In an effort to provide double the fun, the Hart House Drama Society recently presented their Double Comedy Bill. The two shows, The Good Doctor and Black Comedy, performed in the Robert Gill Theatre, were great fun.
Of the two shows, the presentation of Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor was thoroughly enjoyable. Directed by Jason Shulha, this show was a collection of short stories by Anton Chekhov, transformed into scenes linked together by the host, an unidentified writer (most likely Simon).
The first few scenes are very funny for their ludicrousness, malice, or gruesomeness. These are the scenes of “The Sneeze,” “The Governess” and “The Surgery,” continually producing roaring laughter from the audience.
The play suddenly shifted gears, though, with the next scene, “Too Late For Happiness.” This was a sad scene that really did not fit with the rest of the show. Nicely done, it still stood out, but the production never regained its earlier momentum.
“Drowned Man,” “The Audition,” and “The Arrangement” at times seem almost like they were improvised. The audience was always wondering where the scenes were going, how they were going to wrap themselves up gracefully. Still, these offbeat scenes were amusing, the only exception being “Defenseless Creature,” an unnerving affair due to deliberate shrieks and yells that were too irritating to make the humour enjoyable. Overall, the cast worked very well together and put on a great show.
The second show, Black Comedy, written by Peter Shaffer and directed by Jason Cormier, was a show of numerous hilarious moments in a situation that was wonderfully stupid.
The main characters, Brindsley and his bride Carol, are waiting for the arrival of the world’s richest man to inspect Brindsley’s art. Simultaneously, Carol’s father is meeting Brindsley for the first time. To impress the father, the two of them steal all their out-of-town neighbour’s antique furniture. A power blackout, the early return of their neighbour, the unexpected return of Brindsley’s ex-lover, the arrival of the mechanic and the millionaire all lead to an insane evening.
This play is difficult to sustain. There are drops in hilarity, some dragged-out moments, some stiffness in acting and some blatant overacting, mixed in with well-delivered lines, great performances, terrifically funny accents and accurate co-ordination.
If this show had cut about 15 minutes of its text, this show would have been consistent. However, the evening was as a whole a success, the audience leaving entirely amused.
