So LIBLAB is back and the pick of the fruits of the latest version form Tapestry Briefs: Under Where? currently playing at the Nancy and Ed Jackman Performance Centre.  There are eleven sketches involving four composers, three librettists, three singers plus Keith Klassen who does all three.  Also two pianists and two directors.

As is typical with Briefs the bias is to the comic; even the absurd, though there are a few that treat sadder, more serious topics, which is I think much harder to do effectively in what is, essentially, a sketch lasting a few minutes.  A few pieces stood out for me.  Rebecca Gray and Sarah Henstra’s Messy had Reilly Nelson as a tidy person remonstrating with her sloppy roommate (Adanya Dunn) while Jorell Williams (as a sponge) and Keith Klassen as a quite revolting puppet container of mouldy yoghurt provided commentary.  There was lots of extended piano technique for Hyejin Kwon to cope with and the chaos was orchestrated by Mabel Wonnacott.

Saman Shahi and Rachel Gray’s MUNCH, presented in the rehearsal room, had Reilly Nelson as a wickedly manic wasp chomping on a paralyzed spider (Keith Klassen).  Hyejin at the piano again with Michael Mori directing this one.  A good candidate for most revolting (albeit against strong competition) would be Roydon Tse and Christene Adina Browne’s Sordes.  Mixing new music and chant, English and Latin, a shocked Hildegard von Bingen (Adanya Dunn) confronts a toilet etiquette challenged monk (Jorell Williams) while Keith Klassen cleaned up the mess. Hyejin and Michael accompanying and directing.

Of the less comic pieces I was struck by Prokhor Protasoff and Sarah Henstras’s Beautiful Stranger in which a disillusioned refugee to Canada (Reilly Nelson) reflects on her situation.  There was some seriously percussive and atonal piano for Gregory Oh to cope with here.  Michael Mori directed.

Keith Klassen had a couple of numbers performed with minimal help.  He and Jorell performed Digits; a dialogue in which each line is incremented by one syllable until the apogee is reached at which point it decrements.  This was followed by a piece, Psychic, in which a banal couple (Keith and Adanya) sort of do/don’t pretend to be psychic to a naive waitress (Reilly) by simply completing perfectly obvious statements.

And to finish, a piece that rivalled anything in the grubby stakes; No Nose Knows, by the Gray sisters.  Jorell sings the soul of the Nose who collects scents for the giant Nose while Keith orchestrates the audience in providing sniffing and noise maker support to the action with Hyejin at the piano and Mabel directing.  A chaotically fitting ending to the evening.  I haven’t described every sketch but hopefully that’s enough to give you a decent idea.

It’s all a bit daft but it’s great fun.  The singing and playing is excellent and the best bits are really very good.  Finally, full credit to the stage management and front of house teams who not only switched up sets and props umpty-ump times but shunted the audience between locations in the theatre efficiently.

There are two more shows; this afternoon at 4pm and tomorrow at 2pm.

Photo credits: Dahlia Katz