The Condo Down Under

The Old Elmwood Radio Theatre—John Hirsch Mainstage

This Greco-Roman Winnipeg-set retelling of Dr. Faustus will delight members of its target audience, but may not be a good fit for those unimpressed with parochial humour that relies on ‘Transcona’ as a weak punchline on multiple occasions. Those inclined to Manitoba Health hip-replacement waitlist humour will have a grand time, although the radio play format seems to have been selected as an excuse to remain on-book for an extremely minimalist musical production, rather than a celebration of the elements typically associated with the golden age of radio (e.g. Foley artistry) which are conspicuously absent.

While the live music is a welcome component, even the script admits that the songs are largely arbitrary; they do little to enhance or propel the very basic plot. The otherwise gamely receptive weekday-matinée crowd’s enthusiasm for the musical numbers was notably lacking, as the lead actor took the time to chide them for their generic response to the equally low-energy tunes.

Ashley Frantik