A Wickedly Fun Gothic Horror Play, “The Bluffs” Storms the Toronto Fringe Festival – front mezz junkies, Theater News

The Toronto Fringe Festival Report: Midtwenties Theatre’s The Bluffs

By Ross

This might be the first time in decades that I was in town and available to catch at least a few shows at Toronto’s exciting and diverse Fringe Festival, a ground-breaking theatrical platform for indie artists founded in 1989. It’s a wildly popular early-summer extravaganza with more shows than I can even comprehend, let alone take in. I hope to see at least two or three shows this time around as I settle into my new sublet in downtown Toronto, and it all started out extremely well.

I was lucky enough to make my way over to Toronto’s Theatre Passé Muraille Mainspace (16 Ryerson Ave, Toronto, ON M5T 2P3) to see a brand new gothic horror play called The Bluffs. Written with a knowing wise wink by Sarini Kumarasinghe, the one-act play is surprisingly strong in its pulling in. “If it’s not a comfort, it’s a cage,” she writes in the program, “And that is terrifying.” And that is the structuring we find ourselves in, following Eleanor, played captivatingly well by Shelayna Christante, as she reenters a space filled with grief and memories, and a few other surprising visitations. The heaviness is clear and intentional, complicated and vibrating. It’s been six months since her wife had a tragic fatal accident on the lake below their summer Muskoka cottage. And the time seems to have only elevated her dispair and anxiety.

But a podcast, delivered in front of a (far too) blinding light, delivered by Justine Christensen (Let Me In’s The Miserable Worm), is the coping mechanism Eleanor holds tight to, calming her down and easing her through the night. But on the day of her return to this lakeside cottage, she discovers that her frustrated and damaged brother-in-law, delightfully portrayed by Malcolm Green, has been squatting in what once was their familial summer home. Eleanor has entered looking for a way out, as he might be looking for a way in. Yet, she has invited a mysterious neighbour, deliciously played by Cydney Watson, to come take a look at the property in hopes that the woman will take it, and her memories and grief, off her hands. But her brother-in-law has a few choice things to say about her plan, as does the house it seems, and together, trapped by a quickly approaching violent storm, reminiscent of the one that caused the muddy deadly tragedy six months prior, the three must find a way through the flickering of lights and the dark presence that seems to dwell in those very cottage walls.

The playwright wrote that the play “began as a critique of myself and my efforts to be unbreakable, examining how my many misunderstandings of ‘strength’ have coloured my relationships. I struggled to parse two seemingly contradictory versions of strength in my head: the first being bold, brazen demands of respect, appearing as confidence but veering into vanity, and the second being quiet resilience, kind and compassionate but a slippery slope into leniency. It was only by planting flags at both extremes that I was able to recognize the existence of a middle ground and understand that strength has no blueprint; the strongest version of yourself is just the one that keeps going.” And that framework really resonates within this festive gothic horror play, elevating the piece and the performances.

The Bluffs is a whole lot of fun, with a few good chills that caused some hilariously well-timed sounds of shock from the audience, thanks to the finely tuned direction by Jacqui Sirois. The set is a bit cardboard shaky and simple, designed with solid intention by Mike Sirois, with a sound design by Connor Wan and lighting by Vishmayaa Jeyamoorthy (Buddies’ Zom-Fam) that could use some fine-tuning and balancing, but this is a fringe show, and we happily accept the limitations that the rotating scheduling and finances put on these creatives. I did sit in a seat directly in line with the podcast’s blinding light, which was uncomfortable and required constant shading of my eyes, but that was just some bad luck on my part.

But I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the clever construction of this campy gothic horror play, and hope that it has a life beyond these Fringe Festival walls to expand and be elevated. I also hope that I’m as lucky with the next few shows that I intend to get into over the next week or so – although I must admit tickets go fast and furious for this event, which is also the pleasantest of surprises. You gotta love how Toronto embraces this festival, with crowds lining up and snatching up tickets like hotcakes, with a robust schedule of events from Wed, Jul 3, 2024 – Sun, Jul 14, 2024. And hope it continues long into the future, so buy and tap that donation box to keep this wonderful event thriving into the future. For more information, click here.