Gordon
At the Arts Club Revue Stage until March 24
Tickets: 604-687-1644
artsclub.com
Don't take the kids to this one. If f-bombs were real bombs, the Revue Stage would be blown to smithereens. And there's enough violence and blood in Act 2 to make CSI: Miami look like a picnic. But it's so smart and funny. Who but playwright Morris Panych can get us laughing at a drunk (Gord), a psychopath (Gord's son, Gordon), Gordon's hanger-on girlfriend (Deirdre) and a loser (Carl)? And maybe even liking them? Well, sort of liking the drunk, the loser and the girl with all that eye makeup; we don't much warm to the psychopath but for downright hunky good looks, actor Todd Thomson (as Gordon) might tempt you.
Act 2 ends in a free-for-all bloodbath leaving the audience groaning and laughing at the same time. But like all Panych plays, it raises serious questions under all that hilarious chaos: How does a father deal with a child that grows up to be a killer? Is blood thicker than, well, other people's blood?
Ken MacDonald's skuzzy Hamilton, Ont. kitchen sets the stage with its filthy walls, duct-taped TV and sink overflowing with dirty dishes. Who'd want to break into this hole? Murdering, drug-dealing Gordon (Todd Thomson), jittery sidekick Carl (Patrick Costello) and Gordon's wanna-be-a-rock-star girlfriend Deirdre (Pippa Mackie), that's who.
Andrew Wheeler as Gord makes a spectacularly funny drunk without looking like he's trying. A final tableau smacks of the Pieta in an ironic but nonetheless almost Biblical way.
Dimples notwithstanding, Thomson exudes menace; we fear if Carl asks one more time, "What now?" Gordon will kill him. Costello's jumpy performance and Mackie's sad little girl portrayal complete this explosive quartet.
Patrick Pennefather's percussive sound design heightens the sense of impending doom, which we, counter-intuitively, find gut-bustingly funny.
Directed by the playwright, Gordon is rollicking, nasty fun but if you scratch the surface it's not as lightweight as it first appears. That's the Panych touch.
