Created and first performed at Tarragon in 1993, this production has been updated, but not significantly.
Keith and I had different reactions to the play - I thought the first act was very funny and was happy to stay for the second. He would have left at the intermission, but agreed to stay since I was enjoying it. I should have let him win - the first act was significantly better. It was funny and lively. The second act got preachy and slow.
The writer and star does make some valid points about Canadian society and our acceptance of people not like ourselves. But I would rather laugh at myself than be preached at. Clearly I was in the minority as the audience reaction was very positive.
The show is about coming to terms with being a hyphenated Canadian - which many of us are.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the show needs abbreviation and structure, not hyphenation. He went on too long and the episodes seem to occur in random order. There was little sense of becoming a Canadian and seeing here as home, rather than the place you came from.
The performer is quite good, but he needs an editor and director - somebody other than himself.