Weird post title for only the second post of mighty comeback, right?
This is what a Gargamel is (bless you, Wikipedia):
In the fictional world of the Smurfs, Gargamel the sorcerer is the sworn enemy of the Smurfs and the principal antagonist in the show and comic books. While described as a wizard in the narration, Gargamel is not depicted as possessing real magical powers to speak of, fortunately for the Smurfs. He is, however, quite competent at creating magic potions for various usages and thus could be considered an alchemist, rather than a wizard, of much intrigue. His main goal in life is to destroy the Smurfs and/or capture enough of them to create a potion to turn base matter into gold.
Or, if you a teeny-tiny little blogger in Edmonton and an ultra-cool local playwright contacts you asking if you would be so kind as to come see his play and maybe write a little bit about it, Gargamel takes on a whole ‘nother meaning (bless you, TIX on the Square description):
What do you get when you cross a man who wants to fight God, an autodidactic shaman, a spectral Louis Riel and a girl who is pretty sure she is the only sane person left in the world? You get Gargamel, a tragic comedy written by Trent Wilkie (MWT), directed by Mike Robertson (Highwire Films/Rapid Fire Theatre), videos by Jason Ludwig (MWT) and stage managed by Erin Voaklander. Gargamel will leave you enlightened, laughing and engaged.
So I pretty much had no idea what I was getting myself into. But it sounded cool, and my friend Kyla was up for it, so off we went last Friday evening to the Varscona Theatre.
It was, in a word or two, pretty awesome. Enlightened? I think maybe. Laughing? Often. Engaged? Throughout the entire show.
The story follows protagonist David, recovering one year post-car accident. Little by little, we learn more about what happened in that accident. The disembodied voice screaming his name belongs to his fiancee, who was tragically killed in the accident.
I liked the relationship between David and his sister Betty, and the layers of it that unfolded throughout the show. Like most siblings, they want what’s best for each other, even if they find each other unbearably annoying sometimes.
Trent Wilkie and his team got creative with this show, featuring excellent uses of multimedia – from the silly but lovable guru showing off his company ad to memory shots that allow the audience to see the beautiful girl whose death caused this much pain.
The show’s over (for the time being), but I don’t want to spoil the ending in case it takes up another run elsewhere. What I will say, though: I thought it was handled very well. After an entire show leads you to the point where its main character is finally ready to fight God, well…for most playwrights, that might be too much to handle. That’s quite a corner to write yourself into. But with the right amount of humour and drama, it brought a fitting ending to this dark comedy play.
Super-mega-thanks to Trent for giving me the opportunity to catch his sweet production and my friend Kyla for being the best date a girl could ask for.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
