2024 Fringe Festival Review: Wisteria

Wisteria, written and directed by Sarah Pattloch, is a wistful and sad play about two teenagers in love. The play begins in the midst of Leksa (Hwaan Han) and Nyssa’s (Dana Prather) relationship, but circumstances quickly tear them apart. It was full of yearning and sadness, but also so much love and hope.

The visuals of the play were simply incredible. Unsurprisingly, wisteria flowers were all across the stage, adding a whimsical and dream-like feel to the play. The costumes of the two fairies, Helio (Andromeda Xian), and Astere (Sarah Pattloch), only added to that. Their dresses, wings, and make-up fit perfectly with their angelic, yet sometimes ominous presence onstage.

On top of that, the use of props perfectly helped the transition between locations, and showed the distance between characters. Even though Leksa and Nyssa were both onstage together, it was clear they were miles apart. Leksa had a lamp and Nyssa a bus stop sign to show the distance. The details to showcase this were accurate as well. As Nyssa and her brother Milo (Vincent Lachance) moved from place to place, the routes on the sign changed. It was done so smoothly I didn’t even see when or how they changed the numbers.

The entire cast’s performances were amazing to watch. Han and Prather made the love between the characters feel palpable. Prather played the bitterness and grief of an angsty teenager so well, while Han gracefully portrayed her character’s bittersweet hope. I also have to give Lachance credit for his performance as the annoying younger brother. In a largely sad play, he brought some comedic relief and so much heart to the stage.

Xian and Pattloch’s performance as the fairies was equally as great. The two floated around the stage as a guiding presence, though I couldn’t help but brace for their appearances. It felt like their presence had ominous undertones. But ultimately, they were loving and guiding forces through the play.

So much of the story was told through Nyssa’s letters to Leksa, which were filled with poetry. It was the perfect way to portray the grief and love between the two girls. The two fairies would pluck the letter from Nyssa’s hands and replace the last letter Leksa was holding with the new one.

The excitement and joy Leksa exhibited each time the letters came made it all the more heart-breaking. Even when she opened a torn-up letter, she read every word she could. Yet Leksa’s letters to Nyssa never reached her because she and Milo were constantly moving.

The entire play was full of sweet and sad moments, strung together in a perfect storyline with the help of the fairies. It was visually stunning, but the performances were what really captivated the audience. It’s a play well worth watching, maybe even more than once.

Wisteria is playing at the Fringe Festival until August 24.