CRUSHED (Photo shameslessly stolen from Facebook promotion)

* Review Contributed by Lauren Allen

We’ve all seen at least one: the autobiographical Fringe play! An hour-long recap of some significant moment(s) in the playwright/performer’s history. In Crushed, we watch Caitlin move from relationship to relationship and learn just how painful being big hearted can be.

This was the first play I saw at the Kingston Fringe, before I knew that I would even have a platform on which to share reviews. With the passage of time and the 16 shows I’ve seen between now and then, I fear that I won’t be able to do the play justice in this writing, but I will do my darndest!

Something I always appreciate in this format is an actor who doesn’t simply lecture me about themselves – I like to watch them perform. When Caitlin takes on the role of her middle schooler self, I am absorbed watching her body language. She becomes sort of ageless in the show, as she makes me believe so strongly that she is that young woman again. I wish she had performed more as the other characters in the play though, instead of representing them through voice overs and other sounds. And I wish that she had been able to look her audience members more directly in the eyes, instead of sort of around us. In an intimate space, it’s little details like that that makes the difference in keeping us engaged in the world that is being conjured.

As the play progresses, some of Caitlin’s relationships get worse. I have known what this is like – I feel a real kinship with her as she talks me through what she experienced, and I feel proud when she doesn’t put her dreams on hold for a shitty dude who is afraid of her success.

I wish most cis hetero women did not have these stories. I wish we all had great relationships where men don’t hurt us so much and so permanently. While the play did not revolutionize me or the way I think, it did comfort me to know that I am not alone, and that there is always hope for a better tomorrow.

Caitlin is a sweetheart and I loved learning about her through her play.

“Crushed” continues its run in Venue #3 of the Storefront Fringe Festival…

* Review author Lauren Allen is a Saskatoon based theatre artist. She has previously written for The Feedback Society and BroadwayWorld.com. She is currently appearing in “In Ireland We Rented A Car From Criminals”, also as part of the Storefront Fringe Festival…