2024 Fringe Festival Review: A Fragile Thing

A Fragile Thing: Or How I learned Self-Love in the Multiverse, written by Matthew Hackett and directed by Rowan Andruik, is an equally heart-warming and wacky play. While Riley (Rye Fournier) is mourning their relationship with Jessie (Gabi Stachniak), a Jessie from another universe comes to ask Riley for help. The Mask (Chloë Rodgers) is travelling across the multiverse and blowing them all up. And it all leads back to Riley.

The play managed to balance humour and sincerity with grace. The script had the audience laughing throughout much of the play, but the overarching message wasn’t lost in that. The script handled Riley’s grief after the break-up and feelings of unworthiness with care.

Fournier’s performance brought all of Riley’s complexities to life onstage, making the self-doubt feel very real. But the star of the play was Rodgers, who played the variant Rileys and The Mask. They were constantly jumping from character to character but never missed a beat. Whether they were playing a human Riley or a flower form of them, their sincerity and acting chops shone through. Not every actor can go from being a cheery flower to a person with a world-destroying vengeance in five seconds.

Stachniak also switched between variant Jessies across the multiverse. Unfortunately, her performance felt forced throughout all the characters she took on. It sadly took away from the love between Jessie and Riley.

Behind the cast was a projector screen, which helped take the audience from scene to scene and all across the multiverse. The production used the screen really well in some scenes, like to show memories of Riley and Jessie’s relationship. The pre-recorded video, which was shot on the University of Alberta campus, added depth to some of the scenes.

Other times, the use of the screen fell short. In one scene, the props onstage blocked the words stating the setting. A little more planning could have avoided confusing the audience. In another scene, the audience was left without an image on the screen. A desktop served as a replacement instead. The actors played it cool, but the slip up took the audience out of the genuine scene.

The script, although funny and engaging, missed the mark in some scenes. Riley’s character development ultimately felt rushed. After talking to the flower, bat, and dinosaur version of themself, which were all entertaining scenes, Riley suddenly realized that they needed to love themself. If the script had taken a little more time to let those interactions sink in, the realization and conversation between Riley and The Mask would have felt more believable. The scene was still heart-warming, but it felt like the build up to it was lacking.

Also, the last scene of the entire play was a dramatic dance between a variant Riley and Jessie. While well executed by both the actors, it didn’t fit the tone of the rest of the play. The audience could have simply done without that part.

Even with a couple imperfections, A Fragile Thing managed to be funny and sweet while also being sincere in its message.

A Fragile Thing‘s last show is on August 24 at the Fringe Festival.