It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday

I'm always a little sad when Fringe comes to an end. For the 12 or so days that the Festival is one much of my time is spent in the Exchange (and now Osbourne Village and the Forks) seeing plays, wandering between play venues and queuing up for tickets and plays. And the quality of shows was so good this year, I wish the Fringe was on for another couple of days.

Of the 20-25 shows I saw, there was only one stinker (the previously mentioned "Blitz Kids," a play so bad my blood STILL boils). There were a couple of "mehs"; but most shows were good, very good and excellent.

One of the mehs was the highly tauted and critically praised "Gimbel the Fool." This play thoroughly bored me. I had a hard time (mostly because I didn't care all that much) discerning whether the problem was story or characterization.

Other fantastic plays:

Jake's Gift: We got advance tickets for this after it sold out its second performance of the festival. Peopl lined up for hours to see this and I doubt anyone left disappointed. I have never seen a Fringe show as emotionally charged as this one.

Bloodless: An original Winnipeg musical. Very smart, intelligently staged.

52 Pick Up: I'm aware of two previous stagings of this play at the Fringe, but Gemma Wilcox's version adds a more physical element. I loved the almost dance-like way the two actors picked up the cards.

Fruitcake: Rob Gee's show about his time as a psychatric nurse combines stories and rapid-fire poetry. We saw this on the very last show and I'm so glad we got tickets.

Blue is the Water: South African storyteller Eric de Waal comes to the Fringe every year and every year I go to his shows and I have yet to be disappointed. His voice is hypnotic.

Homeless: Autobiographical show about a young man's job at a homeless shelter. He weaves into the story his own faith story and abandonment of traditional Christianity.

Jerry Finnegan's Sister: I'm always nervous about seeing shows with people I know in them, but I liked this play quite a bit. I thought the direction was a little flawed, but I enjoyed myself.