Sarah Edwards-Noël, modeling Alex's most fashionable Fringe quote
GOOD PRESS
Tired Clichés | Old Growth | The Fugue Code | WOOL | Adieu, Friedrich Lips | music
(2009: short runs in London ON, Toronto and Edmonton; the Montreal Fringe Festival
2010: Regina, Winnipeg and Edmonton Fringe Festivals)
[FOUR STARS]
TJ Dawe has a perversely logical mind. There's really no other way to describe a playwright who can take subjects as disparate as traffic signals, vomiting cats, ghosts, dead-end jobs, and a treatise on everybody's favourite four-letter word rhyming with "duck"; string them all together in a entertaining-but-chaotic rant for 50 minutes or so; and then tie it all together into a package with real insight into the human condition in the last ten minutes. Perverse, but logical.
Dawe's 1998 monologue is in the good hands of actor/playwright/composer Alex Eddington this year. While Eddington doesn't have Dawe's geeky boyish charm, he does display many admirable qualities in his own performance style: he's quick, intense (to the point that he borders on frightening sometimes), and - as you might expect from a composer - he has a great ear for the rhythm of language.
There's nothing clichéd about his performance or Dawe's writing.
- Joff Schmidt, CBC Manitoba
Grade: A (aka. FOUR-and-a-HALF STARS)
First presented at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival in 1998 by ‘The King of Fringe,’ T.J. Dawe, Tired Clichés is a hilariously funny, fast-paced one man show starring Toronto’s Alex Eddington. What starts off as a seemingly unrelated string of random thoughts on a variety of subjects — pedestrian-controlled cross walks, vomited cats, post modernism, boring minimum waged jobs, ghosts, working the night shift, the meaninglessness of the phrase “happy birthday” and the difference between casual cyclists/wanky cyclists — all gets tied together in the last few minutes of the monologue. Eddington’s razor sharp delivery, quirky sound effects courtesy of a pocket full of small instruments and Dawe’s thought-provoking script ensure there is never a dull moment.
- Anthony Augustine, Uptown Magazine (Winnipeg)
As someone once said, you can’t miss with good material, and this is an absolutely great TJ Dawe script. What I liked best, though, is the way that Alex Eddington made it his own, by bringing his physicality and talent for sound to the production. It was a totally mesmerizing hour.
I also really liked the way Eddington turned the venue’s limitations to his advantage. Upstage was not lit very well, so he went there to metaphorically express darkness and confusion. The stage was small, but he used the confined space at the beginning to express the trapped world his character lived in (or as his character would have corrected, the trapped world in which his character lived).
It is well worth the trip to Aqua Books to see this show.”
- Kevin Longfield, the Jenny Review (Winnipeg)
Fringe favourite TJ Dawe’s first solo hit returns, in a new way by Alex Eddington. I won’t pretend in any way that I knew of this play before the Fringe For All Out of Towners, but I got the chance to see it, and it was a fantastic one man show!
I love one act plays, especially ones that can grab you and hold on to you for the full show (and it’s been a while). Eddington’s performance was able to keep me grounded throughout the full show. While this piece does have a more serious undertone, the show is quite funny and well put together. What surprised me more is that Alex Eddington doesn’t have a large acting background, he’s a musician and composer first.
Tired Clichés has a series of different monologues that seem quite unrelated but come together at the end, in a fantastic way. Each monologue describes the life of a person who is looking for simplicity more than anything else, but needs something higher just to achieve it!
A very well performed piece that you should see before the Fringe Festival comes to an end!
- Paul Afalo, Indyish.com
Found in a review of "Boat Load" by Jayson McDonald at Edmonton Fringe, 2009:
"I judge all one-man shows by the standard set by Alex Eddington, whose phenomenal rendition of TJ Dawe's Tired Clichés I recently saw at the ARTery."
- Piotr Grella-Mozejko, SEE Magazine
“Performer Alex Eddington gives a new spin to TJ Dawe’s 90s Fringe hit Tired Clichés, presented by Acky-Made.
The monologue still relies on a clever spinning out of unrelated stories that finally come together, but Eddington and director Laura Anne Harris give a physical and musical life to the piece that’s different from the writer’s low-key performing style.
It starts with Eddington waking up, disoriented, from a dream, with that “Where am I?” kind of look on his face. Breaking the fourth wall in a clown-like fashion, he launches into an hour-long talk that begins with what happens when a pedestrian pushes the “walk” button at a traffic light and goes on, in seemingly random fashion, to cats vomiting, different kinds of cyclists, working a minimum-wage graveyard shift and the fact that most photos capture people smiling.
There’s a nice payoff when the general becomes specific and personal.
Eddington’s energetic performance has some magical moments, and he plays various small instruments to punctuate the material. ...”- Byron Toben, The Senior Times (Montreal) - June 2009
(Ottawa, Wakefield, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver Fringes 2008)
[FOUR STARS]
Old Growth is the kind of shocking, sophisticated and thought-provoking play that makes Fringe theatre edgy.
Two idealistic eco-warriors from Toronto travel to Haida Gwaii territory in the Queen Charlottes to pay tribute to an ancient golden spruce. The tree was cut down by Grant Hadwin, an unemployed, vengeful logger, in 1997. His act is also the basis for the award-winning book The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant.
In Old Growth, writer and composer Alex Eddington is "Alex," a troubled young artist whose disillusioned view of a world overwrought with consumerism, greed and destruction descends into preachy rage and violence.
The role of his timid counterpart Aura was originated for flautist Aura Giles, who could not be part of the Victoria performances.
Director and dramaturge Alison Williams stepped into the role brilliantly - with a week's notice - holding up a ghettoblaster with Giles's flute music that is usually played live. The effect was endearingly pathetic, the perfect balance to Eddington's frightening diatribe.
- Sarah Petrescu, Victoria Times Colonist
Set in 1997, Old Growth is the story of Alex and Aura, two enviro-activists who have made a pilgrimage from Ontario to visit the felled Golden Spruce of Haida-Gwaii. Retracing the steps of Grant Hadwin, the man who felled the mighty tree, the young couple hope to perform a ritual that will infuse Alex with shamanistic powers. While Alex and Aura’s self-righteous, naïve environmentalism is really in-your-face (particularly during the climax, which ran a little long), watching the dynamics between them takes this far beyond preachy environmental fodder.
Part history lesson, part magic show, part cautionary tale, part love story, all compelling.
- A.F., Monday Magazine (Victoria)
Don't just look at the stars. Read this review. This show is wonderfully fringey, but it's not for everyone.
It's the story of Alex (Alex Eddington) and Aura (Aura Giles), two Toronto eco-warriors who make a pilgrimage to an ancient Haida redwood on the Queen Charlottes that was cut down in 1997. There they make a bumbling, self-important attempt to tap into the tree's soul so they can fight the consumption and waste that threaten to destroy the planet.
Throw in some amateur magic and some haunting flute-playing by the mopey-faced Aura and you'll have just barest elements of this complicated, challenging and quite masterful show.
It's a little preachy and a bit hard to follow at times. Eddington's performance gets overwraught near the end when Alex descends into naked, self-flagellating mental anguish.
But it's also lyrically written, morally ambitious and exponentially more sophisticated and original than most fringe fare. Eddington, the composer and performer who brought us the Fugue Code last year, totally commits.
- Mary Agnes Walsh, Winnipeg Free Press
Old Growth is a new thought provoking production composed and performed by Alex Eddington. It now features Alison Williams who replaces Aura Giles.
The play is set in 1997, when two musicians, Alex and Aura (Williams), go on a pilgrimage to the Queen Charlotte Islands. While there they visit the site of the fallen Golden Spruce Tree, which was cut down by a deranged logger named Grant Hadwin. Alex wants to become a shaman who can heal and bring the spirit of the tree to other parts of Canada. Adding levels of complexity to the piece, Alex effectively recites ‘envirologues’ which are musical and magical monologues to demonstrate the environmental and economic issues. Eddington does not make these speeches preachy, rather they are both artistic and informative. While the pilgrimage Alex and Aura experience might be fictitious, the logging event itself was documented in John Vallant's non-fiction novel,The Golden Spruce.
Old Growth is an eloquent, intense piece of textual composition. As part of their ritual, there are moments when Alex and Allison chant making the piece lyrical and engaging. Eddington has a raw presence on stage. We see his character become overwhelmed by his mission for change to the point of self destruction. Meanwhile, Williams, who is also director and dramaturge, (and stepped into the role of Aura only a few days before opening) brings an intense warmth and humour, as well as courage. Eddington and Williams complement each other as performers. Drumming percussion instruments as well as recorded samples of Aura Gile’s flute playing are used as part of the ritual. I also appreciated the unique use of other, mostly wooden, musical instruments, such as the train whistle and wooden blocks.
- Laura Harris, Plank Magazine [online]
[non-starred review:]
This is an ecological ritual, I would say, called “Old Growth”.
Serious theatre this is, not comedy, aimed at changing our way of seeing the world – and I think it works, actually. Created by Alex Eddington and Aura Giles, who also plays a beautiful flute – two people from Toronto.
Apparently in 1997, a fellow on the west coast felled a sacred Golden Spruce tree, one of the last of its species, and the world changed. Moved by this event, these two young musicians are touched by the need to spread the word that growth on this earth is not eternal.
So Alex becomes a shaman, actually, as an actor. He’s inspired by west coast Haida traditions, and he goes on an anger-driven pilgrimage. And he begins this onstage in the middle of this transcendental circle, where he calls up the spirits of the earth. And it’s quite amazing to watch him – you really get carried away.
He doesn’t preach, he communicates his passionate relationship with nature, and he hopes it will rub off on us, and it was actually quite moving. And it seemed real, really real.
So that’s “Old Growth” at Academic Hall – be prepared to be carried away.- Alvina Ruprecht, CBC Ottawa [unofficial transcript]
Is this a lecture or a play about a lecture? Some audience members may be slightly put off after being berated by Ontario playwright Alex Eddington, whose very insightful script about humanity’s connection to nature includes strong accusations of ignorance and neglect.
Playing a would-be Toronto shaman, also named Alex, Eddington and flutist partner Aura travel to the Queen Charlotte Islands to offer forgiveness and understanding to a fallen golden spruce (although Aura isn’t quite as committed to the cause as Alex).
One is left to wonder, which Alex is teaching us, yelling at us, and entertaining us? And if it really matters.
- Paul Turenne, Winnipeg Sun
After this show, the person beside me said it was the fringiest show she'd seen yet. I can see why she said that, but I would have used the adjective "complex" instead. I've become a big Alex Eddington fan, because his works offer a rare blend of artistic ambition and accomplishment, while being both a deeply personal exploration and a generous invitation to the audience to explore his world.
The title, Old Growth, reflects both the forestry term for centuries-old trees and the outdated notion of continuous economic growth based on unfettered consumption. On the surface a performance by two idealistic young people to honour a murdered 300-year-old tree, the play uses a variety of strategies to try to get its point across: metaphorical folk tales, narration, and from-the-heart raving at the audience.
The production also features some of Eddington's music, and some fine work by Aura Giles on the flute. The two performers complement each other well on stage, and the time passed very quickly for me.
- Kevin Longfield, The Jenny Review
Playwright/performer Alex Eddington has to be given credit for putting it all on the line – both artistically and in a Full Monty sense – with this wildly experimental piece of theatre. Alex (the character, that is – who may or may not be the playwright) wants to be a shaman. It’s his way of connecting with the Golden Spruce, a magnificent tree felled as a protest against clear-cutting by a misguided (or maybe not-so-misguided) environmentalist. He and his castmate, flutist Aura Giles, engage in a series of ritualistic “envirologues,” which use a heightened, poetic style of writing to deliver their ode to the fallen tree – and address the broader issues of environmentalism. Growth is the central theme here. “The world hurts because we keep growing,” Alex says. “We keep growing because the system demands it.” If that sounds like a “people bad, hurt environment” message – well, it kinda is. Then again, it’s also hard to dispute the issues brought forth here. I think. The message of the show does get pretty muddled in the highly stylized writing and performance (directed by Alison Williams). It’s a bold, well-performed, and visually striking piece – but given the importance of the environmental theme, you’d wish it were just a bit less confoundingly abstract.
- Joff Schmidt, CBC Manitoba (reviewed in Toronto)
This was... hmm... hard to really sum up, actually. The story is about two young musicians... okay, hippies, really... and their forest pilgrimage. The actors put on a powerful performance. The play itself was meaty, and unsettling. I'm not sure the male nudity was truly necessary, though. Definitely the most FRINGE show I think I've ever seen, and is absolutely perfect for the festival. And I most definitely concur that the environment is not David Suzuki, but we wish it was.
- The Paladinian's Retreat (online review) [July 18, 2008]
Old Growth by Alex Eddington (Acky-Made, Toronto): Everywhere you turn these days there is something about the environment. It’s in politics, in our schools and places of work, it’s on the Net, and it’s in our art. But this play asks what is environmentalism? It’s not a political platform or a religion, but rather, it is us. This play asks us to stop consuming the world around us because we are in fact consuming ourselves. Overall, I did enjoy this production. It was a little scattered, much like me and my hippie friends were back in 1997 (when the resurgence of hippiedom hit my then-home Fredericton), when the play is set. But I think that signifies and reflects our needing to process the state of the world in which we live and how big of an issue were are trying to come to terms with with respect to our existence and our home.
- MelissaHK (online review) [June 21, 2008]
Based on a true story, the play features hauntingly beautiful original music played on the flute by Aura Giles and composed by playwright/actor Alex Eddington.
- The Gate (online) [July 7, 2008]
(Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver Fringes 2007)
"Brilliantly theatrical and manically precise, Alex Eddington performs his own high-speed, multi-character mystery with hypnotic speed. It’s potentially confusing — one man, four main characters, a sophisticated plot rooted in the arcane history of J.S. Bach, his wife and his organ. But Eddington makes it work through economical writing (the way he introduces his characters would make a great lesson for many wayward Fringe playwrights) and through his utter conviction. He commands the stage. Eddington, also a composer, makes nifty metaphysical allusions to the four-note fugue. But as the da Vinci–esque title suggests, it’s also played for laughs. The only caveat — and the moral of the play — is that you have to listen."
- Gord McLaughlin, Eye Weekly (Toronto)
"I’ve never heard J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier referred to as “slapstick comedy,” but that’s the kind of irreverent approach that makes The Fugue Code work. In this intriguing spoof of that other Code thingy (you know, there was a movie with that guy with the big forehead), a musicologist, organist, conductor, and singer must band together to unravel a centuries-old riddle based on the works of Bach. Along the way, there are preposterous murders, secret societies, and an awful lot of math. It all (mostly) works because the show never takes itself too seriously. At times it veers from silly fun to just silliness, and you will probably wish there was a bit more of a comprehensible plot. But performer Alex Eddington brings tremendous energy to the show, playing multiple characters fluidly thanks to some fantastic, dance-like physical theatre and superb direction from Alison Williams. While it doesn’t all hang together perfectly, The Fugue Code is a compelling piece of work – and is probably the most fun you can have with stuff like 'fugal counterpoint.'"
- Joff Schmidt, CBC Manitoba (Winnipeg)
"Alex Eddington is mad. There's no other explanation for writing and performing a show this demanding.
His affliction is, however, to our benefit, since we get to see one of the most physically, verbally and mentally taxing shows at the Fringe.
Eddington plays 10 characters in this break-neck thriller based on what may be a secret message in one of Bach's fugues. The dialogue is rapid-fire, from start to finish, and Eddington somehow managed to keep the pace, to remember who was whom and to avoid all but a couple of tiny tongue-stumbles at Sunday's show.
His background includes a Master's degree in composition and, apparently, a reading of The Da Vinci Code. The result is a mystery that doesn't take itself too seriously ("Bach up," an armed man says) and whose mind-blowing complexity is itself part of the joke. This is nothing less than an entire novel squeezed into an hour.
What it comes down to is the possibility that a Bach fugue, played on a new organ that was too complex to be built in J.S.'s time, will either change us in profound ways, make us see God or destroy us.
Eddington's task as an actor is itself a fugue, playing many voices competing against and complementing each other. Give in to it, don't worry too much about the daunting complications or narrative shortcuts, and it hits all the right notes."- Cam Fuller, Saskatoon Star Phoenix
"Buried deep within this review is a secret code -- one which will unlock the key to a successful Fringe experience, if not happiness in general.
Avoid plays about zombies -- Eat My Brain, for example.
Clever one-man shows about Johann Sebastian Bach, on the other hand, are must-sees.
Hilarious, crazy and ridiculously complex, actor/composer Alex Eddington's The Fugue Code is a smart send-up of Dan Brown's The da Vinci Code.
Revealing the mystery behind Bach's fugues is at the heart of this 60-minute production. "One into Four / At the end of the Cycle, He will return," is only a fraction of the code, which four main characters, all played by Eddington, are trying to decipher. Can they do it before time runs out?
Kidnapped wives, supernatural organs, awkward musicologists and number games are all part of the madness.
- Sandra Sperounes, Edmonton Journal
[FOUR STARS (aka. "Daniel Craig") (out of 5 ("Sean Connery"))]
"He will rise again, if Alex Eddington has anything to say about it. There are many folks who would love to see Johann Sebastian Bach return to our realm, to compose again; Eddington’s one-hander aims to tell us why in this send-up of The Da Vinci Code. With the kidnapping of composer Augusta Miriam Barnes, musicologist Sinclair is thrust into a world of intrigue and secret incantations, a world that finds us wondering if Bach’s wife Anna Magdalena was more than just muse in the great composer’s work—even if you had only the vaguest thoughts about the man before. The show is complex, but not incomprehensively so—Eddington gambles wonderfully with our intellect and our notions of what we think we might find interesting. ..."
- Carolyn Nikodym, Vue Weekly (Edmonton)
"There was a firestorm in the letters section of the Free Press recently caused by Guy Grant’s opinion that the Fringe is not a welcoming venue for experiments in form. I think Grant would have approved of this production if he had seen it.
Like Grant’s work, The Fugue Code is rich in content and sometimes bewildering. If you stay with it, though, it offers rewards. Alex Eddington gave me confidence that he had thought his production through, so when I couldn’t find the trail I was willing to ride it out.
As might be expected from someone with a post-graduate degree in music, Eddington uses the fugue as a basic structure on which to build a suspense-thriller. My music education is much more limited, so I imagine I missed some references, but I enjoyed Eddington’s performance, which required him to switch characters rapidly.
The Fugue Code offers humour, suspense, great music and even a moral."
- Kevin Longfield, the Jenny Revue (Winnipeg)
"The Fugue Code is billed as a musicology comedy-thriller. It’s impossible to understand exactly what that means, unless you’ve seen the show, but it’s a completely apt description. Contemplation of Bach’s fugue suites; humour that’s funny, even as it makes you groan; and a giant, undead Bach are all featured in this one man show by Alex Eddington. You have to see it to believe it, but it was one of the best plays I’ve seen all year, and probably the best one man act I’ve ever seen. This one is a must see."
- River City Writer (Edmonton)
"I think I missed a lot in The Fugue Code, but when you’re dealing with a 60-minute one-man show that veers with breakneck speed between nine characters as they try to break a centuries-old code embedded in the baroque masterworks of Johann Sebastian Bach, a little confusion is to be expected. (No musicologist myself, I’m just glad the program explained what a fugue is.)
Alex Eddington’s manic performance, embodying each character with a different bit of characteristic body language or flawless accent, almost makes the plot irrelevant. He’s just so much fun to watch. But if you insist on paying attention to the story, it concerns a shadowy cabal of musicologists who have spent the last 257 years keeping secret the mathematical perfection in Bach’s work, which when revealed, will allow listeners to know the face of God, or resurrect Bach, or something like that. If you detect similarities to a certain best-selling piece of airport-lit, good on you.
Onion-like plot aside, Eddington certainly gives one of the best performances the Fringe will see this year."
- Matthew Halliday, SEE Magazine (Edmonton)
"A kidnapping. Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier. A secret society. A "perfect" temperament pipe organ designed by Bach but not built until present day technology made it possible. A code hidden within Bach's music. These are the ingredients for this remarkable one man musicological comedy-thriller.
Actor/writer Alex Eddington performs the large cast of characters at a breakneck pace. His characterizations are well distinguished which is fortunate as concentration is required to follow the convoluted plot.
The play is an intricate puzzle-box based on Bach's Fugue No. 24 in B Minor. Everything from the structure of the play to the cast of characters is drawn from the music. Numerological secrets abound like the number 14 (B=2 + A=1 + C=3 + H=8 = 14).
An organist's wife is kidnapped by a secret society known as SMW. Her release can only be secured if he can solve the Fugue Code. He enlists the help of his colleagues a musicologist, a conductor, and a singer who is a descendant of J.S. Bach. What they discover as they unravel the code reveals a plot more sinister and earth-shattering than a simple kidnapping.
Highly recommended for music fans, conspiracy theorists, Dan Brown fans, and everyone who likes a funny, fast-paced thriller."
- A Culture Vulture in Lotus Land (online, Vancouver)
"...deserves an A major for ambition..."
"...Eddington is obviously a talented writer, and his over-the-top physicality is compelling to watch..."
- Carolin Vesely, Winnipeg Free Press
"Alex Eddington, creator and performer of Fugue, is obviously a frighteningly clever guy...
the appearance of a JS Bach as a sort of demonic Arnold Schwarzenegger in a silver afro was hilarious"
- Alan Hindle, Only Magazine (Vancouver)
"...fascinating, silly, and full of cracklingly funny dialogue...fresh, original fun."
- Kathleen Oliver, Georgia Straight (Vancouver)
"... Like a Bach fugue, Eddington’s play just keeps coming at you in layers. ... I suspect the breathless complexity is part of Eddington’s great in-joke...the auteur expends enough energy in this show to raise the shade of Bach.
"I take it we’re not supposed to take this all too seriously because Eddington pulls off some groaners – mostly based on the composer’s name. “Bach up,” one character demands."
"Switching with dizzying speed from character to character, each with his own characteristic voice and eccentric movements, Eddington piles detail upon detail on to the plot...
I recalled at the beginning of the play Eddington describing how fugues were constructed of four distinct voices. He then proceeded to present a play with four distinct voices...a theatrical approximation of a fugue."
- Terry Moor, UMFM radio (Winnipeg)
“Imagine for a minute that Umberto Eco, Herman Hesse or some similar author of high-brow, enigmatic mysteries decided to turn one of his books into a slapstick stage show. The result might look something like The Fugue Code, a one-man effort, billed as a musicological comedy thriller, by Edmonton's Alex Eddington. It's a show with buzz at this year's fringe. It has developed many enthusiastic fans. ...”
- the Ottawa Citizen
WOOL
(Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton Fringes 2006)
SEE Magazine Top Ten List, Edmonton Fringe 2006
[THREE-and-a-HALF stars]
“[This] charming performer…obviously has a love affair with language.”
“Catch an exciting new creative force in development…Alex Eddington will move you both to tears and laughter.”
- SEE Magazine, Edmonton
“…a story that is so rich in detail, it’s difficult not to be drawn into it…Eddington, a composer, has a rhythmic cadence to his delivery, and an animated way of telling a story.”
- CBC Manitoba
“Eddington's delivery…is capable and potent, his careful cadence flowing along…[with] colour and vigour”
- Saskatoon Star Phoenix
- Winnipeg Free Press
“Eddington is a engaging fellow with…a way with words and…[an] eye for detail.”
- Edmonton Sun
“sharp wit and a first-class delivery…"
- Uptown Magazine, Winnipeg
(Edmonton Fringe 2005 - Evil Diva productions)
“Alex Eddington has sat through a few too many pretentious music lectures, and he’s out for blood.”
“The lanky, golden-tressed composer/playwright/actor has cooked up a show that delights.”
“Eddington throws himself into the role…with delicious over-the-top abandon.”
- SEE Magazine, Edmonton
“we will surely hear more of him, for…[he] shone not just with wit and assurance, but with subtlety and truthfulness.”
"delightfully silly, but at the same time capture[s]...the primal anxieties that lurk beneath"
- The National Post [Eight Poems of Dennis Lee, 2002]
(Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver Fringes 2007)
"Dan Brown wannabe Alex Eddington writes and stars in this convoluted story about a mysterious code hidden in J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. Employing too little music, an ugly set and vague characters, Eddington’s work feels less like a play than a talent night skit for Faculty of Music undergrads." NN (out of 5)
- Glenn Sumi, Now Magazine (Toronto)
"playwright/composer Alex Eddington...bites off more than those of us without music degrees can -- or want to -- chew by trying to cram murder-mystery, slapstick comedy, and music appreciation into 60 manic minutes.
...it's exhausting trying to follow the convoluted plot AND keep track of his character switches."
- Carolin Vesely, Winnipeg Free Press
"It is in the 10 or so characters, however, that Eddington acts out that it gets a little muddied. In one late-in-the-play scene, he hops from character to character at such a pace that it becomes obvious that some are far more realized than others."
- Carolyn Nikodym, Vue Weekly (Edmonton)
"As the piece goes by, like a drowning man, you desperately cling to some major plot developments. ...
"I suspect the breathless complexity is part of Eddington’s great in-joke, but the performer’s words come at you with such bewildering speed that, after a (short) while, you tend to dial them out.
Surely, that was not his intent."
- Colin MacLean, Edmonton Sun
WOOL
(Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton Fringes 2006)
"The rush of words, too formally and hastily delivered, becomes an onslaught, then an insurmountable wall"
- Vue Weekly, Edmonton
"There are a number of places where he might end the piece but still he goes on"
- Edmonton Sun
"Eddington's voice is pretty much monotone."
-UMFM radio, Winnipeg
"not life-altering"
- Saskatoon Star Phoenix
"self-absorbed" - Vue Weekly, Edmonton
"self-indulgent" - Edmonton Sun
"self-obsessed" - Edmonton Journal
"Dare I suggest that the author is a tad self-obsessed? Then again, that's probably a requirement for mounting a one-man show." [my italics]
(Edmonton Fringe 2005)
"[Eddington] isn't a bad actor, considering what he usually does is compose weird music."
- Bill Rankin, Edmonton Journal
(Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver Fringes 2007)
"At a recent performance, about half of the audience cheered wildly while the other half sat dumbfounded and fled at the first opportunity."
- The Ottawa Citizen
"The Fugue Code has its silly moments, but it's pretty cerebral to be billed as slapstick comedy. Unless you happen to get a kick out of contrapuntal composition. Nyuk, nyuk."
- Carolin Vesely, Winnipeg Free Press
"Alex! Slooooow down!"
- Hicks on Six (Edmonton Sun)
"...the ugliest set at this year's Fringe..."
- Glenn Sumi, Now Magazine (Toronto)
(Ottawa, Wakefield, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver Fringes 2008)
"eco-obsessive..."
"...oh, and they're in love."
- Patrick Langston, Ottawa Citizen
Tired Clichés (by TJ Dawe)
(2009: short runs in London ON, Toronto and Edmonton; the Montreal Fringe Festival;
2010: Regina, Winnipeg and Edmonton Fringe Festivals)
WINNIPEG:
As it had one of the few Dawe scripts I had not previously seen performed, I welcomed the chance to catch this show. Alex Eddington makes no attempt to imitate Dawe’s style of delivery, and as much as I appreciate the latter, that’s a good thing; Eddington’s highly stylized performance is all his own, conveying the twists and turns of a clever script with great atmosphere. Every element of this script may indeed be a tired cliché, but if the show demonstrates anything, it’s that these can still be combined in an ingenious and satisfying way. They wouldn’t be clichés if they didn’t speak to something about us.
- Jeff Heikkinen
“A good book can make your night.”
So says the gifted Alex Eddington in this masterful one-character show. Replace the word “book” with “play” to understand the effect of Tired Clichés. Alex is an energetic chameleon in this show, transforming himself and the stage into a dizzying swirl of characters and situations and the story of
a minimum wage employee ranges from bizarre to poignant in a series of loosely woven vignettes.
Lighting, sound, and movement support the story wonderfully, and overall, these “tired clichés” are
thoroughly entertaining and engaging.
Alex Eddington contributes superb energy and talent to an intriguing and interesting script. Quintessential Fringe for all! - Joanne
Captivating.
Enjoyed the show. The actor did a great job performing a well written TJ Dawe theatre piece. Well worth the time spent. Thank you!
TJ lives! See a great young actor get his teeth into a good script.
Touching, well-crafted and interesting. And funny. That too.
Great performance! Cool script! Go check it out!
Pacing + dialogue brilliant.
Fresh, riveting... not at all tiresome! Very funny + original.
Enjoyed the show. Actor did a great job performing a well-written TJ Dawe theatre piece. Well worth the time spent!
He is very creative. So funny!
Funny, thought-provoking and original.
(Ottawa, Wakefield, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver Fringes 2008)
Alex doesn’t do anything unless he’s going to be a hundred percent down in it. I remember him discussing the seeds of this show last year on tour, and looked forward to the results of his explorations. Old Growth certainly didn’t disappoint, and it’s clearly an intense labour of love. Although Alex remains at the centre, whirling and twirling at full-tilt, this show is unlike any of his other work. And he’s not alone this time…his whispery muse Aura Giles is a fantastic foil for Alex’s enormous energy.
Old Growth is a trip…an amazing trip, full of magic and honesty and yearning and anger. The anger is important…the message is delivered to us very aggressively, at the end…but this piece is not an indictment of society. It’s not a didactic environmental shout-out for you to ignore. It’s a dance, a wish, a ceremony built out of love for the world and the people who live in it.
- Jayson McDonald (writer/performer: "Giant Invisible Robot" and "Boat Load")
Joni says: “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone!”
C’mon all you tree-huggers and climate change skeptics alike, go see “Old Growth” before it’s gone. If you saw Alex’s “The Fugue Code” last year, you know you’re in good hands. Local flautist Aura Giles will be kind to your ears. Just get that bottom of yours in a seat!
- Lisa Barrett
An interesting show, with an important message. The music was effective, and the script was very carefully paced. Became a little unfocused towards the end, but overall it was enjoyable.
Before the play I had the opportunity to speak briefly with the lead actor, award-winning playwright/composer, Alex Eddington.
"Come see our play, Old Growth," calls out Alex, who is standing outside Academic Hall, inviting the passing crowd with a charming smile. Since I rarely miss an opportunity to speak with a cute lad, I responded to his invitation.
"I am planning to see the play," I tell him. "I traveled to Haida Gwaii years ago and saw the Golden Spruce before it was cut down."
"You were there? You saw it? You are so fortunate. I have not been to Haida Gwaii, but I read the book, The Golden Spruce, and it inspired me to write this play about it. I hope to get there someday," he responds genuinely impressed that I have seen this ancient sacred tree that was felled in 1997.
This is definitely not a feel good play, and if you are not offended by nudity, violence, and honest, intelligent narrative, I highly recommend that you go see Old Growth.
- Coloured Marbles [online blog]
I truly enjoyed "The Fugue Code" last year, so was greatly looking forward to Alex’s new work, but I started to cringe inwardly a little when I found out it was going to be an environmental show. Everything with a green message is en vogue right now, and I’m a little tired of it now. I’m a terrible person, I know! I like my air-conditioning and I ask the grocery store clerks to double bag my heavy stuff so I don’t lose it half-way home.
The show thankfully, was not all about preaching about what terrible people we all are, it had more story, albeit a hard to follow one a times, especially with the flautist was the one speaking, as I’m not sure you could hear her past the edge of the stage, let alone into the audience.
The use of the music was interesting, and often worked very well. The magic tricks were fun to watch, though I’m still not entirely sure how they contribute to the play itself, aside from perhaps trying to emphasize Alex’s trickster-self?
Clearly feeling very mixed about this show. I hope they are able to keep tweaking it to improve it throughout their travels.
- Erin
Not content to merely put on yet another incredible production, Acky-Made has gone one step further, choosing to leave out the traditional flyering in favour of a paper-free campaign. It’s rare to see such a high level of commitment to the message of a Fringe play — and rarer still to see it attached to such an evocative piece of theatre. Go see it and be mesmerized!
- Kevin Williams
Old Growth is a piece delivered in signature Acky-Made style, with lots of words and attention to detail. See also: “The Fugue Code” from 2007.
Alex doesn’t get out quite as many words as TJ Dawe does in Totem Figures; but, he speaks much more clearly and delivers a true Theatre piece that actually uses set, props, and movement. Thank you for pronouncing!
Alex weaves sleight-of-hand magic tricks with his poetic words, and my brain can’t always process both simultaneously at the speed that Alex can deliver them. When I’m marvelling at the magic, a dozen words slip by
and I can’t always rewind my verbal memory far enough (or fast enough) to fully grasp what was said before we’re on to the next topic.
Aura provides flute music, questions, and an opportunity for dialogue. I liked the music pieces, and wanted more, if just to give my right brain a rest and let my left brain carry my attention. (If you put someone with a Masters’ degree in flute performance on stage - feel free to use them!) Aura’s calm was a good foil to Alex’s high energy.
Part Theatre and part Ritual, one audience member rightly said that clapping after the show seemed inappropriate. But we did anyway.
- Ian!
TORONTO:
Pure Theatre
"Old Growth" is a fierce & honest salvo against consumerism with genuine, compassionate characters at its heart. It's theatrical in ways that very few Fringe shows are: music, ritual, magic, rich poetic language, and brave performances from both actors. The torrent of narratives is necessary to reflect our society's breakneck, self-destructive pace. I highly recommend it.
- Scott Sharplin Writer/performer, "Inferno Sonata"
...a gripping performance -- well-conceived, written AND performed! Alex's energy and passion is stellar, and the music was beautiful. But I really don't know HOW we can in good conscience fly all the way to India just for fun after seeing his performance... I guess we'll just have to be extra conscientious about the rest of our energy consumption between now and then...
- Nancy D.
I'm glad I got the chance to see what you do (and very well too, both writing and acting). Loved the way you two expressed so much so messily, and how the threads (branches) of music grew from and through the story.
Break a finger with the rest of your performances!
[Alex] is so brave to literally put his whole self into something he obviously believes very strongly about. I think it was a good move to have Aura as the “other” voice or the balance in their dynamic (yin/yang, male female) and I admire that he shows us his/her/our struggle and not just standing and preaching or lecturing to us. I was also very impressed how he cooked up that intense weather to match the mood of the play!
[there was a crazy thunderstorm that night]
I was amazed by Alex's performance. His comments were certainly heartfelt. I felt as though he was speaking directly to the audience and challenging our beliefs and our comfortable ways. From time to time we all ask ourselves these questions and then we carry on as usual not knowing what to do. He is also quite a magician! We are very glad we went to see the performance.
...although it seemed more like “Young Growth” to me, perhaps, as I think it’s perspective of young adults angry about the state of the world. There was such a torrent of words that we missed a few of them—but the passion was strong and Alex looked confident & bold & his magic was great. It flowed smoothly and the hour flew by.
- Julie and Dan
This is by the guy who did Fugue Code! I plan to smoke a joint and attend. FC blew us away last year. Drugs make the Fringe bearable and made this play amazing.....Please be good Alex. I'm depending on it.
- traintrack
Alex Eddington is back and steering away from his usual one-man journeys. Old Growth is a beautifully staged show with powerful dialogue, music, performances, and overall feel. The joint characters of Alex and Aura work great together and keep you tied-in the whole time. The play, although not for everyone, can be enjoyed by most, and I am one of those people. Check this gem out.
- Joel Passante
This is the true fringe of the Fringe and everyone should go see it!
2 very committed actors on and off stage (they're not postering or handbilling - although you can get a very lovely stamp if you meet up with them around the Fringe!)
The piece has a very timely message with many engaging insights and the use of magic and music was quite lovely. It perhaps gets a bit didactic towards the end, and unfortunately chances are that those in the audience already prescribe to the same ideals (preaching to the converted is a sad reality of environmentalism most of the time ...) but I am holding out hope that folks will stumble into this play and come out somewhat changed, and will think twice about this world of robust consumerism and just what they can do to become part of the solution, rather than the problem.
Bravo Acky-Made folks for putting on a very necessary piece at this years Fringe. If you're reading this .... GO SEE IT!!
- Mel Marginet
Two passionately eco-conscious musicians make a pilgrimage to the stump of a felled spruce tree, seeking transformation and wisdom to share with a disconnected world. Such a plot could easily have descended into histrionic preaching; instead, this extremely courageous piece of theatre is one of the most brilliant shows I've ever had the privilege to view.
Flautist Aura Giles makes a marvelous theatrical debut, acting her shy, winsome role naturally and playing a flute rich with velvet tones and subtle emotional nuance. Alex Eddington performs a number of feats, from magic tricks to drumming to composing the awesome music that weaves seamlessly into the musicians' rite, and his raw character, the "eco-prophet," is exposed body and soul on the small, flickeringly-lit stage.
The writing for this show is really phenomenal, poetic and austere, and the script tackles difficult questions with intelligence and sensitivity. This is not a simple condemnation of world-killing corporations or a diatribe against consumerist society, but an exploration of all sides of the multifaceted issue of growth - what we grow, what we kill, what we value. It is one of the very few environmentalist works I've ever seen that actually promotes thought and questioning, instead of telling the audience what to believe.
I applaud both performers for weaving magic onstage, literally and figuratively, and also for living the environmental convictions of their show: they chose to avoid handbilling and other paper-based publicity (a choice that, sadly, may have affected the size of the audiences they so richly deserve). They still have two shows left; attend one while the opportunity's there.
- Leila Marston
Fantastic show. If you had told me you were doing magic at the show you would have totally sold me on the ticket… no need to go into the nudity (I was the girl at the desk asking why it was a must see)… I love magic (used to work in a magic shop). But the writing was also fantastic. My writing partner and I are really hoping our next piece is either no talking or includes lots of poetry. I LOVE that style and it really draws me into a show.
I met a man once with Lamas (we attend the same church in Portland when I live there)… he has the world record for packing on them. He is missing an eye and an environmentalist (runs an organization that is really neat). He has the most fantastic sense of humor and such a deep respect for the earth and her limits. Your show reminded me of him. You see, he had cancer. I think in his brain and he lost his eye because of it. He uses his cancer to explain that everything is supposed to die and not be in a state of perpetual growth. He explains that cancer cells don’t die and don’t know the boundaries and because they don’t stop growing (and die like normal cells) they take over and kill the healthy cells around them. He explains that everything has a cycle and is SUPPOSED to die and if we don’t learn our limits we are simply harming the world that we were entrusted to take care of. He is a lovely man whom I have a deep respect for. He teaches that “STUFF” isn’t the be all end all and that if we forget that we are just animals (who can talk) that we loose sight of the fact that we are the environment. He teaches that the environment is not some stupid catch phrase but something that gives us life and sustains us and that we aren’t meant to take without giving back. I’m sure I’m butchering his teachings but I really love listening to him (and playing with his Lamas… that is how we met. I get along with one that doesn’t like most people).
Anyhow, enough blabbering… I liked your show. Twas very good.
- Angie from Calgary
Anonymous bulletin board review posts:
Amazing - I need to think about what's going on in the world.
Fantastic! Full of energy and focused with concerns for everyone to ponder.
Goes deep into the soul of our environment - and great paradox for consciousness.
Very intriguing
Thought provoking
Haunting music -
well done!
I really enjoyed the performance.
I really hope that people understand that what you believe on stage is what you believe in life, and that's a powerful thing...belief.
VICTORIA:
I am still thinking about this show 4 days later. Strange. Well done. Creepy at the end.
Good integration of music and magic. Not for the faint at heart. Talented actor and writer. Probably will get the most fringy award. Worth a see but be prepared for some creepiness.
- Suey
(Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver Fringes 2007)
OTTAWA:
Fast-paced brilliance for anyone who likes music, mystery, mayhem, and especially a combination of all three at once!
- Kevin Williams
Alex Eddington is a hilarious genius! There was hardly a single break from the laughter. Eddington manages to pull off playing 4+ characters at once, without once slipping up and speaking in the wrong voice, or losing the audience along the way. One of the must-sees of this year’s festival!
- Aaron
TORONTO:
Alex Eddington is frenetically wonderful in this send-up comedy framed in the compositional format of the venerable fugue. The puns fly as fast and furiously as the character changes and the audience has to force themselves to stop laughing to catch the next outlandish line. This guy is seriously talented. Not giving out stars but I’d give it 4 resonating, all stops out C major chords followed, of course, by a C minor.
- Lisa B.
Super! The Eye review is spot on. A fabulous experience for those willing to engage their minds and imaginations and work with the performer. However, if you sit back passively waiting to be “entertained” you may miss a lot–and that would be a shame.
- J & R
I don’t think a one-man show is ever easy, and after seeing Daniel MacIvor perform Monster this year, I don’t think anyone could stand up.
- Jenny
We saw this show on Friday and loved it. I agree, at times a might cereabral, as I don’t know music, let alone Fuges, BUT, Alex Eddington was truly amazing. His character changes although subtle, were enough for anyone to follow and you did have to follow but in doing so you were rewarded with a brilliant and frenetic journey to solve the mystery. Staging was brilliant, lighting was well developed and both moved this wonderfully funny, sometimes hillariously so performance along Bravo Alex.
- Ray and Brian Kennington
An acting tour de force. I had no trouble following the character switches… and there were a LOT of them! Too many, really, for me to care much about the characters as individuals, so I recommend not trying. Take them as a whole and enjoy the ride.
High: the roller coaster.
Low: the ending didn’t quite do it for me. For it to work I had to care about one character and I didn’t.
Summary: flawed, but really interesting. No regrets.
- Jim Mayer
I know nothing about Baroque music and have never read any novels with ‘code’ in the name. Despite these handicaps I enjoyed this comedic mystery immensely from start to finish. Unlike some other reviewers I had no difficulty in differentiating between the characters (the use of props and minimal costumes for minor and single appearance characters really helps). Alex’s quick delivery is amusing in itself at times but also allows him to work in interesting and funny background and exposition without derailing the plot. The only sour note in the production was a small sound error near the end. Judging by the laughter and applause I think the rest of the almost full audience I saw it with enjoyed it as much as I did. Recommended.
- Parrish
I loved this show! Wild! I’m glad I wasn’t put off by some of the negative comments, although there is truth in them.
The actor is not the Glenn Gould this show needed to bring off all the voices/characters. As a performer of fugues, Glenn Gould could separate all the themes of a fugue, with his fingers, giving them the proper weight to allow you to easily follow the interweaving of the musical fabric. But, the hard working performer did all he could, given the fact that he’s new to acting. The concept of the show, on the other hand, was brilliant.
It comes right down to budget. This show probably required 4 professional actors at the minimum. Still, I have to hand it to the creator/performer, it was a hell of a thing to attempt - you could tell by the sweat on his shirt and pants. As a one man show, there might be only a handful of fully professional actors in the country who could pull off no more than half of this. So it’s near impossible to expect someone to conceive a show this wild, do the music, and act in it with equal success.
It required a lot of effort and imagination from the audience to follow it. It was Alex’s lack of vocal training that made it difficult. But since the creator is so fully versed in the subject (no pun intended) it was still convincing, and personal. I was 100% engaged. What a riot!
Part of the plot reminded me of the Sherlock Holmes mystery - the Musgrave Ritual. Great story, which of course has a poem with a secret, and a treasure behind it.
I loved the opening background music - like Bach in a fog.
I’ve been to music school so I could relate to the music professor stuff - it was bang one. They must be a type, the music profs on the university payroll. Same no matter where you study, they’re the same oddballs. Yes, a background in music would be helpful, but not essential, to an appreciation of this weird show. I was waiting for the “Stretto” line, but I guess it didn’t come.
Potentially, if there’s someone smart at CanStage,- Alex’s show could be remounted into something more mainstream. There would have to be at least four actors and the pace less frenetic. Probably a lot more visuals, and all the theatrical bells and whistles. It’s only one chance in a hundred that they’d have the balls to do it. Only at the Fringe can you see something this bizarre, brilliant, and brutal.
Regarding the ending of the play - composers of serious art music have almost no relevance, except on the university payroll or granting system. So a composer moves onto theatre, or if they’re more business minded, writing for movies, in which case, the music ends up being a bit player to everything else, so what’s the point?
- DOUG 2007
I thought the performance was incredible…full of energy and very fast-paced, which makes it all the more impressive considering it’s just one man and, what 12 characters? The character changes were quick and sharp. Yes, it does get confusing at points, but it’s not hard to get back on track with the plot.
- Serina
Last years Fugue Code was odd and perplexing but in the end satisfying. I remember walking away with a friend hating it and by the next theatre we had changed our minds and loved it. ...
- snout [from a 2008 audience review of "Old Growth"]
This show is 'fringy' and I mean that in the most complimentary of tones. So often, The Fringe has moved into the mainstream of theater and away from its origins. Alex has reminded all of us that the creative energy is what makes The Fringe worth while. It is a complicated show that requires listening skills and I am glad it does.
- Rod McDonald
What an interesting ride this show was, so fast paced and so many charaters. I have to say it was very interesting and the actor had many funny takes on Bach, I loved that. The show was very involved, I recommend it. It was fun...
- Marina Schusterman
Oh man, this show is ooodles of fun. Definately this year's The Excursionists (insofar as it fills the same kind of humour), with a cast of... 10 (?) and only one actor. A crack team of Bach experts have to crack the Fugue Code and prevent the end of the world. Or something. It's stupidly fun, and contains enough music geekery and silliness that it is required viewing for any fun-loving player of baroque music, and generally recommended otherwise.
Last one in is a mezzo-soprano...
