ROCK

What makes someone a good person? Who has the right to decide? These are questions Kat Sandler asks in Rock, a gut-busting dark comedy about a young man who hears voices telling him to kill bad people, now playing at Red One Theatre's new arts space the Storefront Theatre.

The play follows Ben (Andy Trithardt), a semi-successful actor in his late twenties, who suddenly finds himself compelled to bludgeon people to death with rocks. And not just anyone, it turns out. The unwitting vigiliant seems to have an uncanny knack for picking on the scum of society. With the support of his fiancé Tasha (Jen Balen), and free-loading best friend, Mikey (Tim Walker), Ben begins to look on his newly discovered ability as something of a superpower.

But when the ghost of one of his victims, Jefferson (Roger Bainbridge), an actor who appeared in a fast food chicken commercial, starts hanging around the house drinking beer in his pyjamas, Ben wonders if his gift is actually a curse. The second half of Rock explores the outcome of Ben's actions, introducing a new character, Mike's girlfriend Marley (Claire Armstrong), towards the play's explosive conclusion.

Fast-paced and consistently funny, Rock is a gruesome gem of a show, sharply staged with a spot-on cast of up-and-coming Canadian talent. Sandler's writing is rich with witty observations about modern life, pairing elements of the absurd with the mundanely familiar. Her characters are believable and instantly likeable, even when they are completely insane.

Rock runs until March 23 at the Storefront Theatre (955 Bloor Street West). Visit theatrebrouhaha.com for more information and to buy tickets.

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