Fringe Festival wrap, reviewed by Lynn Freeman

WOW, pick of the Fringe so far for this critic is A Love Tail written and performed by Toi Whakaari grads Aroha White and Matariki Whatarau with director/co-writer Kate McGill.
It’s not only a new twist on star-crossed lovers but it turns the Romeo and Juliet doomed love story on its head.  A Love Tail is set in an animal correction centre and the two “flea-ridden” inmates strike up a friendship which goes deeper.
White is a ball of muscular energy as Jezebel the feline terrorist, while Whatarau plays Rob the Dog with a winning mix of attitude and gentleness. While Jez rails against her incarceration, Rob is resigned to his fate – one hinted at by Thomas Press’ chilling soundscape. McGill’s direction is spot on in this thought provoking, near perfect hour long play.

Irrepressible Urge is another devised show with four parallel stories told in cut up bits. One takes a fresh look at the traditional dragon vs princess fairytale, with an enchanting performance by Barry Lakeman as the aged dragon.
Even more gripping is Jackson Coe’s leap into the mind of a peeping tom which is in equal measure unnerving and moving. The third story takes place in a second hand bookshop, where Sam Ennor and Aimee-Lynn Marshall play two lonely hearts which should beat as one - if they ever decide to choose reality over fantasy. The fourth about two half sisters who have the hots for each other is not nearly as successful as the others.

Those boy bands of the 90s have a lot to answer for, with their impossibly good looks and banal love songs. Guy Langford delivers a relentless parody of the phenomenon in Wannabe by portraying four remaining members of Brotastic. Through him we learn how they fall apart.
Langford is outstanding as the writer and performer and Erina Daniels had him work so hard he is pouring with sweat by the end. In a good cause though, he gets our attention as someone to watch.