

See, Hanging by a Branch isn’t your “traditional” Fringe show, if we must use “traditional” to describe the bulk of Fringe shows. The journey began with a meeting at the garden outside the beer tent, where a fairy tale princess and the king of the forest, the Green Man, gathered our group of 20-odd Fringe-ers, handing out simple musical instruments and ribbons, and led us to the Dream Tree up in Parc Mont-Royal. There, the company — Penny on the Tracks — told a fairy tale with music, dance, theatre, and flying trapeze circus mastery.

I’d expected something magical from the gorgeous makeup and costumes I’d seen, and when I talked to company member Polina about the rainy week, she confirmed it. Remember how the rain’s been incredibly on-and-off, catching us all by surprise? Well, apparently it’s consistently been “off” whenever there was a Hanging By a Branch performance scheduled! This IS a tale about the beauty of nature, but I didn’t realize just how in tune with Mother Earth the team was!

Hanging by a Branch is probably the most positive, uplifting show at the Fringe this year. It’s a charming dose of magic, environmental awareness, and the art of storytelling. Yes, I said “environmental awareness” — but don’t worry, you won’t be hit over the head with any political messages. You’ll just have a great time and leave with a concentrated appreciation of nature’s infinite wisdom.

Penny on the Tracks is a new company that strives to bring circus and theatre together, and to share their works with the masses. Take to the streets (or the parks). As the show ended, the group invited any audience member with projects in mind to have a chat with them. The invitation is always open!

If all that isn’t enough: the show is also free.