On Tuesday afternoon I finally got to see The 8th Day playing as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival and I loved it. It’s a very funny show. I had started to think it just wasn’t going to happen. This was Mooney on Theatre’s third try. Missed it last week because of a streetcar delay. Missed it on Monday because of the storm. Today I got to a block north of Queen on Bathurst and the power was out! Even though I wasn’t feeling very hopeful I decided to walk to Theatre Passe Muraille and see if they had power. They did! Yay!
They didn’t actually have it for the whole show though. It went out with one line left to be delivered. The audience was really focused on the show when someone shone a flashlight around and said loudly “There’s been a power failure. Stop the play. Everyone has to leave the theatre.”
We all thought it was part of the show. I was really impressed by the playwright’s prescience.
The actors knew it wasn’t part of the show and exited the stage through a door that opened on to the sidewalk. The were saying “There’s only one line left!” as they went. The audience started yelling “The line! The line!” and they weren’t going anywhere. The actors stuck their heads through the door and delivered the line. Much cheering ensued and we left the theatre.
I have to admit that I wasn’t really looking forward to seeing The 8th Day. I couldn’t imagine that a play about the zombie
apocalypse would engage me but it did. Of course it wasn’t really about a zombie apocalypse. It was about two friends preparing for a zombie apocalypse.
Andy (played by Mark Willett) and Kevin (played by David Michael Moote) have been best friends since they were two. It’s tough to know how old they are now but I’d say around 10 or 12. Andy thinks there is going to be a zombie apocalypse and that he and Kevin can save the world. They have the most complicated secret handshake that I have ever seen. And that’s all you really need to know about the story.
Shane Monaghan wrote the play and co-directed it with Stephanie Crothers. Christina Kozak is the Stage Manager. They did an excellent job. Willett and Moote were terrific. I believed that they were young boys.
One thing I noticed was that the audience was young. They all looked as if they were under 30. It made me wonder if older patrons were staying away because they thought it was going to be a play about the zombie apocalypse. It’s fine, go see the show. It’s funny. There were a few cultural references that I didn’t get but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment.
This is what I love about Fringe. You just never know what a show’s going to be like.
Details:
The 8th Day is playing at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace (16 Ryerson Ave.)
Performances are:
July 09 05:00 PM
July 11 02:45 PM
July 12 08:45 PM
July 13 06:15 PM
All individual Fringe tickets are $10 ($5 for FringeKids) at the door (cash only) and go on sale one hour before showtime. 50% of tickets are available in advance and are $11 ($9 + $2 service charge), these can be purchased online at
www.fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062 ext. 1, or in person during the festival at the Festival Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St W).
Value packs are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows
Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating during the Toronto Fringe Festival.
Photo of David Moote as Kevin Link and Mark Willett as Andy Keasby