Push 2: 20-minute-musicals and The Beige

Last Thursday, I went with some friends to another play from the Push festival, including two 20-minute-musicals by Veda Hille and Bill Richardson doing one inspired by Craigslist, and Geoff Berner doing one based on Steve Fonyo. The waiters had dressed up in 20s like clothes, the craigslist musical was pretty funny, singing about all the strange things you can buy there, finally ending with the "I have seen you" section...

Geoff Berner was very cynical and maybe it was a bit too much: It started easy, with the main actor introducing himself as "Douglas Coupland, who wants to be the writer of a whole generation although his books get worse and worse. But there are still some guys in Europe, who are reading my books!" In the persona of Douglas, he visited the broken existence of Steve Fonyo who tried to repeat the success of Canadian one-leg hero Terry Fox (he got a monument in Vancouver downtown). For non-Canadians: Despite Terry Fox had lost a leg through cancer, he ran from Canada's East to West Coast and raised millions of Dollars for cancer research. Tragically, he died from cancer shortly afterwards. "The, well, less charismatic" (quote) Steve Fonyo tried to repeat this run, but couldn't cope with it, became an alcoholic and shoplifter. A kind of Canadian "Matthias Rust". Together with the fictional Douglas Coupland, he now goes to disgrace the grave of Terry Fox... A bit too much, maybe, very cynical for sure. For a review, see Kriss blog.


Image: McNee, playing Douglas Coupland with a photo of Terry Fox in the background (oh, I want this sweater!)

After these two musicals, The Beige entered the stage. A great band from Vancouver with a beautiful website and a likesome beautiful name. I was told that in an international survey, only the Canadians had chosen beige as their favourite colour. Because it was so average and nobody wants to sit on a fence... Therefore their name - go and check them out, now: www.thebeige.ca/