LARRY

Candy Bones—MTC Up the Alley

The music’s good. The dancing’s good. I haven’t banged my head since high school—that was good.

I’m very sorry that’s all the good I have to say about this show. There is so much potential here that was left untapped and this easily could have been a powerful, thoughtful and moral exploration, but as is, it’s just a story, and not a very good one.

In a previous life, I was a labourer in a blue collar atmosphere, very much like the character’s disposition: crude, crass, uneducated, sexist and egotistical. Since my journey through university and
my foray into Women’s Studies, I became a feminist, a decade before Trudeau showed the world that feminist men exist.

As a feminist, I think there is so much that this story could have taught, so many lessons to impart. Sadly, it falls so short. Towards the end, we believe that Larry’s terrifying discovery and ensuing breakdown finally enlightens him into seeing what kind of person he is—but his awakening reverts him back to his previous self, no wiser and no better. There needs to be a moral lesson here; there needs to be growth.

Some deeper research would have made this show stronger as well. Yes, labourers and tradespeople can often be foul-mouthed, but Actor Roberts did not reflect their employment of profanity and excessive crudeness. It doesn’t sound authentic, neither does the bumpkin accent.

This show is a good start to something that could be great. I hope that Roberts reengages this effort and transforms it to the potentials it could reach.

Ray Yuen

Editor’s Note: I was a patron of Candice’s Saturday night show and after the show ended Candice talked with the audience (largely composed of other Fringe Performers) about the show and its ending. She took a quick poll about the ending and pretty much everyone there agreed that Larry should remain mostly as he was, as that would be the most likely way that the character would end up. She also mentioned she had done a few performances where he did become more enlightened when she was workshopping it, but that those did not seem to work as well. Lastly, that Larry was based on over 25 years of interactions with those types of men.

Murray Hunter