Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata is available via online via ZOOTV.LIVE.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Drawing on the myriad adverts on Craigslist, this Vancouver company has a definite hit. Fresh and inventive, Bill Richardson, Veda Hille and Amiel Gladstone have created one of the most watchable online offerings out there.
Who hasn’t pored over personal ads in their time? What this trio have achieves through layering tone and subtext onto the adverts, paired with a smorgasbord of musical styles, is total genius.
One of the earlier pieces chosen:
“My daughter likes to pull the heads off dolls.
Some heads may be retrievable. Some may not.
Free to good home.”
delivered completely dead-pan by a disenchanted mother is hilarious and just like reading these ads online, you eagerly move on to the next one. There’s a delight in seeing the next entry pop up, knowing there will be an irresistible twist in its delivery.
Metaphors such as Noah’s dove sent out, seeking land and the hope that sends a message in a bottle out across the seas are employed to try and give motives for personal ads; a passage of quasi-pathos shows the ensemble wondering, in turn, if they are the subject being sought.
The cast is wonderfully engaging, finding a shorthand in delivery to introduce their characters. Meaghan Chenosky, Josh Epstein, Kayvon Khoshkam, Amanda Sum and Andrew Wheeler relish each and every role. The score bounces along in this sung-through ‘cantata’, accompanied by Veda Hille on keyboards and Barry Mirochnick on drums.
The isolated filming of the performers in this online presentation adds authenticity, in a way, as most people read ads on their own, online, and here we are seeing these ads ‘made alive’ online. This is a rare thing: an online presentation that absolutely suits the medium. The humour is relentless: I laughed till I cried.
The finale sees each player mask up in turn and join the others in the cast onstage as they invite us to look out at the auditorium with them where a single light flickers in every empty seat. Poignant.
Highly recommended.
Fiona Orr
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