Performer/Playwright Valerie Mason-John’s indescribably whacked-out insight into life is given full reins in this smile-inducing go-for-broke outing. At equal turns hilarious, exasperating and insightful, Valerie is all Queen Regina II as she relates her histories and lineages to the equally gob-smacked audience. Mason-John does a terrific job carrying the piece, accessing a magnetic stage presence that gives the controversial material a necessary grounding amongst the mayhem. Surprisingly rich in content and extremely thought-provoking, Brown Girl in the Ring is the perfect play for anyone wanting to know what the Fringe is essentially all-about. 

Four out of five stars.