Winnipeg Free Press

Steeped in the absurdist tradition of American Fringe vets Sabotage, Australia's Jonno Katz is a one-man dynamo who combines surrealism, sketch cmdey and a bit of stand-up silliness into a one-hour blast of self-deprecating, hyper-manic weirdness.

On one level, Katz presents himself as your typical unlucky-in-love comic with an endless series of embarrassing anecdotes. But his routine also delves into a Philip K. Dick-like quagmire of multiple identites and realities, as he switches back and forth between "the real world"--where he's wandering through the desert and beginning to hallucinate--and the fantasy that he's performing in front [of] an audience.

The mix of cerebral humour and cheap sexual gags works remarkably well, as Katz maintains the illusion of being an utter wackjob. The only cabeat is that regular Fringe-goers may find this sort of psuedo-standup show a little bit familiar. If you like Sabotage, however, don't miss him.
--Bartley Kives

Jenny Review

Fans of the Sabotage series will enjoy this. Jonno Katz is directed by Mark "Sabotage" Chavez and there's a lot of Sabotage's sensibilities in it. I don't know Jonno's previous work but what a fabulous ... face he has!

Dammit, I have nothing insightful to say. It's quirky, well-crafted, funny, inspired zaniness.

- Michael Case

CBC Winnipeg

The sold-out crowd on Thursday evening was completely on side even before Junno Katz appeared... Most of the time Katz played three characters: his alter ego, Phil; Uri, the pole vaulting Russian, who... and Eric... Uri is a...

The scenes shift back and forth between the three men walking through the dessert, which Katz calls reality, and his interaction with the audience. The presentation was always rapid fire.

Totally off-the-wall comments are made without any context whatsoever. There was one exchange with an audience member whose new cell phone rang during the performance. Katz stopped completely and bantered with the woman while he played with her phone. Another comment about a woman suggested that... There was also...

There were many hilarious moments including two attempts... Katz's Australian accent made it a little difficult to catch everything he said but, of course, he worked that into his performance as well.

At one point he made a comment which was totally missed by this reviewer...

- David J Pate ****
(This review has been highly edited by me because basically all the reviewer did was list many of my jokes and surprises. This seems to be a common theme among reviewers this year. If any future reviewers read this I implore you to not give away my material in your reviews. It makes it a lesser experience for the audience and me when they have read the review that gives everything away before seeing the show.)

CBC online

When the pensive little man with the wide eyes and...as Australian actor Jonno Katz jumped into the character of Phil, an overly confident man who tries to...Seriously, it has to be seen to be believed. And Phil turns out to be one sliver of the fragmented mind of a character lost in a desert with his walkabout companions Yuri, a Russian liar, and Eric, a sensitive gay man. All three wanderers keep journals that allow each of them to record their impressions of each other, to re-enact memories, and to imagine out their absurd fantasies.

While the under-ventilated venue (a chronic Fringe condition) contributed to the illusion of the desert setting, it didn’t seem to hinder Katz as he nimbly leapt between countless characters, inviting sympathy with..., evoking laughter over his manic physical performances (portraying everything from a mosquito to a limb rending monster), or tossing away clever, time-release asides (...). With only a few lighting changes and his energetic performance, Katz fluidly jumped between the multiple realities and multiple personalities of Phil’s seemingly limitless mind. Judging by the audience’s laughter, we were all more than happy to go along on that exhilirating ride.

The ... comes out again at the end of the show for the final, funniest bit; ... By this time, Phil has successfully seduced his audience, and I’m guessing that Katz is in for a few little bum squeezes as... over the next several nights.

- Critic Finger (Again highly edited to not give away the show)