It's as rare as fur on a duck, bicycles that prefer to walk or a chorus line of clog dancing eels. And that is clowns who are genuinely funny. Not like the odious burger shiller. Or those sad sack rubber wranglers fashioning balloon animals at kids birthday parties. No-no-no. I'm talking about real clowns who can act and act funny. The Truth According to Morro and Jasp features two first-rate clowning practitioners: Heather Marie Annis and Amy Lee - both graduates of York University's Theatre program. Annis (tall and slender) as Morro (short for Tomorrow) and the shorter Lee as Jasp (Jasper abbreviated) have a wonderful stage chemistry that immediately draws an audience to them and into their loony world. The characters they flamboyantly and hilariously play are adolescent sisters as different as calm is from frenzied. Jasp is the more serious of the two, a supporter of rules - particularly since she's the rule maker. Of the pair, she's the more "responsible" sister. Morro, on the other hand, is flightly, emotionally mercurial, quick to seeth and argue. And then just as quickly, to resume "game on" with exuberent, carefree abandon. (A handshake they perform with sidesplitting body language and facial expressions is worth the price of admission - only one delicious comic moment of note out of many.) An onerous situation arises. Chung chung. A "300 year old cookie jar" has been found shattered. Owing to the lack of suspects, each accuses the other of the dastardly deed. And of course, both deny any guilt in the matter. The only way to get to the bottom of the incident, Jasp concludes, is to have a trial. The audience naturally, sits in as the jury. In the hands of these accomplished clowns, the trial procedure is utterly boffo buffoonery. Summing up, The Truth According to Morro and Jasp is sheer pleasure for those who love to laugh. Highly recommended.
Showtimes at DANspace: Sunday Sept 2 at 1:30, Monday Sept 3 at 3:30, Friday Sept 7 at 8:30, Saturday Sept 8 at 4:00 and Sunday Sept 9 at 5:30 $9
