Michael Haven

If you need a play to make sense, this show may not be your cup of tea. A technique common to horror and supernatural fiction genres is to dole out sense one sentence at a time. Reality shifts constantly to encompass something previously unimaginable—for a few moments the world is understood—then a new reality changes one’s expectations again.

Know beforehand that The Mystery Plays are two one act plays with completely different styles and largely separate storylines. Neither play follows definitions of modern mystery fiction.

Still with me? Good. The Mystery Plays, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Patricia Inabnet, present two mysterious settings which take us on unexpected journeys. The show continues until Feb. 26.

Fuddy Meers, like the funny mirrors in a fun house carnival, is a wacky comedy. I’ll tell you right now, I neither liked nor understood it. That’s not to say the acting was poor; the plot and dialogue are just not my kind of humour. At intermission, I did a quick temperature test of the audience and discovered we were fairly evenly split: fully half of the respondents thought the play was side-splittingly funny. Certainly the audience howled throughout. Actually, I had another litmus test: I asked how well the interviewee liked Monty Python. Those that do, did; and those that don’t, didn’t. I rest my case.

First performed in 1999, Fuddy Meers was written by David Lindsay-Abare and is directed by Michael Haven. Claire, an amnesiac, wakes up each morning remembering nothing; so her family must teach her who she is, every day. When she is kidnapped, her adventures really begin!

There’s one advantage to being nescient about theatre and film; I don’t know what to expect. However, considering the cast, I predicted The Petrified Forest, written by Robert E. Sherwood and directed by Marti Baer, would be a musical comedy.