The 2015 Ottawa Fringe Festival is only days away. This week, Allan Mackey and Valerie Cardinal talked with some of this year’s presenters and pored over all the available material for all 56 shows at this year’s festival in order to decide the ten shows they thought were the most exciting and/or intriguing. From the 12th to the 16th, they’ll be highlighting those shows. Then on the 17th, we’ll talk about a few honourable mentions and give you a video preview of five local shows sure to entertain. Happy Fringing!
What are Inescapable and Bursting Into Flames?
Bursting into Flames is Martin Dockery’s latest solo show:
“A man makes a new life for himself after waking up (Surprised! Excited!) in Heaven. But as the afterlife stretches towards eternity, cracks begin to show in Heaven’s façade. And what started as a hilarious, madcap romp through the land of the dead, becomes a terrifyingly desperate bid for human connection.”
Inescapable is performed by Martin Dockery and Jon Paterson, directed by Vanessa Quesnelle and written by Dockery. Two friends find themselves trapped in a never-ending holiday party. How will they escape?
When and Where to See Inescapable
BYOV A – The Courtroom
June 18th @ 8:30 pm
June 20th @ 5:30 pm
June 21st @ 3:30 pm
June 21st @ 8:30 pm
June 22nd @ 6:30 pm
June 23rd @ 6:00 pm
June 24th @ 6:30 pm
June 25th @ 9:30 pm
June 27th @ 7:00 pm
June 28th @ 4:00 pm
When and Where to See Bursting Into Flames
BYOV B – Studio 311
June 19th @ 8:30 pm
June 20th @ 7:00 pm
June 21st @ 1:30 pm
June 23rd @ 10:00 pm
June 24th @ 9:00 pm
June 25th @ 7:00 pm
June 26th @ 11:00 pm
June 27th @ 9:00 pm
June 28th @ 1:30 pm
Why We’re Excited about Inescapable and Bursting Into Flames
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Martin Dockery; I greatly enjoyed the two other solo shows I’ve seen, The Bike Ride (2013) and The Surprise (2014). He also won a Best of Fest Award in 2012 for Wanderlust. Bursting into Flames promises to be a little different than Dockery’s usual; this will be his first fictional story. I’m excited to see how he applies his usual autobiographical style to something that didn’t actually happen to him.
In regards to Inescapable, I’m excited to see a two-hander written by Dockery after last summer’s Moonlight After Midnight. Fellow Fringe veteran Jon Paterson is the second performer in Inescapable, lending it even more star power; Paterson and RibbitRePublic won Best of Fest for Be a Man in 2002.