Magic Unicorn Island

Stars and Hearts&emdash;Eckhardt-Grammetté (UofW)

My own reaction to this was particularly intense&emdash;had I gone directly home from the show, I likely would have hugged my son until he squirmed, then lain down to cry for a while.

Wait. Wasn’t this billed as a comedy?

Yes, but like Jayson Mcdonald’s best shows of prior years, there’s a dark point under the humour, which happened to hit one of my own strongest triggers.

I commend him. It’s an excellent piece of theatre I personally would recommend but never want to see again.

It starts with laughs a plenty, as McDonald mimes God creating the universe; then, because he’s lonely, filling it with life in hopes of eventually having beings in his own image. The miming of the evolution from a squirming sea creature to primitive man drew even more laughs.

Then it begins to edge in that serious edge, with a hapless student attempting to sum up the whole history of war where it soon becomes apparent, that even with covering most wars in seconds, he’ll be at it for hours, if allowed.

This, of course, finally brings in the main plot. The Empire has decided the way to peace is to send drone strikes against every other country until those countries surrender and joins them to make a united world.

Enter Magic Unicorn Island, as the next generation disagrees with this policy. The world’s children have stolen away to a hitherto unknown island and are building a kids’ paradise&emdash;described through the speeches of its 14-year-old “President or whatever”.

The satire is sharp, well pointed, and more than a little poignant. God’s occasional reappearance adds to the laughs&emdash;but the end is inevitable and really there’s no way to make it funny. Macdonald knows better than to even try.

As satire, it’s a raging success&emdash;but for those who confuse satire with comedy, be ready for a change of tone at the three-quarter mark.

Lenora Rose Patrick