CFF25: TEA TIME Review

TEA TIME presented by Erika MacDonald as part of the 2025 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. 

We don’t have time for this.  WINNER: BEST SHOW.  I don’t even like tea. WINNER: HEARTSTRING AWARD.  But people keep saying we should see her show.  WINNER: BEST FEMALE PERFORMER.  How long is it?  60 Minutes?  WINNER: CRITICS PICK-OF-THE-FRINGE.  Ok… yeah, let’s see it.

Local performance artist Erika MacDonald is premiering her latest work at the 2025 Cincy Fringe.

Titled TEA TIME, MacDonald uses the brewing and steeping of a cup of tea as a springboard for exploring our relationship with time. Erika is endearing and engaging in her performance, easily breaking the fourth wall, and pulling the audience in as willing participants for sixty minutes.

Directed by Paul Strickland, the at-times intentional slow-pacing worked well, forcing the audience to appreciate the mo-ments. Reminding us that things of quality take time and how important and fleeting shared moments can be as an audience.

And never underestimate the importance of steeping. 🙂

Overall a very enjoyable new work, well-written and performed. Definitely worth the price of admission.

Three performances remain at Gabriel’s Corner:

• Thu, June 5 at 7pm
• Fri, June 6 at 8:45pm
• Wed, June 11 at 7pm