My Happy (Pyretic Productions) – 2010 Summerworks review

by Dorianne Emmerton

Me Happy.jpg

In Pyretic Productions Me Happy a young woman named Biddy lives in a tiny remote town in Ireland called Muff. Muff’s only claim to fame is three large cliffs which provide a spectacular view, constant danger of falling to one’s death, and an ideal venue for cliff diving.

That’s right: diving in Muff. That’s the kind of humour at work in Me Happy. It’s no workout for brain, but on a rainy dreary Sunday I was quite happy to be entertained with some bathroom humour.

Biddy has a very peculiar worldview and a colourful turn of phrase, delivered by Chala in a very convincing brogue. She is the sole worker in the town’s tourist office and is haunted by the ghost of the boy she loved when she was young. When she receives a letter from an internationally renowned cliff-diver, she falls in love with him via mail and engages in a bit of falsehood to keep up their correspondence.

Almost all of the action of the play is text from the letters the two write each other along with commentary. This means there’s no direct interaction between the two characters but the staging doesn’t get dull due to physical comedy of the two, particularly Alex McCooeye who plays Logan H Hasselhoff, the diver. The fact that McCooeye is very tall was exploited in the blocking, as Biddy was able to stand directly in front of him without obscuring his face, or even his neck.

I was slightly offended at the decision to put Biddy in a fat suit. She mentions being “wide” a time or two, but some unflattering baggy clothes could have sufficed. The fat suit just seemed in bad taste to me (and I liked the piss and fart jokes just fine!)

Me Happy is playing as part of Summerworks at Factory Theatre.

60 min.

August 5th 5:30 PM
August 7th 3:00 PM
August 8th 8:00 PM
August 10th 10:30 PM
August 13th 5:30 PM
August 14th 10:30 PM

– All individual Summerworks tickets are $10 at the door (cash only)
Advance tickets are $11 ($10+$1 convenience fee)
Tickets can be purchased:
-Online at artsboxoffice.ca
-by Phone at 416.504.7529
– in person at the Arts Box Office (located at Theatre Passe Muraille 16 Ryerson Avenue, One block North East of Bathurst & Queen)
– Several money-saving passes are available if you plan to see multiple shows