Taking three of the stories traditionally classed as part of the ‘marriage group’ in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Part Two follows the lead of the first in repositioning them within disparate genres.

Perhaps wisely, The Wife of Bath’s Tale does not stray as far from the original, being depicted as a faux-Shakespearean medieval romance. This avoids the awkwardness of transplanting into a modern setting the alien moral, whereby a knight is ultimately rewarded with happiness and love for avoiding the death sentence given to rapists.

This alien quality, which is to be expected in a seven centuries old text, is captured in an intergalactic sense with the transformation of The Franklin’s Tale into an episode of science fiction. Featuring a more than passing resemblance to a particularly beloved series that starred a young William Shatner, the pop cultural references and technobabble evoked more than a few laughs from the audience.

Even with its outlandish nature, of the six tales presented in both part one and two, The Franklin’s stands clear as the most successful translation of the original Chaucerian story into another genre.

Conversely, the version of The Merchant’s Tale that follows is the least successful. Embracing Victorian melodrama as it does, January loses all of his character’s nobility and with it any sense that an injustice is being done to him by the tale’s end.

The humour of Part Two remains as broad and fatuous as Part One’s, though considering that has been nominated for an Artrage award, the KNUTS theatre company must be correct in thinking that is what people want.

The Canterbury Tales – Part Two runs until February 19 at The Moon House Tent and is part of Fringe World 2013. Tickets are available from fringeworld.com.au.

Cast members circulate through the waiting crowd before the show, collecting object and adjective suggestions into skull-shaped pots. When combined with the result of a coin toss, the title of the play is determined, with that night’s being “The Most Esteemed Comedy of the Flighty Knickerbocker”. A random number shouted from the audience is added to the mix, which in this case meant that seven marriages were to occur before the show’s end.

Knickerbockers may have been interpreted as a type of lacey undergarment a woman might wear and the marriages all but forgotten until the last ten minutes or so, leading to some speedy romancing, but all of this just added to the absolute hilarity of what was occurring on stage.

This applies equally to the Shakespearean influence, which that night was mostly manifested in the show’s format and the peppering of the players’ dialogue with “doth”, “thou” and the suffix “–est” in both appropriate and inappropriate places.

The embracing of coincidence and overly elaborate plans that never should work suggested a lampooning of the Shakespearean formula, but whether this was purposeful or just a byproduct of the improvisation is difficult to deduce.

What is clear is that every member of the cast is a deft improviser, who enjoys what they do as much as the audience clearly was. If the rest of the performances maintain the standard set by the opening night, you would have to be as averse to pleasure as Malvolio to not have a riotous time.

Shakesprovisation ran until February 17 at Noodle Palace and was part of Fringe World 2013.

A thought of this sort clearly occurred to a member of the KNUTS theatre company, which is staging two productions based on Chaucer’s Tales. Directed by Stephen Lee, they present three tales each, with Part One’s being those of The Pardoner, The Miller and The Reeve.

The intent of the production, as stated by the characters of Chaucer and The Host in the play’s prologue, is to avoid the educational and provide audiences with what they want. Accordingly, the three tales presented in Part One, are transposed into different genres across time, with their language updated to suit modern ears. The Pardoner’s Tale is recast as a Western, The Miller’s Tale becomes a Carry On film and The Reeve’s goes quiet, as a silent movie about two cyclists.

This last choice is particularly inspired, as the original Reeve’s Tale is marked by its emphasis on the physicality of the characters and their actions, as opposed to their use of language.

It does, however, make it an even more curious decision to open with The Pardoner’s Tale as opposed to that of The Knight, which forms a kind of thematic trilogy with the Miller and Reeve’s, marked by a downward class shift and, as suggested by Seth Lerer, “a decay in linguistic stability”.

Eschewing any of the real Chaucer’s subtlety, as he balanced the comic and serious moralising, this production aims for the easy laughs and always receives them. Cringe-worthy at times and often ridiculous, it may not be the final word in adapting The Canterbury Tales, but it is an amusing one.

The Canterbury Tales – Part One runs until February 13 at The Moon House Tent and is part of Fringe World 2013. Tickets are available from fringeworld.com.au.

Jazz Juncture is the debut of Siahne Rogers as a writer and director, though she is no stranger to the Fringe scene, regularly appearing in burlesque acts under the name Vivian Marlowe
A classic variety show, presenting the sheer range of what Fringe World has to offer on an attractive jazz-themed platter, Jazz Juncture never quite launches itself beyond the appetizers stage.

The performances are structured around scenes in a town built on jazz, but unfortunately this conceit is not given enough depth to successfully hold together their narratives, leaving them seeming disconnected and haphazard. It gives the show a sense of being almost unfinished, as the attempt to link the acts ultimately doesn’t lead anywhere. .

That is not to suggest the individual performances themselves are in any way wanting, with the acrobatic contortionist and the magic act clear crowd favourites, eliciting the strongest applauses and laughs respectively. One or two of the vignettes involving newspaper were inexplicable, though perhaps if the framing device had been fleshed out more, their purpose would have been apparent.

The accompanying jazz band in particular has to be complimented; creating exactly the right kind of smoky and sultry edge you’d expect a town built on jazz to have. The sounds of a teeming Northbridge threatened on occasion to drown them out, but the band persevered.

For a first work, Jazz Juncture is commendable. Rogers has a strong understanding of presentation, atmosphere and the elements audiences want in a Fringe World show. It will certainly be interesting to see what she does next.

Jazz Juncture runs until February 13 at The Pink Flamingo and is part of Fringe World 2013. Tickets are available from fringeworld.com.au.

Pope, the titular standover man of Jessica Messenger’s latest production, may be physically imposing, but it is possible that he is not quite what you bargained for. Played by Mario Piccoli, Pope has a greater fondness for miniature roses than violence, which he often arranges while conversing with La Pucelle, better known in English as Joan of Arc.

The Standover Man is the latest in a line of impressive plays from Messenger, beginning with her award-winning debut, Rain. Supported by Arena Arts and Entertainment, this production comes courtesy of Stained Glass Robot, Messenger’s own theatre company.

Hand-held torches are cleverly employed to create a shadowy world on the stage, filled with the ghosts of past failures, misdeeds and crimes. A world where perspective is in flux and first impressions are always wrong. Its eeriness is enhanced by the solo cello work of Emma Hayes, as she shapes the emotions of each moment.

Theo Messenger’s performance as the suave and slightly slimy Accountant, so named for his appearance and day-job, threatens to steal the show, though Esther Longhurst has to be applauded for her seamless transitions between the mysterious La Pucelle and the obnoxious ‘kid’.

As a theatre venue, The Bakery leaves much to be desired, as the actors lack the microphones necessary to overcome the space’s acoustic issues. Sitting close to the stage is therefore recommended, though this engaging production is likely to hold your attention from wherever you are in the room.

The Standover Man runs until February 21 at The Bakery and is part of Fringe World 2013. Tickets are available from fringeworld.com.au.

Though it was not until the 20th century that the “femme fatale” archetype received that appellation, women’s dark power of seduction has been a storytelling theme since before Calypso and Circe bewitched Odysseus in Homer’s The Odyssey. The debate as to whether such characters play into a misogynistic fantasy or are a symbol of female empowerment may be far from settled, but their endurance in popular consciousness cannot be denied.

Embracing the archetype, WA Opera mezzo-sopranos Anne Millar and Sonni Byrne appear under Fringe World’s Moon House Tent as innuendo spouting, slinky gown clad temptresses, ready to introduce their audience to the long line of dangerous women. Accompanied by the accomplished David Wickham on piano, Millar and Byrne expose various female characters from myth, fiction and history as befitting the label, beginning with the biblical Eve herself.

Millar and Byrne’s portrayals of such figures are cleverly and amusingly combined with a range of songs, samplings and compositions that themselves demonstrate the femme fatale’s history and the performers’ extraordinary vocal abilities. Though an appropriate jazz bar aesthetic infuses the entire repertoire, it runs alongside tunes from the music hall, The Velvet Underground and Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen, among others.

While much of the audience may have spent the show cooling themselves with the complimentary Fringe World hand-held fans – either because of the sweltering night air or the content of the show – all eyes appeared to be locked on the antics of the performers up front.

According to Millar and Byrne, there is a bit of femme fatale in every mother, daughter, sister, wife and lover. In fact, they exclaim, there is a bit of femme fatale in us all.

Femme Fatales – A History runs until February 5 at The Moon House Tent and is part of Fringe World 2013. Tickets are available from fringeworld.com.au.