Commando: The Radio Play

Ditch Water Theatre—Centennial Concert Hall – Rehearsal Hall

My hidden gem of this year! I’m still smiling days later and can’t stop recommending this to everyone I meet! I might even go see it again because I deserve it. The program description doesn’t do it justice; or give you a clue as to just how special this is.

This play written by the genius Cory Falvo, is a showcase for the art of Foley. For those who are not familiar with the term, it is the art of making sound effects without digital aid. And Cory is an artiste! What they do with their arsenal of veggies, fruits, tin sheets and all manner of articles is pure ingenuity; not to mention the cleverest and most comical act I’ve seen ever, not just this year.

The room is filled with such a rare shared spirit of pure joy at witnessing such fun. It’s magical. What impressed me the most was the obvious enjoyment the performers got from what they were doing. They were feeding off the blast the audience was having and bouncing it back at us. This radio play had 3 actors, borrowing bits from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘Commando‘ movie. The various accents were spot on, the timing perfect, as they zipped from multiple characters with lightning speed. They even inserted hilarious commercials, with a guest star from another show. Cory’s serious expression with furrowed brow turned into sheer merriment, as they played off tiny mistakes in timing and turned them into triumphs, demonstrated just how perfectly they have mastered the Foley art. I never realized how a cabbage can so accurately mimic the sound of a gory murder.

Please come back next year! I’m a fan for life. Catch me at the Jenny’s on Sunday night and it will be my pleasure to buy you all a beer!

Lisa Campbell