Spanning three generations in a haunted drug trip of a story, this show was more psychedelic than I had anticipated. We got to see the past and future interact with each other in unusual ways.

Auguries of Innocence held two main highlights in my mind- the original music by Meshe Mooette was familiar in words penned by Blake himself and haunting in melody, the other highlight was in the portrayal of the male protagonist. The actor expertly delivered a physically demanding performance with precision and apparent comfort while acting out various stages of sobriety. 

Auguries of Innocence by Urthona Vancouver is playing at the Cultch Historic 6 - 16 September as part of the 2018 Vancouver Fringe Festival.

~ reviewed by Annina Engelbrecht

​Die Hard: the Musical-ish is another tight show from the people who previously brought the Hunger Games Musical Trilogy to the Fringe in years passed.
 
One of the cleverest aspects of this production is that they acknowledge at the outset that it’s rather ridiculous to be mounting a production of Die Hard on the kind of shoestring budget and barebones theatre space of Fringe. They deal with this by seemingly having writer, director, and producer, Mark Vandenberg talk to the audience directly, breaking the 4th wall, and basically explaining that they don’t have the budget to properly mount Die Hard: the Musical, explaining their hopes and ambitions for the show, and asking the audience for money to make these dreams come true. The show is punctuated by these very funny explanations of what they ‘would do’ if they had the budget.
 
This show is overall well-written and well-performed. It embraces it’s absurdity and has a lot of fun. The songs are overall strong, except for the first and last numbers, which are the weakest, and could easily be cut or parred down. They cleverly used hits from the 1980’s, with changed lyrics, so that thematically, as well as substantively, it held together.

Although sparse, the costumes and props were well-used. Even though most of the actors and actresses played multiple roles, it was always clear where we were and who was who (except in the opening number, which was confusing). I especially enjoyed the trio who played the 4 German terrorists, who really embraced the absurdity of the show and provided thorough laughs.
 
While I thoroughly enjoyed this show, I found the beginning to be somewhat unclear, and seemed to require knowledge of the source material.  Similarly, I found the multiple epilogues of the ending to drag an otherwise tight show. Mr. Vandenberg may want to consider transitioning at the hilarious “I guess that means everything’s okay now” line right into the ensemble number “We’re Not Kidding”.
 
Overall, a delightful show, even for those who dislike musicals. You won’t be able to keep yourself from being swept up by the charm and hilarity of this ensemble. ​

​Die Hard: the Musical-ish by District 13 Presents is playing at Studio 1398 on Granville Island 6 - 16 September as part of the 2018 Vancouver Fringe Festival. ​

~ reviewed by Vanessa Marshall