Rachel’s Rampage Reviews - FringeMTL 2026
Rachel Levine is the Editor-in-Chief of Montreal Rampage, where these reviews are originally published.
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Middle Child
Much truth is said in jest. Or perhaps, much trauma is processed in
jest. There should be a meme. I’m sure it exists. SNAFU’s The Middle
Child led the audience into some heavy territory — death — and did so
without even letting us know we were headed deeper and deeper into
unknown territory. The show is a journey and one that left me deeply
moved, even though I laughed the whole way.
In premise, the show is a funeral for the loss of the middle child.
Basically, with smaller families, the middle child is disappearing.
Three characters – the golden older child, the neglected weirdo middle
child, and the beloved attention-seeking baby – shoot a film to
explore their family dynamics with each other and their parents. The
audience is regularly called in to participate, which is part of the
seduction. An audition is held for the role of dad. We are told to
laugh or whoop during specific scenes. But underneath, this show is a
journey through life’s most painful experiences: death, bitter
divorce, alcoholism, body shaming, and separation. The three siblings
fight (as one expects) and love each other (as one also expects) while
still being unique individuals. It is a masterclass in ensemble
acting.
With high energy, inversions of expectations, and a hodge-podge of
storytelling and dramatic techniques that seem to come out of nowhere,
in the hands of lesser actors, this would be chaos. But SNAFU excels
at getting to that line of
how-far-will-they-go-before-this-makes-no-sense without ever crossing
it. Maybe they touch it for a moment, but this bacchanal happens
within meaningful parameters. The restraint, endurance, and confidence
it takes to sit at that point are borne of experience and a deep
commitment to excellence in performing. I’m so glad the team of SNAFU
is back with an innovative production that is captivating from
beginning to end.
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The Runaround: The Journey of Abel the Amish Misfit
Some shows at the Fringe could easily find their best home at improv
theatres or stages for stand-up storytelling, sketch comedy, and
theatrical productions. But some shows find their true home at the
Fringe. For example, an electronic hero’s journey, one-man musical
with a full cast of characters played by Stewart Alden Tabler using
audio looping, sequencing, and vocal processing.
The Runaround: The Journey of Abel the Amish Misfit is about Abel, an
Amish man whose sexuality and “creativity” are at odds with the
community he lives in. He acquires a phone and begins making social
media posts about his life among cows and barn-raisings, developing a
following. His posts attract the attention of a psychotic from the
“English” world, who arrives at the community schoolhouse with a gun.
While the criminal is forgiven, Abel’s proclivities lead to his
shunning, and he must figure out how to survive in yet another world
that rejects him.
For such a small show with very restricted movement as Tabler mostly
stayed behind his electronics, the show felt enormous. Tabler’s
gorgeous voice and emotional range, along with his audio samples
create a tapestry of people – a bishop, his mother, his father,
commentators on his posts, students. He sings his heart out with
passion and sincerity. Abel is a lovable character, slightly naive but
earnest. His intent to do good and still be himself is universal.
The lyrics of the songs are especially clever. I kept thinking of
William Finn’s In Trousers, a musical about a cis-man married to a
woman who comes to terms with his closeted homosexual orientation.
Abel has a signature pun on his name that he uses for each of his
posts and says things like, “Who says an Amish people can’t be
snatched”. All in all, this was a sweet show with a big heart.
One note, like a lot of musical theatre, Amish-ness is more a veneer
for Abel’s journey. Yes, Abel looks Amish and the context is an Amish
community. There are a mentions of Amish cultural things such as
rumspringa. The show draws on the tragic event of the West Nickel
Mines School shooting. But, culturally it sits about the depth of an
Amish romance novel. I suppose expecting more cultural nuance from a
musical is a bit much. No one complains that West Side Story doesn’t
reflect the realities of a Puerto Rican gang life in 1950s America
accurately.
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Jimmy Hogg: MASHED
If he hadn’t said it, I never would have known this show is brand-spanking new. It is. So get on it and brag that you’re among the first in the world to see it.
Mashed is about Jimmy Hogg’s journey from Plymouth to Rugby to see his middle class (British middle class, that is) university girlfriend while projecting cool. Since he comes from seedy Plymouth and is responsible for an outbreak of nits (lice in Canada), Jimmy has to double down on being cool. What is cool? Not caring. But also some posturing. He plays guitar, wears a thumb ring, grows his hair long, and half-sits on chairs. What isn’t cool? Caring. Revealing one’s interior life. Not being on. However, life has no problem throwing all sorts of spanners in the works, and this journey to meet the family proves no exception. Can Jimmy remain the sort of guy he aspires to be?
What makes Mashed and Jimmy Hogg’s entire repertoire of shows so engaging is him. He is a riveting storyteller who weaves tales in tales so expertly that even the last moment of the show is fully interconnected with all the others. His high energy (“I don’t drink coffee,” he says. “My brain would explode.”) and non-stop banter is electrifying. Jokes come fast and furious, relying on wry observations about life, people, and the situations in which he finds himself. As only people from the UK can do, he manages to tease while developing a warm relationship to his audience. Highly recommended show!
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Intrusive Thoughts
What do therapists think about during sessions? Show creator Andrea Thring gives a glimpse into what one particular therapist, Annie, thinks about — revenge. From battered wives to abused children, she fantasizes about taking the perpetrators of violence and giving them what they deserve: violent deaths. But Annie’s “intrusive thoughts” are rooted in her own experiences growing up. Her compounded traumas and wine-swilling, dismissive mother are good training for this secondary career extracting vengeance, even if only in her mind.
Intrusive Thoughts is a beautifully executed performance. Thring brings Annie to life as a curious child whose world is rich with magical thinking. We then meet her at different stages of life all the way to her role as therapist. Periodically, Thring takes on the persona of Annie’s mother who waves her wineglass to make flamboyant dismissals. As flawed as the mother is, she also seems a product of her own demons.
The physicality of the show borders on dance. The natural world of logs and creatures around young Annie is communicated by her movements. Her tormented face and awkwardly held elbows scream the discomfort she feels at being hugged by her stepdad. She scales trees, runs through creek beds, and enacts dramatic death scenes.
The heavy subject matter may not be for everyone (major trigger warnings for those who need them). The show doesn’t disguise or abstract the cruelty and unfairness that victims suffer. It doesn’t try to offer answers or hopeful endings either, which for most victims of violence and abuse is a stark reality. Rather, the show is a witnessing, and in witnessing there is the possibility of catharsis.
This is a beautiful and intimate show that poetically goes for the jugular.
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1-MAN NO-SHOW
At last, something registering high on the Alejandro Jodorowsky absurdity scale. Short bits make up an hour of balls-out insanity. OK, no balls were out. But Isaac Kessler definitely did some things with a Barbie doll and bananas that might qualify as high art at the right Bienniale (I’m thinking of Comedian from Art Basel Miami, but you’d likely have to see the show to understand my reference).
Kessler excels at interacting with the audience, whether it’s imitating their laughs or getting them to join him on stage for a coordinated dance without using any words. His trust that they will eventually do what he wants them to doubles the absurdist fun. There are ridiculous puns and slapstick, ridiculous costume changes, and ridiculous props, all used in the service of surreal comedy.
It’s Kessler’s shameless/fearless commitment to entertaining with a good dose of self-deprecation that easily brings an audience in on every joke. I couldn’t stop laughing and spent a good deal of time afterwards wondering where he sources his ideas. “Drugs and sugar,” was one shouted audience response to Kessler’s question about what causes pain. Perhaps those?
