The Goat

What th...? I went to Opening Night and still Gordon beat me! Oh well, my previous review got 191 reads -- that's 191 people who will be put off reading this one.... Nevertheless! The play was worth it! What an absolutely fabulous night at the theatre! So much so that I've already exceeded my quota of exclamation points! But seriously, the blurbs proclaim the production as hilarious and heartbreaking, and couldn't be more true. Brought to life by a faultless cast, the show plays havoc with your emotions. "But wait," you cry, "I hear Murray Jackson is in the cast!" This is indeed true, and Murray must have been hanging around the right types of people to pick up a few things. (Not Jeff "I'll let anybody on stage" Hansen, of course, but talented people.) Murray alternately had us in hysterics and then -- incredibly -- elicited sympathy despite his character's behaviour. Exhausting but inspirational work. Eddie Stowers provided his usual quality-guaranteed performance. Initially playful with his best friend, his demeanor changes radically as he becomes aware of Murray's actions. There's no change from Scott Corbett -- the first we meet him is with his explosive incredulity. As with all the cast, Scott's performance never wavers. But it was Jodie Hansen as Murray's wife, Stevie, who really blew me away. Whimsical at first, we shared her every developing horror and disappointment. Everyone reading this -- every single one of us -- will recall a gut-churning instance where we truly, truly hurt someone we love. Inadvertently or otherwise, the guilty memory is there. Jodie made us feel that. Right down to the core. I've never seen her so gorgeous or so vulnerable; she mirrored the ones we love, the ones we've failed. Sometimes we do break things which can not be fixed. Look, there's a lot of good stuff on at the moment. I don't know about all of them (yet) but this one is highly, highly recommended. All kudos to director Jeff Hansen for choosing a riveting production and casting an amazing group of performers. Go see it if you can. Just don't sit in the front row.