The Golden Boys — 3/5
This gender bent riff on the classic sitcom The Golden Girls by Anthony Ferens portrays the tomfoolery and unlikely kinship between four senior men cohabiting in Winnipeg. Marketed as a play where the four men compete to be the next Golden Boy on top of the Manitoba Legislative Building, The Golden Boys scores an A in creativity and a C in execution.
Blake, a queer reimagining of Blanche in the original, is undoubtedly the star of the show. Played by JJ Scherr, his obscene sense of humour and salacious encounters with men made the entire audience guffaw. Ben Robertson disappeared into his role and
convincingly played Sam, a senile, bumbling but mischievous man.
However, the plot is nonsensical and felt like a fever dream. The premise of competing to be the Golden Boy should have been central to the story, but most of the show is filled with strange arcs, including a ’60s lookalike contest that led to a full-length cover of Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe.” The attempts to weave in themes of grief and finding love at old age also felt superficial and contrived.
The Golden Boys could have been gold. Sadly, its non sequitur storyline is not so dazzling.
False Profits — 5/5
Jeff Leard ate the rich and left no crumbs.
False Profits is an entertaining, passionate and scathing critique of the ultra-wealthy. Drawing from real life examples of nefarious politicians and megacorporations, this solo comedy sums up everything wrong with the world in an outpouring yet razor-sharp 75-minute rant.
The script uncovers the Koch family, an ultra-wealthy dynasty in the U.S., and their ties to Nazi Germany and sprawling political
influence. This is followed by a ruthless debunking of trickle-down economics.
Leard has an absurdly compelling stage presence. His sombre and tearful exposé of the vicious treatment of workers under the Kochs is moving, and he even had to pause during a particularly fervent tirade to collect his bearings, blurring the lines between the character and the actor. The script blends harrowing topics with outrageous punchlines into the anti-establishment monologue of the century.
Leard strips off a suit throughout the show until he is in a mesh tank top in the end, transfiguring himself into a fantastical superhero to eliminate the world’s richest men in an unserious yet cathartic resolution.
FISSION: the Death of Dr. Louis Slotin — 3/5
U of M alumnus and Winnipegger Louis Slotin was a scientist working on the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico. When a terrible accident during a radiation experiment killed him, his death was immediately shrouded in mystery due to concerns with national security.
Written by Gilles Messier, this play depicts the story of Slotin (Mark Hall) — an eccentric genius with an unwavering passion for science who met his untimely death due to his recklessness.
Hall delivered a strong performance by acting out Slotin’s intense personality. The reenactments of the shoddy, ethically questionable experiments with radioactive material in the 1940s are both fascinating and horrifying to watch. The props, set design and costumes are all well thought out.
However, some of the scenes from Slotin’s earlier life seem disconnected from the Manhattan Project plotline. The significance of Slotin’s death and his contribution to the scientific world are also unclear, which is a majorly underexplored opportunity.
Overall, FISSION is a visually appealing and thought-provoking work, though one might struggle to find a message from the whole ordeal after watching the one-hour play.
