DETAILS

Mr. Fix It presented by Lunchbox Theatre
Lunchbox Theatre
Monday, February 1 - Saturday, February 27

More in: Theatre

Sure he can fix any coffee maker, toaster or lamp, but Mel has to deal with fixing something more important in Lunchbox Theatre’s latest — his failed marriage. Yet, despite the potential for a conflictual and tense script, Mr. Fix It is an easily digestible and fun production.

Playwright Caroline Russell-King was aiming for humour in this play, and it’s certainly got some funny moments, mingled with anger-tinged back-and-forth banter between Mel (Brian Jensen) and his ex-wife Edna (Barbara Gates Wilson). Well, she’s supposed to be his ex-wife, but it turns out a clerical error on their divorce papers means they’re still married.

Edna is going to marry her new yoga-loving, massage therapist boyfriend, Donald, and she needs Mel to sign off on new papers. She goes to the Palliser Hotel, where Mel is living, in order to seal the deal.

“You’re still my wife?” says Mel before asking her, in wry moment of wit, “What’s for supper?”

These humorous exchanges are the highlight of the production, which calls for quick timing from both actors. The downside is the more terse exchanges. Jensen is solid throughout, alternating effortlessly between anger and pathos, but Wilson struggles with the role of angry ex-wife. Her frustration seems forced.

The set is a simple affair — a square rug with a double bed facing a desk cluttered with tools, a coffee maker and a bottle of Jameson. The seating is arranged around the stage, allowing multiple viewing angles and a different experience depending on your choice of seats.

Throughout the course of the play, the audience gets to know the relationship that was — troubled and terse — and witness the lingering connection between the two characters. Again, however, that relationship feels forced. There are moments of tenderness, moments of anger and moments of wit, but the believability of the situations ebbs and flows along with the characters’ emotions.

The script is the star of this show, with effortless, undulating rhythms that keep the play snappy and entertaining. Russell-King wrote the script as homage to Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Neil Simon, and although this play won’t win an award of that significance, it’s not hard to imagine that Simon would be pleased by the honour.

With some decent insight into the struggles of relationships and the twists lives can take, Mr. Fix It isn’t going to leave you craving answers to life’s biggest questions, but it’s a fun hour at the theatre.