Fringe 2009: Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should

Mike "Nug" Nahrgang and Sandy Jobin-Bevans in Because I Can.

“Farce” is one of those love/hate words in the theatre. Done well, a farce can provide an evening of light-hearted entertainment and belly laughs, with the occasional touch of commentary on morality and human behaviour. Done poorly, the audience is subjected to tired jokes and situations that strain the limits of credulity. Because I Can falls in the middle, its energetic performances countered by a script that might have been stronger as a five-minute sketch than as an hour-long production.

The elements of farce are present: absurd situations (pill-popping, psychopathic podiatrist with a God complex who tells all his patients that they have six months to live), sex (involving acts that scream lawsuit), an increasingly frantic pace, stylized performances (Sandy Jobin-Bevans as the doctor running off the rails, Jim Annan as a worshipful male nurse determined to prove his masculinity), and a brief chase sequence. Quiet, well-acted moments between Kate Hewlett’s victimized patient and Mike “Nug” Nahrgang’s Romanian janitor provide brief groundings in reality that feel drawn from a different play, as they stand at odds with the absurdity around them. The male nurse was written as such an extreme mix of caricatured ignorant behaviour and over-confirmation of his male libido that an injection from the mad doctor would have been a relief. There are laughs to be had, but several disjointed moments made the play feel as if it could have been a shorter, tighter sketch.

The next performance is Friday at 11 p.m. at the Robert Gill.

The Fringe runs until July 12 at various locations around the city. Check back for Torontoist's daily Fringe coverage throughout the festival.