is like
returning to summer camp, and the first day is a reunion of
comaraderie and comparison: hugs and a quick catch up with those
who've returned—staff, volunteers, performers—and a lament for
those who didn't; assessing changes around the Island and other

; continuing debates as though they ended yesterday and not
last September:

or

The Fringe, like camp, lasts just over
a week, and so conversations, friendships, decisions and activities
occur at hyper-speed, all revolving around
: the schedule for
the shows, the gossip, the predictions, the favouritism, the times in
between
. Part of my plan this Fringe was to limit the
number of solo shows I attended. After two fringe days and four
shows, I've failed. But I've got nine days left.

: an English prof
in love with Shakespeare and in love with his love of Shakespeare,
which is only a thin mask over his lost and failed dreams. C'mon,
we've all had one. This show was one of the first shows I saw at the
Vancouver Fringe seven years ago and is still totally engaging.

False Creek Community Centre: Sun. Sep. 12@17:30, Mon. Sep. 13@21:15. Wed. Sept 15@19:25.

: an inept Victorian
doofus becomes a sidekick to London's most notorious thief under the
mistaken belief he's actually a detective. Funny, some decent word
play and silly voices, but by 30 minutes in, it already felt long and
worn, and it runs a full 75. Not as good as last year's

Revue
Stage: Sat. Sep. 11@20:30, Tue. Sep. 14@17:15, Thu Sep 16@22:30, Fri Sep 17@18:50, Sun Sep 19@13:30
.

: the
most fun I didn't understand. A girlish Butoh clown mimes, sings,
dances under musical raindrops, plays eyeball tennis, uses a whole
roll of toilet paper for her bowel movement. Japanese performer

first came to Vancouver five years ago as an English
student, her first time out of Japan, and she admitted after the
show, she felt very more happy to return.

Performance Works: Sat, Sept. 11@6:50 pm, Mon, Sept. 13@8:30 pm, Wed, Sept. 15@7:40 pm, Thu, Sept. 16@5:00 pm, Sun, Sept. 19@8:00 pm.

House: an angry man in therapy, because
his mom is possessed, his dad is the saddest man, his wife is his
third cousin and hates him, his sister is in love with a dog. Jon
Paterson (from 2003's
Boy Groove) is a great performer all on his own, but the
resolution of this one...not sure.

Havana: Sat, Sept. 11@4:00 p.m., Sun, Sept. 12@9:15 p.m., Mon, Sept. 13@7:15 p.m., Wed, Sept. 15@9:00 p.m., Thurs, Sept. 16@7:15 p.m., Sat, Sept. 18@5:45 p.m.

By day three, last year's Fringe no
longer matters and it's time to focus on the times ahead. On my list
today:
52 Pick Up, A Brief History of Romantic Love, Fucking Stephen
Harper
, Wicked Shorts.