The Best Brothers

Daniel MacIvor and John Beale in The Best Brothers. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.

Move over Frasier and Niles Crane, a new set of witty siblings are taking Toronto by storm in Daniel MacIvor's delightfully morbid two-hander The Best Brothers. A hit at Stratford Festival last summer, the acclaimed production opened Tarragon Theatre's 2013/14 season last week, winning the hearts of dog-loving theatregoers all over the city. 

The play follows the Best brothers—Hamilton (MacIvor), an uptight architect and his foolhardy real estage agent brother Kyle (John Beal)—after their mother is killed in a freak accident at a gay pride parade (crushed by a drunk drag queen, no less). Working together to arrange her funeral, the brothers turn solemn tasks such as writing the obituary, giving the eulogy and sending thank you notes into increasingly tension-filled, hilarious confrontations as Kyle's care-free knitpicking over tiny details drives Hamilton to the edge.

Between scenes the brothers slip on a green hat and/or glove, performing alternating impersonations of their mother, a wealthy and well-connected woman who, after a string of failed relationships with men, finds companionship with an Italian greyhound named Enzo. The little dog is both a curse and a family blessing, as Hamilton and Kyle discover, and he eventually brings them closer together.

Featuring a modern, minimalist set and tailored costumes by Julie Fox, crisp lighting by Itai Erdal and charming music by Jonathan Monro, The Best Brothers is as pleasing to the eye and ears as it is to the heart. MacIvor's script is intelligent, touching, laugh-out-loud funny, and dark, but not nearly as bleak as some of his other work. Director Dean Gabourie gets excellent performances out of both actors, balancing the humour and tragedy of the play perfectly throughout.

The Best Brothers is an entertaining look at life and death through the eyes of a dog lover. Don't miss it!

The Best Brothers runs until October 27 at the Tarragon Theatre Mainspace. Visit tarragontheatre.com for more information and to buy tickets.