Undead Saturday

Yesterday was two-show day!

First it was Balls! at the Toronto Fringe. A two-hander about testicular cancer (yes, it's also about close friends confronting mortality), it has been working the Fringe circuit for a year or so and continues to do so for the rest of the summer. It was decent, though it could certainly use some continued workshopping. The two actors couldn't seem to quite maintain their commitment, and drifted in and out of being "present" in their roles. The writing has a lot of potential, but needs tweaking, particularly to more solidly define the characters through their language.

Then it was off to enjoy delicious Thai food (Cold Rolls, Mango Chicken, and Honey Fried Banana). Although slightly disappointed that their green tea came from Lipton's, it was still tasty tea.

Have you ever noticed that in many downtown-type restaurants, when you go to the bathroom, you feel suspiciously like you're descending into someone's rec room? Sometimes, as in the restaurant where I was dining, it feels like an abandoned rec room, cleared out for a move, while in other cases it seems like at any minute teenagers might appear and crash on the couch in the corner? In any case, then it was off to ...

Evil Dead: The Musical! It's a hilarious, crass, bloody good time. It's a spoof of musicals, of horror films, and of spoofs of horror films. Although not sitting in the splatter zone, I did get mildly splattered (and given that the blood was a trifle sticky, was sort of glad I didn't sit in the splatter zone). I'm sure that it's great fun to get fake blood all over oneself, but I'm not sure I'm the oneself for it... Ha!