Mondo mentalism

Former dancer and choreographer, now "one man generator of seemingly paranormal phenomena," Gary Kurtz goes mental on a regular basis. Having performed at Just for Laughs in '97 and '98, he's back to take another crack at wowing audiences.

His new show, p3 is described as "a combination of mentalism, mind games and interactive comedy that defies comparison." Part light stand-up comedy, part showy infomercialism and part low-budget but "high impact" magic show, Mr. Kurtz even offers $20,000 to anyone who can prove that he pays people in the audience to go along with his "act." Gasp as Mr. Kurtz changes the time on people's watches, reads minds, plays a form of "Russian roulette" with butcher knives and guesses (blindfolded!) which envelope the twenty-dollar bill is in.

Don't expect any Sigfried and Roy extravagantics, though: "the shredder" mentioned in act two is not a giant torture device, but a hand-held paper shredder that the moneyless envelopes are treated to. : --Genevieve Paiement

At the Salle de Gésu, 1200 Bleury, until June 3, $23.75-28.25. Box office: 861-4036.

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