5.0
01.07.01 Laugh 'til you cry at the Fringe
The Saturday Sun, Entertainment
Jim Slotek
Geese secretly want to quack, cats want to bark and, for all I know, horses would prefer to roar.
So it's not exactly a shocker when some of the brighter comic talents in town get stage time and a license to wax artistic - and they set out to make you cry.
As usual, comics make up a good chunk of the auteurs in this year's Fringe of Toronto Festival.
And if, say, you were greeted by the sight outside of the Tarragon Theatre of scores of African-American women wiping away tears, you could be forgiven for assuming the play inside was not a comedy.
And to be sure, Da Kink In My Hair: Voices of Black Womyn, does at times get overcome by its own heaviness. It's the work of a major young talent, Trey Anthony, a former intern on The Chris Rock Show, a WTN producer and writer for the upcoming Kenny Robinson series on The Comedy Network.
A naturally funny and saucy Anthony (who plays Novelette, a Jamaican hairdresser who makes women's stories come alive with a touch of their hair) is one of two good reasons to see Da Kink. The other is Debbie Young as a teenage Caribbean-Canadian incest victim. Her patois is heartbreaking and funny, and she moves with childlike grace.
Playwright Anthony does give away her youth with her, ahem, black-and-white world view. Black women live with pain, while men and "blond white bitches" are bad.
Black or white, guys, take my advice. Do not go on a date to a play that has the word "Womyn" in the title, unless you have the sensitivity of Alan Alda. There is only one good male character described in Da Kink, and he's a high school kid who gets shot by police while reaching for his wallet.
That aside, this play is my pick of the fest so far. The acting, dialogue, and dancing are great, and Anthony will be one to watch, particularly when she discovers shades of grey.