The New York City Fringe (previously FRIGID Fringe Festival) is the flagship festival for emerging independent artists at FRIGID New York.
I will be reviewing a small sample of the shows made available in digital format.
Full line-up of shows in this year’s Fringe are listed here.
The House of Clytemnestra (written and directed by Zoe Bloomfield) 90 min
Cast: Alexander Bourne, Baldur Dagbjartsson, Danica Jensen, Julianna Mitchell, Lindsey Newton, Zachary Papatheodorou, and Thea Throndson.
“The Trojan War has finally ended, but the battle isn’t over for Queen Clytemnestra. Years after the sacrifice of her young daughter, it’s time to face her grief, her ghosts, and her husband. Her other daughter Electra…is also there.
An award-winning play for a work in heightened language, using classical and modern text, The House of Clytemnestra highlights our daily performances and the roles women must play with humor and heartbreak; showing our love and masking our grief, or is it the other way around? Either way, the House always wins.”
This play explores the story of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and the aftermath of both the Trojan War and the sacrifice of their daughter Iphegenia. Rich in storytelling and ambitious in text, this utilises both mythology and mortal revenge to pursue its narrative.
Clytemnestra and her daughter Electra stand out as powerful women who have protected the home and country while the men were at war, and they have both strength and hate in their hearts after what has passed.
You may need to know the backstory to really appreciate this play, and it would have been helpful to have had some context with which to process the one-act piece as it progressed.
However, there is excellent work from the actor playing the title role especially concerning the loss of her child (and the second husband who conquered her through rape and murder of her child from a previous marriage).
There is scope for richer staging as this often feels more of a rehearsed reading than a full performance, but the sound is sharp and the visuals good (although filmed at a distance).
The utilisation of dual roles is a slight distraction (Cassandra and the ghost of Iphegenia are played by the same person), although I liked the way Bloomfield made the characters into angsty teenagers and jolly nice chaps rather than simply presenting Agamemnon as a brute.
***.5
Mulan, and NOW (written, directed by and featuring the TBT Canvas Collective) 45 min
“At the heart of ‘Mulan, and NOW‘ is the story of Mulan, a modern-day individual ensnared by the conflicting demands of a profit-driven corporate America and the pursuit of her genuine ambitions.
A serendipitous twist catapults her back to ancient China, where she steps into the shoes of the iconic warrior, Mulan. This journey across time forces her to grapple with entrenched gender stereotypes, leadership, and the essence of self-exploration.
The narrative is a powerful ode to the ongoing battle for self-definition and acceptance, echoing the calls for feminism and empowerment.”
Mulan is one of Disney’s modern classics about a female, Chinese, warrior.
Our Mulan in the TBT Canvas Collective play is a woman grappling with the male dominated, mansplaining. capitalistic world of commerce, and it is clear from the presentation she gives at the beginning of this experimental piece that she wants to be elsewhere.
Once she enters the world of the historical Mulan, she deals with how to become a leader and mentor in her own right, without standing on the shoulders of men. It is a deep cry of feminism and self-empowerment.
The sound is not as clear as it could be, and sadly the visuals are lacking in that you cannot make out facial expressions, such a core aspect of live performance.
However, this is a piece I can sense has the potential to develop and grow into something a little more focused and nuanced, with the addition of a few more minutes and a sense of delivery that is more dramatic than recital.
I enjoyed it, and will keep an eye on this Collective to see where they go from here.
***
More on New York City Fringe here.