2024 Fringe Festival Review: Spin Cycle

Spin Cycle, a new play by Giulia Romano and Jonathan Ewing, premiered at the Edmonton Fringe Festival this past week. Previously workshopped at the 2024 New Works Festival and directed by Karina Krcek, the show explores morality through the lens of the mundane. Four people meet in the laundromat of an apartment building, and the debates of virtue begin. 

The show follows four characters as they wait for their laundry to be done and discuss their lives. Emmitt (Paul R. Welke) and Leanne (Danielle Goodleaf) are two frustrated school teachers. They are at their wit’s end with their students, and are struggling with issues of their own. They encounter Bishop (Alexander Voutchkov) a hungover paramedic, and Meghan (Elyse Roszell) a pregnant chef. The four of them fall into debates over right and wrong, and the general human experience. While some of the characters are a bit predictable — Bishop is a wounded man who refuses to talk about his feelings — the cast’s skill shines through and brings life to the bickering bunch. 

The exasperation emanating from Emmitt and Leanne was palpable. At times their friendship seemed hard to believe since they mostly bickered throughout the play. Despite this lack of platonic warmth, both actors brought genuine realness to their characters and had me invested in their lives beyond the walls of the laundromat. 

My main qualm with this show was the script. The concept relies heavily on good writing to keep the audience engaged. While many of the writing elements were strong, I felt the script overall fell short. The performance started off with an argument over the pros and cons of capitalism, which felt trite and stereotypical. As the show progressed and the conversations became more personal, I began to feel more of a pull towards the characters, and wanted to learn more about their lives. 

The emotional climax happens when Emmitt  reveals the truth about his cynical ways and a secret from his past. This is one of the most compelling, yet tender, parts of the show. I commend the production for this moment. However, they then ran into the issue of following it up. After this climax, most of the dialogue paled in comparison, and it became easy to lose interest.

Despite some bumps in the writing, I appreciated the ideas explored in the play. Exploring such complex themes within the mundane of life is a noble concept. In a show that should have been carried by words, I felt the tech was actually a better harbinger of this theme. All of the technical choices were subtle, yet cohesive and added to the overall tone of the show. The constant hum of the machines added a subdued, yet effective, ambience to the production. The lighting shifted with the tone of the conversation. The set was simple, yet I felt like I was in the laundromat with the characters. 

Overall, Spin Cycle was fine. Despite an at-times overly verbose and repetitive script, the production was cohesive, and thought-provoking. Spin Cycle is an up-and-coming production with strong performances and admirable artistic choices.

Spin Cycle is playing at the Fringe Festival until August 24.