12th Night
Reviewed by Liz Nicholls
08/21/19
A pint-sized activist in a tiny town: Look At The Town! A Fringe review
How can you possibly resist the sweet charms of a tale set in a miniature town, with a tiny perfect houses, a Thrift Store, not one but two Him Tortons, a hockey rink where everyone goes to hang out, a temple (that’s new), a Little Mar ( the “t” has fallen off).
The above, my friends, is a rhetorical question. You can’t. Come on, there’s even a teeny bin behind the Mall Mart, the big-box store, overflowing with teeny recycle-able packaging.
“I feel another great thought coming on,” says 11-year-old Isabel (the delightful Briane Jang) in Look at the Town!, a sort of miniaturized Grover’s Corners. Here’s one: “Just because something is true doesn’t mean you have to stop saying it.”
Smart kid, Isabel. In the course of this irresistible little play by Kenneth Brown for persons of all ages, including those in the single-digit bracket, an urban activist will be born. Isabel, who lives with her opinionated grandpa (Bob Rasko), has figured out that the drift into corporatization will destroy not just the spirit but the economic viability of the town.
And it’s been bad for the general tone, too. The high-holiday festivities, including the Christmas concert and Halloween have been cancelled by the school principal, a shrieky old-school grotesque (Melissa Blackwood). And Isabel and her best friends Jake (Bob Rasko) who’s hockey-mad and Gwendolyn (Candice Fiorentino) who’s really good at school, will end up doing something creative about it. In this they will be inspired by Isabel’s grandpa’s favourite expression, but I can’t tell you what that is, because it would give away the surprise.
The seasons change. So does the lighting. And a little town gets a new life. (Come and tour it with the actors before the show starts).
To view the original review, click here.
How can you possibly resist the sweet charms of a tale set in a miniature town, with a tiny perfect houses, a Thrift Store, not one but two Him Tortons, a hockey rink where everyone goes to hang out, a temple (that’s new), a Little Mar ( the “t” has fallen off).
The above, my friends, is a rhetorical question. You can’t. Come on, there’s even a teeny bin behind the Mall Mart, the big-box store, overflowing with teeny recycle-able packaging.
“I feel another great thought coming on,” says 11-year-old Isabel (the delightful Briane Jang) in Look at the Town!, a sort of miniaturized Grover’s Corners. Here’s one: “Just because something is true doesn’t mean you have to stop saying it.”
Smart kid, Isabel. In the course of this irresistible little play by Kenneth Brown for persons of all ages, including those in the single-digit bracket, an urban activist will be born. Isabel, who lives with her opinionated grandpa (Bob Rasko), has figured out that the drift into corporatization will destroy not just the spirit but the economic viability of the town.
And it’s been bad for the general tone, too. The high-holiday festivities, including the Christmas concert and Halloween have been cancelled by the school principal, a shrieky old-school grotesque (Melissa Blackwood). And Isabel and her best friends Jake (Bob Rasko) who’s hockey-mad and Gwendolyn (Candice Fiorentino) who’s really good at school, will end up doing something creative about it. In this they will be inspired by Isabel’s grandpa’s favourite expression, but I can’t tell you what that is, because it would give away the surprise.
The seasons change. So does the lighting. And a little town gets a new life. (Come and tour it with the actors before the show starts).
To view the original review, click here.
The Edmonton Journal
Reviewed by Tom Murray
08/16/19
4.5 stars out of 5
Fringe Review - Look at the Town!
She’s only 11-years-old, but young Isabel (Brianne Jang) is already quite precocious.
Kind and thoughtful, prone to delivering Great Thoughts, she makes her way around town with her hockey-obsessed best friend Jake and schoolmate Gwen, meeting and interacting with some of the other residents: Isabel’s strong-willed grandpa; town ice-maker Tom; cackling old lady Hecka; an overly-protective school principal.
Kenneth Brown’s family-friendly Look at the Town doesn’t go for any sort of wide dramatic arc, instead opting for little epiphanies and sweet moments, character studies that engross and enchant. It was in fact so sweet that a couple of very young wayward children walked into the action to ask questions, entranced by the gentle plot line.
Make sure to get there a few minutes early; the town itself is laid out in miniature in the middle of La Cité Francophone Theatre, split by a bridge and bookended by the popular Him Torton’s coffee shop, and the actors will happily give you a tour.
– Tom Murray
To view the original review, click here.
She’s only 11-years-old, but young Isabel (Brianne Jang) is already quite precocious.
Kind and thoughtful, prone to delivering Great Thoughts, she makes her way around town with her hockey-obsessed best friend Jake and schoolmate Gwen, meeting and interacting with some of the other residents: Isabel’s strong-willed grandpa; town ice-maker Tom; cackling old lady Hecka; an overly-protective school principal.
Kenneth Brown’s family-friendly Look at the Town doesn’t go for any sort of wide dramatic arc, instead opting for little epiphanies and sweet moments, character studies that engross and enchant. It was in fact so sweet that a couple of very young wayward children walked into the action to ask questions, entranced by the gentle plot line.
Make sure to get there a few minutes early; the town itself is laid out in miniature in the middle of La Cité Francophone Theatre, split by a bridge and bookended by the popular Him Torton’s coffee shop, and the actors will happily give you a tour.
– Tom Murray
To view the original review, click here.
Edmonton Beer Tent Reviews
Reviewed by Danielle LaRose
08/22/21
Look at the Town
The creative minds from Poiema Productions are experts in play and master imagineers. Walking into the theatre at La Cité I was immediately jealous- I wanted to be small enough to see the tiniest details of the beautiful hand-made town! I wanted to paint houses with splashes of colour and go skating on the cardboard ice rink and wave to the police parked at the Him Tortons! But I was given my own precious gift from my grown-up vantage point; watching the six young girls sat quietly and utterly rapt on the floor. Their faces filled with light as a cardboard plane flew past, their eyes grew wide with excited fear as old lady Hacka shuffled down the street towards them, the gears in their minds turned in time with precocious protagonist Isabel as she revealed her profound discoveries about the world around her- her Great Thoughts. Just as the magical snow blankets the town come winter, audiences of all ages will fall under the spell of this truly enchanting piece of theatre.
Look At The Town plays at Venue 35, La City Theatre. Tickets and info from the box office or online.
To view the original review, click here.
The creative minds from Poiema Productions are experts in play and master imagineers. Walking into the theatre at La Cité I was immediately jealous- I wanted to be small enough to see the tiniest details of the beautiful hand-made town! I wanted to paint houses with splashes of colour and go skating on the cardboard ice rink and wave to the police parked at the Him Tortons! But I was given my own precious gift from my grown-up vantage point; watching the six young girls sat quietly and utterly rapt on the floor. Their faces filled with light as a cardboard plane flew past, their eyes grew wide with excited fear as old lady Hacka shuffled down the street towards them, the gears in their minds turned in time with precocious protagonist Isabel as she revealed her profound discoveries about the world around her- her Great Thoughts. Just as the magical snow blankets the town come winter, audiences of all ages will fall under the spell of this truly enchanting piece of theatre.
Look At The Town plays at Venue 35, La City Theatre. Tickets and info from the box office or online.
To view the original review, click here.
