FFWD Weekly
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| Theatre by Lori Montgomery Objects in the Mirror are Stranger Than They Appear It’s true that Lyle Victor Albert has brought a one-man, comic musing on his life to the High Performance Rodeo before. But anyone who saw his Scraping the Surface several years ago will see something completely different in his new show, Objects in the Mirror are Stranger Than They Appear. "I think I bring the same sort of sense of humor and sensibility that I did with Scraping the Surface, but it’s a totally different show," Albert says. "I think the connection is that I’m the one doing it, but they have different energies." Both are billed as autobiographical accounts, but Albert says that his new show is less rigidly faithful to actual events. "It’s based on an experience, but I think it’s a farther leap for me. I took a farther leap from reality," he explains. The writer/performer describes the piece as three stories: a relationship in its death throes, a young man growing up on a farm and learning to drive, and a journey from Edmonton to Vancouver. "(The piece) is about what everyone goes through with a relationship gone bad," he says. "The need to escape – how do you do that? What are the ramifications of running away?" Albert promises that the new show will be as funny as Scraping the Surface, but otherwise they have little in common. This one, for example, addresses Albert’s cerebral palsy less directly. "I think with the first one, I was dealing more with my disability," he says. "With this one, the disability is certainly a factor, but it’s more of a life experience that more people can relate to.... It’s more of a universal story. The disability sort of takes a back seat – pardon the pun – in this one." Albert knows that audiences aren’t accustomed to watching an actor with cerebral palsy – particularly one who takes center stage in his own, very funny, one-man show. But he says that it doesn’t take long for people to get used to the idea. "I’m conscious of the fact that my voice and my movements are something that you don’t see on stage too often," he says, "so I try to ease them in, but I think once people get into the rhythms of my movements and my speech, and they understand where I’m coming from, then that barrier is broken and they can enjoy themselves." Despite the fact that he’s breaking new ground by putting a new face on theatre, Albert doesn’t style himself as a pioneer. "That would be too scary," he says. "I don’t think I’d do it. My responsibility, if I have one, is just to entertain people. I know that sounds really shallow, but I don’t really see myself as a spokesman or trying to get a message out. I’m just trying to tell a good story." |
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