"and I created economics just to fuck you up"

So. A week ago I went to go see two plays: Here Lies Henry and This Is a Play. Both written by Nova Scotian playwright Daniel MacIvor, both absolutely wonderful. The former I'd wanted to see since ninth grade, and the latter I had only heard of a few weeks prior.

It was purely by fluke that I found out about this evening of metatheatre wonder. I was walking out my English class with Emily a few weeks before the end of the year, and glanced at a poster. Advertising Here Lies Henry and some other play I had never heard of but it didn't really matter because there was Here Lies Henry and it was playing at my old high school and I just had to go.

And so I went. With two friends, Andrew and Josh, both home for the summer and both up for a day of hanging out. Outside of play-going, there was lots of Dutch Blitz and eating uptown and gallivanting around.

But the plays were wonderful. Here Lies Henry left me with a good ache in my stomach from laughter, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the pinpricks of tears behind my eyes near the end. It is one man standing on a stage for 80 minutes telling you something you don't already know, and it is mesmerizing and heartbreaking and wonderful. I wish you could've all been there with me.

This Is A Play is probably the singular most hilarious piece of theatre I've ever seen. It was most definitely a play, but instead of dialogue, it had the actors thoughts. For instance, the Male Lead Actor struts in, proclaiming "I enter with conviction, thinking of Christian Bale!"

Tears of laughter all around, I can tell you that much. I would just about kill for a copy of Here Lies Henry. Actually, a few nights after the plays, I had a dream where Brandon and I were book-shopping and were somehow given free merchandise, and he ended up with a copy of it and I got something else, and I ended up convincing him to switch. I was rather disappointed when I woke up and realized it hadn't happened.

Regardless. That was my theatre experience at my old high school, and it was absolutely wonderful. Also, as per the tradition started at the Ruby Jean & the Thoughtful Bees concert I went to in January, I stole a poster. It will look fantastic on my bulletin board next fall.

Post Script--I also have two rather large bruises on my leg as a result of sliding down the marble banister at my old school and dismounting in an improper fashion. It was really more of a tumble off.

Post Post Script--One notable moment from Here Lies Henry: Henry is talking to us, as he does. And this whole time, there's been a chair marked "Reserved for Premier Shawn Graham." And he hops off stage, looks at the chair, and says "Well, this fucker ain't showin' up." Hauls the chair onstage, then says to us "Coulda been sittin' down this whole time!" It was kind of beautiful. This would have been after he makes the rounds looking for a smoke--no one had any at the Saint John show, but apparently someone had one at the Fredericton show, as evidenced.