@ Fringe Picks °99. ‘Holdovers from the Vancouver Fringe Festival at Presentation House to Oct. 3. : Martin Millerchip Curtain Call taartin@nsnews.com TF Presentation House is going to keep doing ’ this, maybe in future - - Pil just forget trying to find parking on Commercial Drive dur- ing the Vancouver ‘Bringe Festival. -It would be so much eas- ier just to avoid the trek ‘over to Vancouver and await the holdovers that- . Presentation House’s Val ‘Mason lines up locally. The choices may not always” - “include that rave production ‘you heard’so much about id missed, but, overall, Blandiloguence. hey. are a, fair, representation -.- Eloquent? Yes! the better quality shows ~~: Not! on offer-at the Fringe. ° - But to attempt to make - Feaught the epenin complete sense of the absurd ight-of the holdovers fast: ‘is an exercise in futility and, week, and while I was enter-" perhaps, to succumb to the ned | by: the two plays: playwright’s blandishments. - , 1. was ‘distressed by: the There’s'a man, a woman, tack of North Shore interest. 7 Neither play attracted more 0 people; and most of. : ose sppeared te to be Cast” friends : : and performances. Vogt and Backus are not afraid to reveal their angst, anger and scatological obses- sions in non-stop riffs that are often. humorous, always , energetic and unapologeti- cally, awfully male. @ Blandiloguence by John ‘Robert McGie, produced by David Kaye Productions ard First Impressions Theatre, Wow! And kere 1 was thinking that Theatre of the Absurd ended in the 60s. ously went into some sort of cryogenic deep freeze after seeing After Magritte and defrosted just in time to win all sorts of awards for his - script in the Theatre B.C. festival and to write rabbit, an ortsrage son, (con- ceived 'but- not bo grandmother i in a sack. Sex is ness of being in’a play. -: This last clement is often interesting, . as” the . most. : McGie plays with stage con- -Vention "to hilarious advan- © tage. ; juently, ing sticks have idiculed:and both’s wate: sexual objec ive light. all: enough to.drive-a- razy, ithat ‘is -if © man isn’t already’ ere, what with liv-... and “David irect and” Pere “ANEW CHAPTER © ; is UNFOLDING . “AT MARGARETA ; IN West VANCOUVER, tion Me slick little. -pi¢ce on backup: singers” ‘was “very ), theiz. script is. little more: .than :'two~ extended - mono! gues on what they © w which is beirig male, | gle ¢ and in ‘Toronto.: : rtially “redeeming what : ultimately a static. piece of : vith = little: are. is -t onesty of. the writing. Writer John McGie obvi-_ ‘Bland? ‘in the air'as well as an aware- T did: wonder however, whether this level of the pro- duction was tao self-aware, too obvious, just too self. indulgent. How many of the insider jokes work on audi- ence menrbers who have never donned greasepaint or worked on a movie? But that. could be an example of directorial choice rather than writer’s excess. I'd also like to know whether it’s writer McGie or ‘directors Jacques Lalonde and Michae) Rogers who are responsible for the extended, and very funny, opening sequence, replete with bad lighting cues and duet for tuba and piano. Actors ‘Colin Cunningham and , especially, Chris Robson show well, but directors Lalonde and Rogers’ must take Fesponsi- bility for Madison Graic's casting. Maybe she’s great on camera, but I just couldn’t understand. her when her character spoke quickly —. which was much of the time. Diction is a requirement of theatre. Blandiloguence still needs reinforcement to its. own frame of reference. Absurdist ° a physician disguised -as a. J m) and a’. : plays can’ create their own rules of situation and plot, but drama requires that something is ultimately at stake, . Nevertheless, McGie is obviously a wordsmith of tremendous ability and this production, especially for “theatre” people, showcases his potential. photo David Kaye Productions CHRIS Robson is the man in the rabbit suit, but just what does that carrot in his | hand represent? The absurdist play Blandifoquence vias a Fringe holdover. o Sell your stuff. 14 hours 4 day.