Blind Date
Rebecca Northan’s solo clown show Blind Date starts out innocently enough. Before the show at the Lunchbox Theatre, the audience is invited to have a drink at the Auburn Saloon next door. Mimi, the Parisian clown, scouts out the audience, looking for an unsuspecting victim to partner with her in the show.
The premise is that Mimi has been stood up on a blind date, and she wants to find a replacement date as soon as possible. At the opening night show, she selected a charming 20-something-year-old named Danny, who wanted to make a great impression. His girlfriend, by the way, was in the audience, and that night was their anniversary.
Saddled with a rough-and-tumble Parisian accent, Mimi is an easy-going, sociable, talkative, blushing individual who has complete control of the situation — and that’s what makes the dynamic interesting. Danny (or whichever guy she chooses) may have the impression that he has at least partial control of the date, but, later on, that is certainly not the case.
Things are pretty safe for awhile: Mimi and her date share a couple glasses of (actual) wine at a nice bar and ask each other questions. Keep in mind that Mimi, being an invented character, can make up her own stories, while Danny, a real person, generally feels obligated to tell the truth (especially with his girlfriend watching, encouraged by Mimi to speak up if he starts fibbing). We soon hear his opinions on the environment, Calgary living, and socks — and his underwear preferences. Mimi gives him a break once in awhile with the option of a “time-out”, which consists of leading him to a tall chair to the side of the stage and asking him how things are going, if there’s anything he’d like to get off his chest. Mimi also has the option of calling a time-out if she feels he said something completely stupid or not date appropriate.
Then it gets a little sexier when Mimi invites him back to her place, just after a scene change. On the blind date, this was just a game; but now Danny is sitting on Mimi’s elegant couch, being seduced by a sexy clown in a red dress, while erotic tunes play in the background. There is pressure from the audience (“Take off your shirt!”), pressure from his girlfriend (“I don’t mind what you do!”), and pressure from Mimi, who can only be described as GGG (“good, giving, and game”, an abbreviation coined by sex columnist Dan Savage). Suddenly the game becomes very, very real: the clown gives the impression that she is up for anything. And that’s when things get a little uncomfortable…
I’m not sure if this happens in every show (I imagine various things change depending on the date selected from the audience), but farther into the story, the style of the show delves into tame Bouffon — which makes for a rather odd transition, but still fun to watch — and then finishes with a rather tender moment between the two.
This is semi-improvised clown at its finest, and it plays until January 23 at the High Performance Rodeo.
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Gender-bending discussion question
Would this show have worked as well if Rebecca Northan has chosen a female date from the audience? I mean, we can just assume this is a heterosexual clown and leave it at that. But would a female date have provided the same entertainment for the audience? Would it be even more uncomfortable for the audience? Would it have been uncomfortable for the performer?
I heard an interview once with Rebecca Northan, and although I’ve never seen her show I looked her up after that because it sounded so interesting. I do believe it is as simple as the clown choosing someone she wants to date. She talked about working from a place of authenticity and how that is what draws the attention of the audience – she wants, as much as possible, to create a real date on stage and have the audience wonder where it’s all going. Choosing women or someone she/her character would be unlikely to date could be interesting, but then it’s just a device. Not to say that she never chooses women – maybe she does!
So glad you got the chance to see this show – I heard about it when it was in Toronto and wished I could go.
Good point, Heather-Marie. Like anyone else, clowns have their own tastes and preferences: so naturally Mimi would choose someone she is attracted to, which is probably why (as I understand it) she goes for good-looking guys in their 20s. Maybe she does switch it up once in awhile… but I’d probably have to attend the show a few more times to do proper research!
To answer the question ‘would it have worked had she chosen a female?’, I’d say not. The perfect victim *is* the hetero male who’s there with his g/f or wife since he’ll squirm more (which makes for some dark comedy). A male clown *might* have pulled it off with an unsuspecting female, but something tells me that wouldn’t have been as safe a choice. To do the whole thing with same sex: not everyone who goes to the theatre is comfortable with same sex relationships – it’s just where we are in our evolution.
I agree that squirming is an important part of any good theatre performance. And no, the male clown/female victim would not have worked as well.
As for your last point, I think if we can address same-sex relationships anywhere, it’s in the theatre. Right now in Ottawa, the Great Canadian Theatre Company is presenting Bash’d: A Gay Rap Opera, which had rave reviews in New York.
The High Performance Rodeo, a festival reputed for experimentation and pushing boundaries, could easily get away with queer content. And it does.
Same-sex relationships should no longer be taboo. In fact… you know, Brendan McLeod explains this better than I do. Here’s a link:
http://c3.libsyn.com/media/794/indiefeed_brendanmcleod_onhumanpotential.mp3?nvb=20100121220534&nva=20100122221534&t=0fcecdabcfa979f7980c3
Whether the crowd is ‘comfortable’ with a same sex date should have ZERO bearing on the show.
Whether the actress is comfortable enough to pull it off would have a HUGE bearing on the show.
Well said, Rusty.
This kind of performance thrives on the different choices the clown makes for her subject. Would it work with a woman? Certainly. What about a gay man? Yep. I would be very surprised if she deliberately looked for a couple for every performance. Though that choice obviously resulted in an entertaining show. As Rusty has said, all that matters is the performer’s comfort level.
In fact, it sounds like the Northan’s intent is to make the audience and subject a little uncomfortable. This can be a very tricky game to play.
While I support theatre that pushes the audience out of their comfort zone, I am categorically against theatre that simply aims to alienate audiences as an end in itself. That form of theatre is ultimately damaging to the community building effort that is needed to generate and nurture audiences (the lifeblood of theatre).
From your write up, it sounds like Rebecca Northan was able to walk this line successfully. That’s great.
It sounds like you’re having a great time. Thanks for sharing your experiences with all of us. :)
Rebecca did seem pretty comfortable! It was suggested to me that she might select a guy accompanied by his girlfriend because it serves as a safety net. The guy won’t be too forward if his girlfriend is sitting right there… er, unless they’re kinky swingers with a thing for clowns.
Yeah, alienation is no fun. But I’m all for a bit of discomfort; at least it’s not predictable!
I am having a great time. I’m looking forward to checking out some of the shows featuring the homeless community this weekend.
“unless they’re kinky swingers with a thing for clowns”
What? That’s the only reason I’d go to a clown show with a boyfriend… Danish Play is coming up soon, right?
Looking forward to it!
I’ve seen this show a couple of times and know Rebecca.
Would the show work with a same-sex couple? Yes. Would it work as well? I don’t think so.
The major part of the entertainment value is how she takes a seemingly normal situation (a blind date, an evening at the theatre) and turns it into something unfamiliar (this guy has no idea what’s next, please don’t let her choose me).
If the couple was same sex, what you have effectively done for the majority of the audience is turned something familiar into something less familiar, and thus reduced its potential to swing you wildly from one extreme to the other.
In another sense, you’ve made the play about a gay blind date, instead of what it is now: a fascinating study of the unsuspecting audience member’s limits.
Generally speaking in theatre this is a cross to bear. How do your treat homosexual relationships as normal if your audience isn’t 100% used to that? Compare to 10 years ago and we’ve come a long way. I imagine in 10 more years a show like this could easily go either way and the audience would buy in with no problem.
As for the comments about the girlfriend in the audience: if memory serves me correctly the first few times Rebecca did the show she was just looking for a guy, but that quickly evolved to looking for a guy on a date, because there are just so many more comedic possibilities. For example: how far will the guy go with his date in the audience, versus if he’s a bachelor hanging out with his buddies? The former has proven to be much more awkward and funny.
Thanks for the insight, Kelly! You’re absolutely right about that progression from comfortable to uncomfortable (for the guy, and for the audience); I hoped I captured that contrast in my write-up, because that is exactly what I was feeling.
I went to see the show again a couple of nights ago, and she did have essentially the same structure. But this time she picked a married guy, and this time the guy was far less willing to engage with her, uh, intimately. Still, Mimi the clown handles this very well and plays up the sentimental angle to suit the person onstage with her.
[...] first became acquainted with the venue shortly before seeing Blind Date: the audience was asked to spend time at The Auburn before the performance officially started, so [...]
[...] first became acquainted with the venue shortly before seeing Blind Date: the audience was asked to spend time at The Auburn before the performance officially started, so [...]