Medicine droppers only count in one direction

Nobody really knew what happened.
After about an hour and a half of theatre, the sparse crowd at the MainLine put their hands–but not much else–together.
We had just seen a play, had we not? Maybe we saw a play that was so far ahead of its time, it was just barely comprehensible?
Understanding the skits in Les Diablogues, a remake of Roland Dubillard’s 1954 slapstick classic, takes a higher than average understanding of French. But even if some of the jokes zip by too quickly, you’re bound to catch something.
It was weird. But the quality of the acting was excellent. The cast numbered 15. Almost everyone delivered punchy dialogue throughout the script’s chaotic maelstrom. There were no big mess-ups and everyone stayed in character. It was obvious that the actors relished the challenge. Spewing out dialogue at a hundred words per minute isn’t easy, but they made it look like fun. If birds could talk, they would spout diablogues.
The set was simple but comedic. Off-angle furniture and vibrant colours complimented the madness of the evening. The room was intimate. If you’ve ever been to the MainLine, then you know it’s not exactly an amphitheatre.
As for the plot, there was none. Les Diablogues is a revolving door of 20 skits intertwined into a tight set that has more cross-the-floor shouting than the TSE on Monday morning. Some recurring skits gave a feeling of familiarity in an otherwise baffling display. In what may have been a commentary on the homoerotic infatuation that men have with cars, a jovial salesman tries to sell the crowd a car that goes “zip zip” and bends over backwards to please you. The car is another man. The hilarious innuendoes could be understood even if you’ve never heard a French word in your entire life.
Other skits included a heated debate over the shortcomings of a medicine dropper, fiendish smoking, the joy of noodles that “taste like real noodles,” the difficulties of finding “do” on the piano, and self-infatuated movie stars.
Les Diablogues was just about as good as it was bad. If it could be transposed onto a canvas, it would be a drip-stained watercolour painting. You could put it on the fridge. Watch it from afar. Be proud of the hard work put into it, and hope that one day it will make sense to someone else. But, even if its nature or importance never shows, it is, in all its light-hearted capriciousness, worth a couple of gold stars.

Les Diablogues runs until Nov. 29 at the MainLine Theatre (7339 Saint-Laurent). General admission tickets cost $20.

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