Worth it

Another solid show from this company. Highly recommend.

The Center [Stage] Cannot Hold

The show opened with the narrator saying that this show was written specifically for men. The author must have a very low opinion of men. (Note: being crude is not the same thing as being interesting.) The actors, costumes, props, scenery, and music did serve to form a delightful setting. Unfortunately, the script was meandering and boring. There are several ways they could have made this a more interesting show, and they managed to avoid all of them. A show about Yeats, or Yeats and Maud Gonne, or the Irish writers, would all have been more interesting. A show about Aleister Crowley? No. I am familiar with Yeats’s popular poems and I like them. Unfortunately, the first poem they performed of his they butchered. The second poem was not read as well as it could have been, and for some inexplicable reason the last few lines – which they correctly announced were the theme of the poem – were cut. The show ended with the narrator saying she forgot to tell us that this was a true story. But the show I attended had preloaded text appearing on a screen for people with hearing problems. Somehow the monitor didn’t forget that announcement.

Funny AF

This was so funny and such a good time. Only complaint was some sound issues but it was opening show so those could easily get resolved. See it!

What? It's NOT Harry Potter?

Another success for Winding Sheet. I was a little confused because of the magical angle, and the lead poet kind of looking like Harry Potter, but I am 25% Irish, so I loved the story, even if convoluted. And I am not sure we needed Amber's narration the whole time as some kind of commentary on her own directing style. But the music was wonderful, and the performances were big and hilarious!

Chaotic Fun

I couldn’t really come up with a good way to summarize this show. There’s always something crazy happening, but also there’s not really much in the way of plot. I know that’s something of a contradiction, but I don’t know what else to says besides: Impressive writing. Impressive acting. Impressive music. See it

I think there's an award for this

Oh, this has GOTTA win the award for the Fringiest show of 2026. Take a fairly mundane bit of history that involves two poets (one brilliant, one crappy), and then put it through a blender and create a show full of brilliant and delightfully vulgar comedy. WSO even found a way to make metatheatrical devices (yawn) truly funny! This is the show that EVERYBODY NEEDS TO SEE.

Fantastically hysterical

The overall production was a blast! For the diehard poetry experts - they would have been hard pressed but as Fringe shows go this had a bit of something for everyone! So go see it before they close this weekend.

Boys Show!

Toe to tip, this was a fringe show! Which is to say, there was a lot of information flying at me and it took a second for me to get reoriented. The band was a delight and all the actors were brilliant! I had a few good laughs, and while I think I'm just not the target audience for this show, I certainly don't regret going!

Go See It!

I loved this one. A wild ride -- funny, serious, inventive with great acting and directing! The time flew by. I always like what Winding Sheet Outfit does - they are so creative

Historical Goofiness from The Winding Sheet

If you have seen any of The Winding Sheet Outfit’s Fringe shows in the past, you’ll know they have a knack for finding something—or someone—from history and turning it into something wonderfully theatrical. This time, their subject is W. B. Yeats. The central theme of A Confluence of Magical Arseholes is Yeats and his ongoing feud with Aleister Crowley, another poet who is particularly outstanding for his crudeness—and for his enthusiastic use of the word c*nt in his poetry. The play takes us into Yeats’s world at The Golden Dawn, a mystical order that the actors mercilessly skewer with gloriously over-the-top portrayals of its rituals and ceremonies. The whole thing is played with exactly the right amount of ridiculous seriousness. From there, we follow Yeats on visits to the local Irish pub, where his fellow literary friends Bram Stoker, Arthur Machen (“He’s Welsh!”) and George Bernard Shaw (“Yes, I wrote Pygmalion!”) play musical instruments and sing about what is going on in Yeats’s life. It is an inspired device that keeps the story moving while adding to the wonderful absurdity of the whole production. And then there is Maud Gonne, the love of Yeats’s life—“I loved the pilgrim soul in you.” She moves in and out of his life while repeatedly saying NO to his proposals of marriage, largely because, as far as she is concerned, poor Yeats simply isn’t revolutionary enough for her. Meanwhile, Amber Bjork, breaking the fourth wall throughout the entire show, directs the proceedings from the side of the stage. Her presence adds another layer of controlled chaos, as though someone needs to at least attempt to keep this collection of poets, mystics, revolutionaries and magical arseholes under control. All in all, I believe this is some of the best acting I have seen at the Minnesota Fringe Festival this year to date. Yes, it is quirky. It is goofy. It is crude. It is rude. In fact, when I left the theatre, I was amazed the air in the room hadn’t turned blue. But most importantly, it is incredibly funny. Go and see A Confluence of Magical Arseholes. Have a good giggle. Have several. And don’t be surprised if at some point you find yourself having a full-on belly laugh.

Feckn' Beautiful

I consistently love Winding Sheet productions and this was a fun experiment (Boys Night!) that was executed well and a real treat. Educational with great comedic pacing. Sometimes hard to hear but thats an issue I've been noticing in general with the Thrust.

Irreverent and fun

The show is very fun, and the actors (especially Crowley) did a great job. A lot of time is spent on characters introducing themselves, and I wished there was more plot. I like a little irreverent comedy, but by the end the irreverence felt like more of a crutch

wtf was this….more of it please. Irish, cunts, and

I went in blind. Go in blind. You will really not understand what’s going on but they’re aware of that. Truly such a fun time. Irish music, dancing, singing, NAUGHTY language you can’t believe you’re hearing. Choreography, stage combat. Was great. I didn’t love that the show ended early for a 5 min curtain speech, I wanted more of the SHOW. I truly couldn’t give a plot besides secret society and two Irish poets going at it for a women. Go see it. You won’t regret it even if you hate it.

Chaos, magic, poetry, dick jokes

Director Amber gives a warning at the top of this show that it isn't going to be as "pretty" as a typical Winding Sheet Outfit show. That's certainly true--somewhat ironically, this show about Yeats is a good deal less poetic than their previous work about nonsense artist Edward Lear, and while it's about spiritualists it's nowhere near as earnestly spiritual as their take on Hilma af Klint. Instead it's a party, with a bunch of English, Irish, and Welsh people of the early twentieth century amusing themselves by screaming profanity at each other, drinking heavily, and performing magical rituals with swords that don't seem designed to accomplish anything in particular. I found this show a bit hard to hear--I was glad I happened to attend an open-captioned performance, as the song lyrics in particular got a bit lost in the Thrust space, and there was a fair bit of crosstalk--and it didn't really go anywhere in particular. I'm not sure we really needed as much meta-about-the-Fringe as we got, either, considering there was no particular drama or narrative arc happening in the meta, and it slowed the show down to pop in and out of the fiction like that. Still, there's only one show where you'll get to see Aleister Crowley hump a sword and George Bernard Shaw pronouncing his middle name seven different ways. It's very clear the company is having fun and wants everybody in the room to have fun too.

Yes Crowley really was an arsehole

Since I do know something about the Golden Dawn (enough to be dangerous as they say), I was really looking forward to this one. Amber and company don't disappoint in this creative and bizarre look at a magical order from the early 1900s. I can attest to the fact that this is a well-researched and accurate story (more or less). Of course that's not the point. The point is humor, satire, and incredibly talented performers. Great effort and lots of fun!

History, Comedy and Music Abound At Golden Dawn

Based on a real society that was the "in" thing to be in for upper class folks who had time on their hands, this show uses real source material to recreate a sense of the organized chaos. The music is fun as is the physical comedy. I loved the staging and would love to see more.

Giggles

I made this a priority as Yeats is one of my favorites, like I bastardize his poems into songs and sing them at the Renaissance Festival level favorites, so I couldn't miss it. They did present some of his poems, but it was mostly character to character cocked-browed goofiness. The Crowley actor (whom they flew in from Rhode Island) was a highlight, delightful buffoonery there. And I normally don't get the giggles at these kinds of shows, or ever in life, I don't know if it's genetic or what, I just think too much or something, and I know i shouldn't be looking for plots or themes in these disclaimer'd silly ones, but I just can't help myself and it takes me out of my body where I should be, but what I'm saying is I did find myself starting to burp chuckles around 60% of the way through, in spite of myself, I mean the silly just got so consistent I couldn't help it, so that was fun. The house was about half full, and I'm guessing shows will only get fuller and so more giggle-contagious with reps, and the company's crafting and timing will only get sharper. I will say, in case they read this, is I think y'all should get Maud Gonne a Maud Gonne Wig, and maybe even a hat, I think that would land hella well. Also the t-shirt bits landed well so i hope they explore getting all characters t shirts even if they are only seen briefly and even if they are not featured like the ones now that got laughs, maybe just little easter eggs some people will notice. The ceremony parodies landed pretty well too I wanted bigger and morer of those, I think that kind of physical goofy comedy is what this company excels at and aims at, and I hope to see them again some day for some more giggle therapy in spite of my foolish philosopher brain. Also they suggested-donation sell "team Crowley or team Yeats" buttons at the end and I am so unhealthily happy with my team Yeats one.

Hilariously well done

Winding Sheet is so good at this. I might have a new favorite poet after this show #TeamCrowley

Silly, chaotic, bawdy fun

A hilarious telling of an apparently infamous beef at the highest levels of an occult organization you may or may not have heard of. Some dialogue gets lost in the chaos, but director Amber reliably pops in in meta mode to smooth over the details. Minus half a kitty for crosstalk/my crappy hearing, but this is the kind of show you come to Fringe to see.

What the hell was that?

I think it's a true Fringe show. Very original, weird, and chaotic. So from that point of view, everything became normal.

A Different Brand of Intelligent Writing & Laughs

This was a much different Winding Sheet production from Amber. Some solid on-the-nose work from her actors, a delightful band that was integral to the action, yet with perhaps more misses than in previous shows - who can ever forget Blood Nocturne? Yet, two shows later on a Wednesday evening, and I could not come up with this title in chit-chat with new seatmates....