Gordon’s Big Bald Head (The So-Be-It Union) (Rapid Fire Theatre)

Edmonton Fringe Festival

5 Stars

You can’t make this stuff up.

Except… these men do.  And do it wonderfully.

Gordon’s Big Bald Head has become an annual tradition at the Edmonton Fringe, and their random choosing and then impromptu mounting of one of the other Fringe plays is a genuine treat.  I have seen them perform several times, and often their improvised play is far more interesting and well-acted than the actual play that they have set out to spoof.

The subject of yesterday’s sold-out late-night performance was: Kurt Man: Buyer and Seller of Souls.

The original premise:  Kurt Man has it all until his retirement party when his gay lover outs him and tells him that everyone hates him all in the same speech.

There are demons.  And flayers.  And a pasta deity.  And a fiddle contest with the devil.  It was 65 minutes of rapid-fire jokes and frenetic energy, helped along by a crowd that was there to have fun.

That is my one criticism – the audience was so quick to laugh.  It would have been nice to see the jokes fleshed out a bit, but the actors were often drowned out by cheers and applause from the delighted crowd.

It was a great beginning to the Fringe.

And I already have my tickets for Sunday.