Recipe For Success

Take one Fringe newbie, add a grizzled Fringe pro, fold in a popular blog, marinate for a year or two, pan-sear on a high heat, then serve it up at Fringe.

Meet Ramneek Singh. He is a blogger on a quest to find the best butter chicken in existence.

“I went in 2017 to a show I can’t remember,” Ramneek says, recalling his first Fringe experience. “I never came back!”

Not a likely candidate to be starring in his own Fringe show. But you never can tell.

Now meet Collin Doyle, award-winning Canadian playwright and actor. Collin has Fringe in his DNA. The first time he saw a Fringe show was in 1992.

“The first Fringe show I acted in was in 2000; and the first Fringe show that I wrote was in 2004,” says Collin.

And the first Fringe show he directed? Well, keep reading, folks.

How did Ramneek and Collin decide to make a Fringe show together? Snap back a few years.

Not one to soft sell his opinions, Ramneek had established a following with his brutally honest fast-food culinary critiques, “Ram’s Food Reviews.”

But something needed to change. Turning the Big 4-0 loomed large in Ramneek’s life. And after becoming the proud papa of an adorable little girl, so did fatherhood.

As for sharing his opinions on fast food? He was over it! Big time! He began pondering what was next.

Ramneek realized that a chasm has developed between him and his mother tongue, his culture, and his identity. For the sake of his daughter, he decided to embrace his Punjabi roots.

What Punjabi menu item is universally recognized? Ramneek hatched a plan: to seek out butter chicken wherever he can find it, let his taste buds “do their thing,” and then praise or “dish” the meals as frankly as possible.

Collin stumbled across one of Ramneek’s food reviews.

“I started following him because I enjoyed the writing. The writing became more interesting, more personal, and more about his life growing up in Mill Woods,” explains Collin.

When Collin received a Fringe Lottery spot, he contacted Ramneek.

“Hey, what do you think about turning your reviews into a play?” Collin asked.

“I thought it was a joke!” recalls Ramneek, but Collin was anything but joking.

At first Ramneek assumed Collin wanted to adapt the material himself. But that’s not what Collin had in mind.

“I knew it would be so much better for Ramneek to write it,” exclaims Colin. And as a performer? “Who better than the man himself.”

Now, after a slightly hesitant “yes” from Ramneek, two strangers have become collaborators: Ramneek as a first-time playwright/performer and Collin as a first-time Fringe director.

“As a senior Artist in my 50s, I’m no longer doing the Fringe every year,” says Collin.

Now whatever projects Collin chooses have to matter.

And for Ramneek?

“With the Punjabi community, there’s rarely any Punjabi actors. I think it’s quite important to have a play with a Punjabi protagonist,” says Ramneek. “I’m hoping [this show] fills that void, and we start getting more Punjabi voices in the local theatre scene, especially young voices.”

“People are going to be offended because they want immigrant voices or marginalized voices to be submissive. Whereas, my voice, I would say, is more angry, loud, defiantly Punjabi,” Ramneek continues. “I want the words to connect with people. I want people to laugh and have a good time. I want people to be moved.”

Don’t miss The Butter Chicken Odyssey at Venue 5: Acacia Hall.