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 is WEIRD: The Witches of Macbeth
Three sisters, caught in a destructive cycle of sibling rivalry, exploring the story of Macbeth from their perspective. In a ground-breaking form of storytelling, WEIRD opens up vertical space as the witches climb, twist, and move through aerial silks, using them to conjure haunting forces within the play.
A multi-disciplinary show that blends original text and storytelling with circus arts, stage combat, and original music.
Performed by: Lindsay Bellaire, Lindsay Sippel Eitzen, and Emily Hughes.
Where and when to see WEIRD: Witches of Macbeth
Venue 3: Academic Hall
June 19th – 9:00pm
June 20th – 11:00pm
June 21st – 1:30pm
June 25th – 7:30pm
June 27th – 9:00pm
June 28th – 3:00pm
Why we’re excited about WEIRD: The Witches of Macbeth
Between Wicked and Maleficent, witchy reimaginings are all the rage these days, so it only makes sense to look at a trio of Shakespeare’s most popular witches and hear the story from their side.
What makes this show truly special is in how they’re choosing to tell their story blending text with music, stage combat, and circus arts (such as aerial silks). When it comes to the festival circuit, one should always be looking for that show that’s really working outside the box and bringing something different. I could also have chosen Damaged Goods to feature for this reason – as this year’s only dance show, but I think the Witches of Macbeth corner the market on original as well as in bringing new life to characters from a well known, beloved play.