Over the course of the past three days, I saw the same play performed four times. Well, almost the same play: Some parts of it varied from performance to performance. (Note: Thanks for stopping the rapture, Jake.) This play was and is like nothing else I have ever seen. It was written by a created and put together by members of the MAP Project, who have somehow existed without my knowledge for approximately two years. Sneaky little bastards! I don’t know what the contents of their four previous plays were, but I wish I could have seen them. If they were anywhere near the level of awesome that I just experienced, they would’ve been well worth it.

In FOUR:Yourself, the group has combined video diaries of themselves, real-life observations, chocolate cake, The Wizard of Oz, pasta, missing fingers, and tons of pop-culture references, the end result of which is a baffling yet mesmerizing 50-minute batch of theatrical wonder. You see a group of friends having pasta, and exchanging stories, you get fed tiny bits of other stories, somebody doesn’t call someone else nona back, and all of a sudden it all makes sense again. It’s an odd piece that tugs at your long-term memory and says “man, you’ve seen too many movies and TV shows….because you know exactly what everyone’s talking about.” In the end, the play manages to make you question yourself and the reality of truth, or lack thereof. Did that make sense? I doubt it.

It seems odd to be writing about this play right after its only run has been completed. It’s not like I’ll be able to talk you into seeing it: To my knowledge, there are no plans to run it again. But what I can do is get you to look into the MAP project, and see what the next piece they produce is. And then you can go see that, and maybe understand what the hell I’m talking about. So here are some links you need to check out.

The MAP Project on WordPress, Facebook.

The Facebook event page for FOUR:Yourself, which does a better job at describing the play then I did.

The Montreal Fringe Festival, which starts very soon and has an insane line-up filled with a bunch of shows for you all to enjoy.

….and that’s pretty much all I can say. Keep your eyes peeled for further work from these peculiar artists.

-Al, B.U.

P.S.: Jake’s voice while impersonating “Crush” from Finding Nemo oddly reminded me of Charlie’s voice from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Also, I am willing to endorse the creation of a professional Streaking business.

P.P.S.: Amy’s on-stage intensity is a bit terrifying, in the best of ways. And she didn’t seem to enjoy eating that heart over and over again.

P.P.P.S.: Iris’ “I can fight you with one paw and one leg” segment was fucking adorable. Well played.

One final PPPPS: Damn you all for forcing me to go on youtube and find that Spice Girls video where they’re in the desert.

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