Review: "In Waking Life" by Spicy Day Company

Do you know your Sun, Moon, and Rising signs? Do you know when Mercury starts retrograding? Do you want your dreams interpreted and your tarot read? Then look no further than the psychic Synsk sisters!

"In Waking Life," which opened Thursday, July 4^th, at Toronto's 2019 Fringe Festival and won Best of Fringe 2019, has all your stereotypical astrology memes personified by the Synsk sisters, Garnish and Cora. Garnish and Cora, who describe themselves as Norweden (born in a forest bordering both Norway and Sweden), have had their psychic powers for as long as they can remember and are more than eager to help any audience member with self-discovery. 

Garnish (Monica Bradford-Lea) and Cora (Lauren Welchner) help audiences interpret dreams and find themselves interacting with audience questions, reading spoken-word poetry, performing an impromptu tarot reading, and all with the help of their family members -- which include Uncle Magic-8 Ball and Crystal Ball -- who keeps the sisters together when they feel apart.

Bradford-Lea and Welchner give a heartwarming and funny portrayal of the two kitschy sisters. The audience is shown the true dynamic of sisterhood ranging from love and friendship, to disapproval and worry. “In Waking Life” is not short of pop culture references (R.I.P. 1D) or making fun of the sudden boom in astrological interest. As the Synsk sister’s say: Never Burn a Taurus’ Dinner.

“In Waking Life” is still showing Saturday, July 13^that 8:30PM and Sunday, July 14^that 2:30PM at 345 Carlaw Avenue.