Fringe Reviews: Found & Lost, And God Created Woman, Penetrarium

Found & Lost: Goals for 2002, Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp, Kristin Fieseler, Alysia Woodruff ****½
inFluxdance’s title for their dance show about goals for the past reveals the ephemeral nature of its subject. Inspired from things lost and found, the collective does a great job of communicating these ideas theatrically. The choreography is not especially original, but the fact that they have managed to create an entire show that is always entertaining based on a few found objects and messages speaks volumes about their creativity. A mere sentence becomes more than a dance movement; it becomes an entire choreography. The most astute and subtle observation from inFluxdance is about how these lost and found items bring people from different ages, classes, and even times together for a short moment. A must see.

Found & Lost: Goals for 2002 plays at MAI, 3680 Jeanne-Mance, on the following dates:
15 FRI 16:45
16 SAT 23:00

And God Created Woman, Madeleine Twyman & Corey Baker *½
Hey guys, were you aware that there’s, like, sexism in the world? Oh, and racism too… This is the premise for Madeleine Twyman & Corey Baker’s And God Created Woman. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go beyond that. I’m getting a little bit tired of shows that treat me like I’m socially retarded. I’m way ahead of you on that one, so you’ll have to go further with it if you want to reach me. There’s a problem when “feminism” is actually regressive. It probably does not help that this show is ironically as subtle as an Axe commercial. Still, there is no doubt that Twyman and Baker are great dancers.

And God Created Woman plays at the EcoHosting Stage, 4119 St-Laurent, on the following dates:
15 FRI 23:45
16 SAT 19:00
17 SUN 12:45

Penetrarium, Theatre AcharneE ***½
NOTE: Penetarium is in French.
Thankfully, right after seeing And God Created Woman, I went to see Penetrarium. Yes, Theatre AcharneE is a proud, self-proclaimed feminist collective, and YES, they do take things further. The four actresses in this laboratoire theatrale truly surprised me with their talent. They don’t pull any punches in their satirical look at what they perceptively peg as our “It’s better than nothing” sexual generation. For example, one of the areas where Theatre AcharneE is ahead of Twyman & Baker is in revealing how we are all complicit in reinstating sexist and capitalist ideology. The first Fringe show I attended to get a standing ovation.

Penetrarium plays at the EcoHosting Stage, 4119 St-Laurent, on the following dates:
15 FRI 14:45 (2 for 1)
17 SUN 17:15