Yesterday the 37th annual Winnipeg Fringe Festival kicked off. Artists from all over the world have come to Winnipeg to display their talents and present a mixture of shows to the vastly diverse tastes of Winnipeg audiences.
One of the highlights of the festival will be a show presented by Vancouver-based actor and writer Joanna Rannelli.
Called Bangs, Bobs and Banter: Confessions of a Hairstylist, this show explores the stories and secrets that are found and discussed in a hair salon. Nikki, a charismatic hairstylist with a knack for storytelling and her nine clients will entertain audiences with their saucy, scandalous, and hair-raising secrets shared while in the chair.
The twist is that all the characters are played by Joanna Rannelli herself.
Inspired by true events, this dramedy is sure to captivate and entertain audiences, leaving audience members wanting to stay in the salon after the show is done.
The performances take place at The Asper Centre for Theatre and Film at The University of Winnipeg 400 Colony Street.
The show explores themes of love, friendship, forgiveness, secrets, and the service industry. As Rannelli explains, “It’s a lot about the service industry and we as people treat them and how they are impacted by that.”
The cast of characters audiences will meet in the show come from divergent backgrounds. There is the client who is dealing with cancer but is still full of joie-de-vivre, the women who has a fascination with a person simply known as Mango Man, the overstressed mother whose sole aim is to get her kids into swimming lessons, the 80 year old women whose life story is immensely fascinating, and even Joanna Rannelli herself makes an appearance in the salon.
The ten characters in Bang, Bobs and Banter are portrayed by way of wigs, music and Rannelli’s mastery of portraying many different characters on stage.
The comedic aspects of the show will be different for each audience member. “I always call it a dramedy because I don’t really know what everyone is going to laugh at. I say comedy because I want them [the audience] to find laughter but there are also these moments of truth. Each one of these people believes these are their stories and it’s a true belief for them. They would not say it’s comedy, they would say it’s drama,” says Rannelli.
As Rannelli tells the story on stage and explores the different facets of the characters and how they relate to Nikki the stylist, Ragnelli wants audiences to laugh and think about how they treat people. “I want people to think about what they are telling their stylist, and whether it actually going to be a secret,” jokes Ragnelli, “but also how we just treat people, and maybe they should tip their stylist. Yes, it’s a service but at the end of the day we impact them just as much as they impact us.”
Bangs, Bobs and Banter: Confessions of a Hairstylist has been proven to be an effective dramedy and fan favorite. When Ragnelli took the show to Orlando, Florida to perform for the Fringe Festival there, the show won the critics' choice for the best solo comedy show.
It is sure to be a favorite with Winnipeg audiences as well.
Bangs, Bobs and Banter: Confessions of a Hairstylist will be performed at The Asper Centre for Theatre and Film at The University of Winnipeg 400 Colony Street. For showtimes visit the Fringe festival website or click here.
