Last year’s winner of the best of the festival was Grim and Fischer by Wonderheads.
I saw their entry into the Calgary Fringe Festival Loon on Friday.
It’s a narrative told in silence, and features characters with large masks. Loon tells of a lonely man who is trying to find a life partner and wind up having a lovely romance with the moon. It sounds peculiar and a little strange and it is, but Loon is incredibly charming. It’s a whimsical, engaging little story about a man who finds love with the moon.
The story is pulled together with romantic sound design featuring ‘Denmark’ by the Portland Cello Project and other songs by Tom Jones and Jackie Wilson. Kate Braidwood’s sound design adds to the narrative, illustrating the emotions emitted on stage. Andrew Phoenix’s set design is well done, featuring an old phone and radio in the corner of the stage. Braidwood also does a great job as the masked actor on stage.
Loon is romantic, cute and is a smart little story about the power of love. There isn’t a chance to see it in the Calgary Fringe Festival, as this review is incredibly late, but Loon is making its way to Edmonton’s Fringe Festival. And it would be worth the trek, if you’re going anyway!