eR a ee + A ag A es RC Unfortunately, by the time you read this, Burn This will have finished its run at the Arts Club Theatre. Perhaps it will be held over, though I’m sure the actors of Burn This are close to being burnt out ( no pun intended ) from the sheer volatile en- ergy of their performances. ( editors note: Burn This is now playing at the Seymour street Stage of the Arts Club Theatre ) Burn This takes place in the Man- hattan loft apartment of Anna, Larry and Rob. Anna ( played by Gabrielle Rose ) is drinking herself blind because of her sorrow over the death of Rob, who died ina boating accident with his boyfriend, Dominic, and was buried two days before. Anna and Rob were dancers. Rob is now dead and Anna is beginning a new career as a choreographer. Rob was gay and Anna’s sad state is partly due to the fact that she pretended to be Rob's grieving lover at his funeral because she didn’t feel it was her place to tell Rob’s middle-class family the truth. Anna is also beginning some sort of relation- ship with Burton, a writer of movies, who has just re- turned from that vast and exotic lanc up North, Canada. Burton is played by Andrew Wheeler. Larry is Anna other roommate ( they never do get another roommate to take Rob’s place). Larry’s ( played by John Moffat ) occupation is best summed up in his reply to something Burton says about movies being made by and for whores. Larry strikes back with “ Don’t tell me about whores, | work in advertising. “ Oh yeah, besides being in advertising, Larry is also into men. The three of them, Anna, Larry and Burton are introduced to us in the first act in a very low, monotone sort of mood. | felt this horrible feeling that we were in for an evening of low impact theatre. Just a bunch of anchorless characters moaning and posturing about life and death and all that other stuff that we have to put up with in between, you know, parking, fast food, not getting a date for Saturday night etc... And then Pale arrives, or rather Pale erupts . It was as if a hurricane, a tidal wave, an earthquake and a real bad case of indigestion hit you all at once, but in a really “ this is living “ sort of way. Only when you face death do you appreciated how much better the alternative is. The same goes for Pale, the older brother of the the deceased Rob, played by Andrew Rhodes. When he explodes through the door of Anna’s apartment at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am, you want to scream along with Anna. Pale’s frantic, manic,” fucking this, fucking that “ (| lost count at 33 fs ) entrance so shockingly contrasts with the border- line dullness of the opener that it can only be called brilliance. For this alone director Bill Millerd should be given some sort of award at or at least free drinks for a month in the Arts Club Backstage Lounge. : The winner of the high octane award for the collision course performance of the year has to go to Andrew Rhodes in the role of Pale. Mr Rhodes and | first met when he performed in that quintessential play about the Kitsilano lifestyle, Talking Dirty ,back in 1982. | saw Talking Dirty within 4 months of moving to Vancouver ( actually Burnaby) and | still see Andrew Rhodes’ performance as the best educa- tion about the typical Vancouverite who lives in Kits. REVIEW BY MIKE SMART Low keyed, beige and/or grey with a sort of kind of middle of the road opinion about everything, everyone and anything. | remember, thinking for months: after that the Kitsilano-ite that Rhodes portrayed couldn’t possible exist. Then | found myself living in Kitsilano, eating white bread and painting my apartment grey and beige. Truth is stranger than fiction. Every’ now and then I'll find myself sitting on the bus next to Andrew Rhodes and it isn’t until he gets off that. | realize it was that guy from Talking Dirty. But now, after 8 years, | will have a way different impressiom of Andrew Rhodes as a user of public transit and as an actor. The beige goes as does the white bread and what we get in Rhodes’ portrayal of Pale is a billion times meatier and spicier than the Cajun Fried Chicken at Mr B’s ( | just ate there before sitting down at the computer to type out-this review, so not, only is my mind full of this fantastic blur from seeing Burn This, but my stomach is full of gas from Mr B’s attempt at nutrition —vegetable note: can Mr B really call those potato wedges french fries ? Isn’t there some Academie de patate Francais or something that determines the thinness, crispness and edibility of french fries ? ) Now, where was | ? Oh yeah, Pale. The character of Pale is the catalyst for change and action in Burn This . Anyone who doesn't agree with this statement either didn’t see the play or did see the play and passed away in the first ten minutes of the opening act.. | read several reviews of Burn This before going myself and | must now agree with the tons-o’-praise heaped upon Andrew Rhodes. But Burn This is not a one man rant and rave and the fighting and cursing character of Pale works for us as a believable character because of the equally believ- able and exceptional performance of Gabrielle Rose, John Moffat and Andrew Wheeler. Gabrielle Rose, who was in Atom Egoyan’s Family Viewing and Speaking Parts gives us an Anna who is struggling to keep it all in some sort of perspective. She finds that after years doing nothing but eating,sleeping and talking about dancing, she now has a social life, an opening for someone else. She pretends that this someone else is the self-question- ing Burton, but she soon finds that she can not control her attraction, her addiction to the incendiary time bomb, Pale. Anna reminded me of so many women | keep meeting and falling in love with ( but who, of course, always fall in love with some real asshole instead of me ) that | almost stood up and yelled “ What are you crazy, go with the rich writer, that guy Pale’s nothing but trouble, with a capital t and a capital b.” But lucky for everyone in the theatre | was brought up as a retentive Catholic, so | just internalized everything and took it out later on this computer that is giving me nothing but microchip grief. John Moffat plays the role of the spectator of this heterosexual angst fest. This role as a witness to the drama ( the audience being the other witness ) is underlined at one point where he is ordered by both Anna and Pale to stay in the room as they both loudly and ; emotionally deny their real love. John Moffat makes his character of Larry much more than an Opera Queen . In one discussion with Burton, Larry says that he is no way near an opera queen, more like a lady in waiting. This early witticism in a way describes the role he assumes as Burn This progresses . His character stands off to the side of the set from where he occasionally remarks on what is happening before his and our eyes. But most of the time he just watches,and waits until the end of the play when he becomes the hero of the day and reu- nites the Romeo ( Pale) and Juliet (Anna ) with a simple matchmaking trick (and gives meaning to the title of the play at the same time ). Andrew Wheeler gets the unlucky role of Burton. Burton is the guy that looses the girl. He gives a performance full of pathos and self doubt. Burton’s stiffness and awkward emotionalism is in direct contrast to Anna’s fluid body language and directedness of her life. It is clear from the first act that this relationship is in neutral, shifting to reverse. Burton reminds us that someone always gets hurt in the triangle of love and romance. Halfway through the opening act of Burn This | was a bit taken aback by the rea/ness of the play. | haven't seen live theatre for years, (I go to the movies) so the experience was, to say the least, much more rea/than ,say, Sex, Lies and Videotape . | really enjoyed the way | had to focus in a much different way than if | was watching a movie. The 3D effect is a real plus, | must say. The acting pops right out as the main attraction and what an attraction. | have to go to more live theatre. If the actors in Burn This are any indication of the talent in our theatre scene, then Vancouver is sitting on a gold mine of talent. Here’s some free advice to my fellow filmmak- ers. Go see a play. | actually felt embarrassed early on in the play, as if | was a voyeur ( which, of course | was ) and these were real people talking about life and death and lying . Perhaps that says something about the acting or maybe it says more about me. | don’t know, all | know is that once | got over the strange- ness of seeing real live people ten feet away acting their guts out, | lost myself and then it was intermis- sion and | think | had a coffee and then | got lost again and then | found myself and then | saw these four ordinary people taking a bow and then before | could think or breathe or scream or cry | found myself eating a box of Mr B’s moisturized chicken ( cajun style ). It’s all a blur. But what a blur. Now, where was | again. Unfortunately, by he time you read this, Burn This will have finished its run at the Arts Club Theatre, Perhaps t willbe held over, though I'm sure the actors of a ‘Bum This are close to being bumt out (no pun intended ) from the sheer volatile en- ‘argy of their performances. ( edtors note: ‘Bum This is now playing at the Seymour street Stage of the Arts Club Theatre ) Burn This takes place in the Man- hattan loft apartment of Anna, Larry and Rob. Anna ( played by Gabrielle Rose ) is inking herself blind because of her sorrow lover the death of Rob, who died in a boating accident with his boytriend, Dominic, and was bbutied two days before. Anna and Rob were dancers. Fob is now dead and Anna is beginning a new career ‘as a choreographer. Rob was gay and Anna's sad state is partly due to the fac that she pretended to be Rob's grieving lover at his funeral because she didn't fool it was her place to tell Rob's middle-class family the truth, Anna is also beginning some sor of relation- ship with Burton, a writer of movies, who has just e- turned from that vast and exotic lane up North, Canada. Burton is played by Andrew Wheeler. Larry is Anna other roommate (they never do get another Foommate to take Rob's place). Lary's (played by John Moftat) occupation is best summed up in his reply o something Burton says about movies being made by and for whores. Larry strikes back with * Don’ tell me about whores, | ‘work in advertising." Oh yeah, besides being in advertising, Larry is also into men. The three of them, ‘Anna , Larry and Burton are introduced to usin the first ac in a very low, monotone sort of mood. | felt this horrible feeling that we were infor an evening of low impact theatre, Just a bunch of anchoriess characters moaning and posturing about life and