Tuning in to comic-book TV

>> >> 2,000 slightly scrambled visions

by AMY BARRATT

Some shows just make me feel old. 2000 Televisions, the latest offering from the barely-into-their-twenties folks at Untimely Ripped Theatre, is like that.

To begin with, it has its own soundtrack, created by the actors in the company, in a genre of music that, being 35 years old, I will not even attempt to label; they themselves make extensive use of the term "funk" but I'm not sure they are applying it exclusively to music. The show also incorporates original video clips in a way that doesn't slow the action at all and is at times quite witty.

2000 Televisions is--and I use this term more literally than usual--the brainchild of Christian Paul. It's a futuristic, comic book-y vision that has obviously been taking form in his imagination for years. The action takes place in a time and place where all art is controlled and artists are essentially owned by a single cable TV company. Our heroes are a group of artists known as Nature's Superfriends, who work for the company, Viewtron, but are getting antsy, especially since a new, right-wing cable commissioner has overthrown the old, sympathetic one.

It is a play with tons of backstory, much of which the program notes try to fill in, but really, unless you've been on this trip with Paul for some time, you're not entirely going to get it. Even Andrew Farrar who co-directed the piece, seems to realize this. In his program notes he advises, "Instead of trying to understand the text, just enjoy the view and listen to the sound of the words."

It's not bad advice, as there are some remarkable speeches, especially those that Paul has given himself. He plays the spiritual leader of the Superfriends, Seven Positivity, with such commitment that you can't help but respond to him, even when you don't know what he's talking about. Compared to him, the other actors all look a little lost, and the night I saw the show, there were some awkward pauses suggesting missed lines. Nevertheless, Mélanie St-Jacques and Elias Toufexis are hilarious in cameo roles, and Farrar, like Paul, is just a very appealing performer--a quality that can't be bought or taught in any school.

Whereas a lot of young companies can barely drag together a chair and a table and call it a set, 2000 Televisions has a real "look." The set, courtesy of Pharra Kligman, gives prominence to the square, including a sofa made of clear plastic boxes. No one is credited in the program for costumes, but their emphasis on bold, solid colours: red, green and shocking pink are appropriately evocative of comic books.

Although 2000 Televisions won't appeal to all tastes, I do hope to see more of Christian Paul, both as actor and writer. With an experienced hand to guide him, he could turn into a fine playwright. I wouldn't want him to put any more of his time into refining this project, unless he were to pitch it to a TV production company as an idea for a cartoon (talk about yer changing the system from within). :

2000 Televisions is at Théatre Calixa-Lavallée in Parc Lafontaine, 8pm, until July 2.

Reservations: 481-8477