Heretic (Winnipeg Reviews)
ARCHIVE EDITOR'S NOTE --- The following reviews of Heretic from the CBC Manitoba Fringe Companion website and from newspaper sources are in connection with Niki's performances during the 2003 Winnipeg Fringe Festival held July 16-27 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Also included is a preview by American actor Timothy Mooney of Chicago, Illinois, USA from the Thunder Bay Fringe Festival held July 9-13 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Reviews are listed in reverse chronological order.
AS GOOD AS HIS WORD --- Well, I said I was going to see it again and I did - the final show! This is a solid performer. For those who missed it, I weep - THIS IS THEATRE!!! I am grateful that we can see a show of this calibre for a minuscule eight dollars when in reality, it should be $40+. Don't be fooled by neophytes with a pen and paper, they may be able to read the forecast on a teleprompter, but definitely do not have any knowledge in regards to the ART of performance. Looking forward to future Fringes that house this talent (Niki McCretton).
(Milt Bruchanski - CBC Manitoba Fringe Companion Message Board - 26 July 2003)
WORTH SEEING --- I went to see this Heretic because Terry Costa (69 Moments Of Life) suggested (it) at the end of his performance. I am glad I took the suggestion because I have to admit, it was not on my list of shows to see. The only disappointment was to see such a small crowd at the MTC Warehouse. Maybe others were turned off by the idea of religion?! The production was visually stunning - one wonders how a Brit can travel to Canada with so many props and set pieces! Niki McCretton is a true delight to watch. Her fluidity of speech, dance and images are haunting and disturbing while comforting at times. Worth seeing!
(Marco2003 - CBC Manitoba Fringe Companion Message Board - 25 July 2003)
A MIND-OPENING EXPERIENCE --- I am suspicious of plays with the name of Heretic and I have two (at least) to be suspicious of this year. Who are you to call yourself a heretic? Unless you are a threat to orthodoxy, you are simply nothing. Heresy is a charge laid, not a claim made. Although I had very much enjoyed McCretton’s play Worm-Hole last year, I was hesitant thinking that this self-described Heretic might be smug, judgmental and self-congratulatory. Her play is the exact opposite. She is highly vulnerable throughout, perhaps even penitent and so far from self-congratulatory it is off the scale. Her work defies description and almost even comment. I liken her work to an ocean that you allow to wash over you, leaving you not to note the vastness and richness of the ocean, but rather how you are changed. I liken seeing this play to having had a really rich dream that I can plumb forever. If you can refrain from being too anal about structure, then this is a great show to take in ... or perhaps better put, to be taken in by.
(Glenn Morison - CBC Manitoba Fringe Companion Message Board - 24 July 2003)
FIVE STARS --- I am giving this brilliant performer 5 Stars! If you want to acquire an emotional journey, take it in. A woman is exiled to the Moon and must fill a tank with tears to repent for her sins on Earth. A few laughs, a few revelations and by the end, I could have and wanted to fill the tank for her. Besides Niki's moving performance, the technical side was equally impressive - the lighting, the incorporation of video, the MUSIC! Accolades to this amazing young woman and as an actor myself - a plethora of respect. PS - I'm going again!
(Milt Bruchanski - CBC Manitoba Fringe Companion Message Board - 24 July 2003)
CHALLENGING, SPIRITED & FUNNY --- When critics use words like "challenging" and phrases like, "This is what the Fringe is all about," we see it as code for "Whaaa?" Well, Niki McCretton's inspired and moving physical-theatre piece, Heretic, is challenging and it's definitely what the Fringe is all about, but it's also spirited and - always a saving grace - funny. McCretton is banished to the Moon for sins on Earth. Alone but for imaginary friends, she has to fill a tank with tears as penance, but try as she might, she just can't seem to squeeze out a drop - although she does manage to get a lot of laughs.
(Pat St. Germain - Winnipeg Sun - 3.5/5 Stars - 23 July 2003)
BRAVE PERFORMANCE --- This abstract meditation on spirituality and suffering by UK dancer-performance artist Niki McCretton utilizes some arresting images, among them a bath of tears and a shower of sand. Ostensibly, the plot involves a woman imprisoned on the Moon for her religious beliefs and forced to weep until she fills a fishtank. The resulting philosophical monologues are tiresome but mercifully short, as much of this one-woman multi-media production is devoted to modern dance, film projection and plenty of slapstick comedy relating to the quandary of trying to cry on demand. The dance sequences pack a heady emotional wallop as McCretton turns in a brave performance. But with an overall pace as slow as Eraserhead, this Heretic will challenge more easily-distracted fringegoers during the lulls between the more physical parts of the show.
(Bartley Kives - Winnipeg Free Press - 3/5 Stars - 19 July 2003)
THOUGHT-PROVOKING --- This is a fantastic piece of theatre. A combination of imagery, movement and comedic moments scattered throughout a thought-provoking performance. If you enjoy theatre that confronts you, makes you laugh and, most importantly, makes you think, see this! I'm going again!
(Conrade Rivalland/Tripinc - The Jenny Revue - 18 July 2003)
TAKE NOTE, WINNIPEG! (Preview From Thunder Bay) --- I got to a show I'd been waiting to see for quite some time. I'd seen Niki McCretton in her show Worm-Hole at the Seattle Fringe Festival last September. It was amazing and she is back on the circuit (take note, Winnipeg) with a new show: Heretic. It's also quite stunning. She's an incredibly talented movement artist with an eye for striking visual images that actually add up to mean something by the end. I won't give any of it away, but it really knocked me out. Go see it.
(Timothy Mooney - "View From The Fringe" Newsletter - 11 July 2003)
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Webpage Last Updated 14 May 2007
