Independent thinking, abandoned child refugees and lovers

Shakespeare Crackpot

Doctor Keir Co (Montreal), Studio Léonard-Beaulne

Just when you thought the question about whether Shakespeare actually wrote Shakespeare was one of those arcane discussions that had finally been consigned to the Dumpster of literary history, Keir Cutler raises it again in this lecture-style, partly autobiographical and largely uninspiring comedy.

Turns out that the contrarian Cutler’s interest in disputing Shakespeare’s authorship of all those works (he does marshal some enticing arguments for his position) is at heart a rallying cry for independent thinking in the face of smug, conformity-loving academics who simply squelch any discussion of uncomfortable questions like the authorship one.

The show has a undisciplined feel, including an extraneous homage to his bright, ambitious parents and an account of how, on the path to a PhD, Cutler discovered that he’d score top marks only by parroting back to professors their own opinions. I don’t know about you, but my own, extended university experience completely contradicts the latter.

Fugee TWA

(Third Wall Academy, Ottawa), Academic Hall

Kill someone when you’re 14 years old, and your own life — likely now one of crippling selfhatred, anger and isolation — is in many ways over. Back up a bit to see why you committed the act and you’ll probably find it was almost predestined by events over which you had no control. That’s pretty much the case of Ivory Coast-born Kojo (Patrick Bugby),

OTTAWA FRINGE FESTIVAL Reviewed Thursday

a child soldier and orphan who becomes a refugee among other abandoned child refugees (eight other student actors playing multiple roles) and who sees his own life, once a joyful thing of family and tall trees and potential, shrink to almost nothing. The script by British playwright and screenwriter Abi Morgan is powerful, its execution by this ensemble of under-20 performers mostly well-oiled and passionate. There are problems — characters are not always developed; the high-pitched screams of one actor are painful overkill — but under director James Richardson, Fugee speaks to the heart.

Love is a Battlefield

Concrete Drops (Brooklyn, N.Y.), The Courtroom

Credulity meets manipulation in this gripping, twist-and-turn of a two-hander by fringe favourite Martin Dockery. He plays a lost, naïve soul attempting to record a demo CD by a beautiful, rich songstress played by Vanessa Quesnelle. They squabble, drink, draw closer together, move apart as it slowly becomes clear that there’s more of a back story here than first appeared. To say much more would be to say too much, but the back story soon becomes front and centre as events grow darker and the characters slowly open up before us. That Dockery and Quesnelle are married in real life adds another dimension to the drama and heightens its intimate, almost voyeuristic air.

The Ottawa Fringe Festival continues until June 26.

Tickets/information: Box offices and venues, 613-232-6162, ottawafringe.co