So, obviously I knew this show would be weird and arty and possibly (no, probably) pretty out-there - I'd interviewed the three main creative forces behind Teen Sleuth a couple of weeks ago for our cover story, and it was a little mind-blowing. Cyborgs, environmental destruction, brain tumours, papier-maché animals (including a giant horse! whoa), and a (non-narrative) story told through eight original songs? 

Of course, for me, that's a winning combination, if a hard one to imagine being pulled off in front of a live audience. But this is Fringe Fest, and this piece of theatre/music/dance/performance art (a.k.a. "Other" in Fringe-Fest-guide parlance) embodies Fringe. It takes a unique artistic vision, gathers a community around it, works hard to make it happen, and slaps it up on stage. Yes, there are a few stumbles along the way, but all pros were once amateurs anyway, right? This is certainly a spectacle to behold, and yeah, rough around the broad edges, but its potential to go pro is high.

Wild costumes and make-up, gorgeous animated visuals screened in the background, a full orchestra-like band and Ellen Smallwood's well-crafted songs that mix Broadway musical with Irish drinking song with Bowie take us through the 45-minute other-worldly journey. At times the musical swells and foot-stomping and singing-verging-on-yelling are a bit much, but they're really having a lot of fun with it. And by the end, finding myself comfortable with the wildness and lack of linear narrative (who needs it! this is art!) in pursuit of a dream, I was pretty into things being "a bit much." (FFF 1/2)

Teen Sleuth and the Freed Cyborg Choir, at Cabaret Just for Laughs