Review: The Journey is Not Done Quickly

Okay, so maybe the old adage of waiting a day before sending a nasty email should also be extended to Twitter. For after sitting through Midnight Hotel’s production of The Journey Is Not Done Quickly last night and thoroughly not enjoying the performance I couldn’t wait to get to my iPhone to Tweet about this mess.

In hindsight, I probably should have calmed down a bit and thought some more about the show, the performances of the two actors and perhaps what it was trying to say.

Okay, I did that. So let me think.

Last night I said “The Journey Is Not Done Quickly is a journey that should not have begun”.

Today, I reserve the right to change that statement: "I wish that The Journey Is Not Done Quickly was".

(Think about it if you like, but not too long, as it’s not worth it in the end).

Seems the show didn’t learn much from its Victoria Fringe run for at times I couldn’t help but think I was watching an early rehearsal for this show with narrator, Kenneth Lang, forgetting lines, having issues with props and still trying to figure out how to effectively tell this folktale. His co-star Sara Edwards fairs a little better but with this mish-mash of performance art, storytelling, dance, music and singing the show suffers most from not knowing what it wanted to be and in helping its audience get to that knowing.

Definitely a miss.

The Journey Is Not Done Quickly
Vancouver Fringe Festival
Playwrights Theatre Centre, 3rd Floor, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island

With a bisexual woman playing the role of a young prince, and a gay man playing the roles of the narrator and the male wolf that both guides and preys on the prince, the show will have appeal to a queer audience.Based on a Russian folktale, and employing movement and music, we will watch as a Tsar’s son sets out on a quest and is overpowered by a wolf and his own temptations. Presented by a Willy Wonka meets Russian Brothers Grimm narrator - a snake-oil salesman for the soul - this production combines Eastern European and Russian music with a tale of struggle, loss, and hope with which every queer person can identify.

Tuesday, September 15 at 7:50pm
Wednesday, September 16 at 5:00pm
Saturday, September 19 at 9:20pm
Sunday, September 20 at 1:30pm

Tickets are $10 Weekday; $12 Weekend; +$2 advance and area available by calling 604-257-0350  or online at http://www.vancouverfringe.com.