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REVIEWS
"If there is a white-girl equivalent of the overgrown man-child, Candace is it. She's bleached blonde margarita FUN, just trying to have FUN like when we were fresh out of high school and knew how to have FUN. Speaking directly to us throughout, comically impersonating other characters and lightly soliciting audience participation, we realize that we're only getting things from her perspective. Everything has been controlled to avoid this coming off as the cry for help it actually is.
Smart use of soundscapes and lighting changes transport us instantaneously--a nervous airplane ride, a sunny beach in Mexico, the back hallways of a hotel in Whistler. Candace's story unravels and we watch a simultaneously hilarious and cringey train-wreck in progress as secrets come out and threaten multiple relationships at her best friend's wedding. No wonder she drinks! Though of course, it's so easy to justify a drink for almost any reason. Sara Mayfield's acting swings between silly-cute to uncomfortable-intense, bigger and broader each time, with moments that had we lingered a little longer and things gone slightly differently, this could have been a horror movie instead of a comedy. Really remarkable! I need a drink... Catch your flight to yikestown at Mainline. "
- Rob Teszka, Fringe Short Reviews
"Candace is a young women who eagerly arrives in Cancun, Mexico to attend a destination wedding of a couple whom she helped to connect.
She is looking forward to fun in the sun, partying at full force, hooking up with hunks, and consume plenty of cocktails and alcohol before, during and after the ceremony. However, there is a hidden reason why Candace wants a weekend of matrimonial debauchery…and it’s not pretty.
Candace’s Bridesmaids-type story is told with a great deal of spunk and sympathy in Sara Mayfield’s solo show ”Who Drinks Mocktails on the Beach?” The story is told in all of its alcohol-fuelled glory from Candace’s point-of-view, from the airport bar, to the hotel’s pool bar, to the karaoke bar, to the open bar at the wedding. The common thread between margaritas and tequila shots is that she tries to be the carefree life of the party, while trying to disguise a lot of hurt and personal issues that she doesn’t want to reveal to anyone she encounters during this wild weekend.
Sara Mayfield delivers an effervescent, convincing performance as Candace, as she vainly attempts to give others the impression that eveything is just peachy with herself, when something is really rotten to the core. It’s like she enjoys eating the worm floating in a bottle of tequila, but she doesn’t want to let on it’s the most repulsive thing she has ever experienced in her life."
- Stuart Nulmans Grapevine, @stuartnulman
"Who Drinks Mocktails on the Beach?! Is a delightful and moving comedy from story-teller Sara Mayfield. Filled with energy, emotion and heart, Mayfield plays Candace, an impulsive party-girl who randomly takes off to Mexico to attend her friends wedding. We follow Candace as she navigates her chaotic life drinking, revelling and being otherwise irresponsible, but beneath the surface we learn about the unsustainable lifestyle she, in fact, leads.
Played with immense charm and grit, Mayfield's comic timing is flawless and her performance excellent. Her character's tumultuous life had me captivated throughout, and the final moments were delivered with heart-breaking clarity.
Who Drinks Mocktails on the Beach?! Is a must-see for the creative sound design, outstanding direction and highly engaging performance.
- Jonathan Paterson, Fringe Performer (AWOL)
AUDIENCE REACTIONS
"Who Drinks Mocktails on The Beach?!" was one of my favorite shows at the 20204 Montreal Fringe Festival. The playwright and actor Sarah Mayfield accomplished the tour de force of bringing us into the complexities of her character: that young woman who we easily dismiss and may dismiss herself as the blond bimbo… But who is actually bright and capable, while her insecurities and sensitivity turn her into an easily exploitable mess, resigned to caring for everyone but herself - with some cocktails to make it all go down. There is probably some version of this character who lives in most of us. This is not easy to pull off, let alone in 55 minutes, and Sarah pulled it off so brilliantly that it was hard to believe she was acting! I wish her and her Director Damon Bradley Jang much deserved and continued success." - Manuelle Charbonneau, Ph.D.
"Super endearing performance from a rising talent who clearly connected with the material. Loved the music too, some absolute pop-punk classics used to bring the story into a gritty reality..." - Shane Adamczak, Fringe Artist @shaneadamczak
"Awesome Show, and amazing Karaoke! Such A blast :)" - Willa, Fringe Artist @Willalilliendahl
"Great f***ing show" - Tandem Jump Comedy @tademjumpmtl
1) “a captivating performance”
2) "made me glad to be sober”
3) "a tragicomic cautionary tale”
4) “packs a (spiked) punch”
5) "left me reeling”
- Al Lafrance, Award Winning Fringe Artist @notsoweirdal
“A phenomenal story from an unreliable narrator” - Michael Gorokhovsky, Audience member @michaelgorokhovsky
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