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The
Winnipeg Free Press
Friday, July 21, 2000
- Kevin Prokosh
Play lives up to its name, only better IT'S
ME, ONLY BETTER /Shannan and the Monkeys du Maurier Arts,
until Wednesday.
If
you liked meeting Izzy last year in her fringe show
Burnt Tongue, you will like her again this year, only better.
Izzy, of course, is the charming, red-nosed, white-faced clown,
out- fitted in a wedding dress just in case she meets the man
of her dreams. In Burnt Tongue her blind date never showed.
In It's Me, Only Better, the life jacket is the tip-off things
haven't been going well. She has applied to enter a convent.
"You're
not going to believe this but I've experienced a lot of rejection,"
she says to guffaws of laughter during a performance at the
Ottawa Fringe Festival.
The plot of It's Me is quite slight but it is the skill of Shannan
Calcutt which really deserves attention. Her rapport with the
audience is always the highlight of her shows. People seem to
be willing and wanting to open up to her on stage. In one scene,
Izzy calls an audience member up to hear her confession, which
she describes as like a chatroom.
After divulging one of her sins, Izzy says it's the woman's
turn. This shy woman says, "Forgive me Izzy, for I have sinned,"
and then amazingly confesses to have had an affair with a married
man. Even Izzy's cheeks flushed to the colour of her cherry
red nose. The surprise disclosure was an amazing testament to
the emotional connection Calcutt makes with people. Izzy tells
people their woes and they often return the favour.
Calcutt is beginning to give clown shows a good name on the
fringe circuit. Izzy is full of surprises, something in short
supply in theatre today. It's Me is highly recommended except
to those who have a secret they might not want to blab to a
bunch of strangers.
***** FIVE STARS
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