Charles Demers describes his Push show as part theatre, part stand-up, and part TED talk. He carefully weaves hilarious one-liners into a personal story of loss and parenthood. Not only is Demers a stand-up comic who is part of CBC Radio’s “The Debaters”, he has also written a novel, two collections of essays and he teaches comedy writing and non-fiction as part of UBC’s Creative Writing program. From his impressive list of accomplishments alone, you know you’re in good hands as you slide into your velvet seat at the York Theatre. Demers’ material is genuine. He presents political opinions that he has curated over his lifetime. Demers is in ownership of every word that he utters on stage. As a result, “Leftovers” keeps it real. It is extremely well-written while being just the right amounts of emotional and factual.
“Leftovers” starts with Demers doing a little dance number that evokes the cheesy propaganda posters from Socialist Russia. How does anyone evoke that? And through dance? Well, you’ll just have to see it to believe it. Demers then launches into an examination of a moving photo of Justin Trudeau being lovingly adored by his mother, and then finds a parallel of the same sentiment in a photo of him and his own mother. The Trudeau photo is the centrepiece to which Demers’ discourse is tethered. We come back to it repeatedly and every time that we do, he has made compelling points about society and enlightened us a bit more.
Demers makes a very convincing case for socialism. He talks about the dangers of capitalism and laments the irreversible nature of the unequal distribution of wealth that it has caused. He has the audience in audible peals of laughter at his jokes but also commands a hushed silence when he addresses serious issues. He talks with so much passion sometimes that he physically finds himself at a loss of words. There are so many interesting facts in Demers’ monologue. He sneaks in all these sweet Canadian and Vancouver references. He thankfully does not infantilise his audience by explaining these references, and that makes the show highly satisfying.
Marcus Youssef, artistic director of Neworld Theatre and an accomplished actor himself, directs Demers. He ensures that the eye doesn’t get too bored by preventing the show from being just Demers walking around on the stage in a spotlight. The props are utilised cleverly to keep things interesting. Demers is supported with excellent projections on three strangely shaped screens- a big circle, a square standing on its corner and another bigger square framed between the space of an equal sign. Trippy. The projections fit these unique shapes seamlessly. They follow Demers’ narration with the discipline of a shadow. The unusual scale and shapes of the projections make sure that “Leftovers” never stagnates visually. The writing is also watertight. Demers’ content is very specific. He has a very clear point that he wants to make and he works steadily towards it.
Relevant is the word I would choose to describe “Leftovers” with. Demers asks questions that we as Canadians have been asking at our parties, in our Timmies line-ups, in our lecture halls and around our water coolers and kegs. Has anything changed since the Thatcher-Reagan era? Did it change with Harper? Will it change with Justin? I mean Trudeau? And is our laissez-faire attitude as polite pacifists actually doing more harm than good? Demers doesn’t just ask these questions, he also proposes a solution. A simple solution that sounds crazy but seems so obviously right. He makes you wish that we were living in a world that didn’t think his idea was crazy. A world where we were crazy enough to do what is right.
What would I personally have wanted more of? Very, very subjectively speaking, I would have wanted Demers to woo me more with the facts of socialism. I would have loved to share his passion. I wanted to know more about why socialism meant so much to him. The cool facts and the little details are what I wanted. I wanted a little bit more. Which I think is not a bad thing at all. Maybe the show could have been a little longer? Or a little denser? I do however think the current balance of political and personal is perfect for newer theatre-goers.
“Leftovers” is more non-fiction story telling than fiction-based theatre. It is also more thought-provoking than LOL. If you are worried about being weirded out by some abstract, experimental, plot-less, interactive, interpretive, dance, body, Push extravaganza- have no fear. “Leftovers” is still quite traditional in structure and form. You can bring theatre newbies to this one and have them leave a 100% entertained and unfreaked out.
You’ll learn some, you’ll feel some and you will definitely think a lot. I came out of this a little more leftist than I was going in.
“Leftovers” runs till the 30th of January at York Theatre at 8pm. Buy your tickets here.
-Prachi Kamble