Get Thee to Some Swordplay with Sex T Rex
Conor-Bradbury-Julian-Frid-Kaitlin-Morrow-Seann-Murray-Danny-Pagett-SWORDPLAY-photo by John Gundy
If you hang out at the Montreal Fringe Fest, you know Sex T-Rex. Perennially nominated for the JFL award, they come back year after year with awesome physical comedy shows that skewer pop culture in one way or another and generally entertain the living crap out of you, this year, with Wasteland, which showed at Theatre Ste-Catherine. They are coming to town Friday August 26, 2016 for a double header of their past successes, Callaghan, a take on adventure movies à la Indiana Jones and Swordplay : A Play of Swords, inspired by all things video game and fantasy television. If you missed these shows the first time around, I suggest you not miss them this time. If you are into these types of things, and as theatre nerds, I know you are, you will get a lot out of the references to the source material, but even if you aren’t an avid consumer of these types of shows and games, you will still really enjoy these shows.
Seann-Murray-Julian-Frid-Danny-Pagett-Kaitlin-Morrow-Conor-Bradbury-photo by John Gundy
Sex T-Rex, for the initiated, are a troupe of five lovable monkeys (Conor Bradbury, Julian Frid, Kaitlin Morrow, Seann Murray and in this iteration, Danny Pagett) based out of Toronto that can pretty much do anything with the help of a sheet and a bit of Styrofoam tubing. Their signature minimalist prop set up frees them to use their bodies and character physicality in new ways that transport you to the world that they create. The mandatory fight sequence that they throw into every show is a virtuoso display of what you can do when five people decide to throw down with as much enthusiasm as possible. I think that they only consume red bull and cocaine. That is the only reasonable explanation as to the amount of energy they throw into their performances.
To me, seeing their shows is comedy and physical performance masterclass and I recommend these shows to everyone, but especially to performers, because they have a lot to teach in terms of what is possible in comedic theatre. They have working together since 2008 and their style is unique and their shows are tight. I am so thrilled that they are dusting off the classics and bringing them to Montreal for a one night Sex T-Rextravaganza as they wind their way east on this tour.
Playing one night only, Friday, August 26 – 8pm at The Montreal Improv (3697 Boul. St-Laurent), Tickets available at the door $15 or Pay-What-You-Can. Bring cash! Info HERE.
