Toronto Fringe - Morro and Jasp: Go Bake Yourself

Once again Toronto Fringe has come to a close. Sad face. How about one more review for the road? OH-KAY!

When checking out Fringe listings two little words under "Warnings" always make my stomach drop: audience participation. Usually the threat thought of being called to the stage to participate in a play is enough to make me skip the show altogether. Call it unfair, but it's outside my comfort zone and I don't ever want to be the reluctant player who causes a show to grind to a screeching halt. But on occasion I will still pick a play with those scary, scary words of caution if it appears too good to miss.

Last year at Fringe, I did just that and ended up seeing a play by local clown duo Morro and Jasp. Despite the audience participation aspect (from which I was gratefully spared) it was the highlight of my festival. So when I saw that Morro and Jasp were back this year with their Dora Award-winning (Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role/Ensemble, 2012) show Morro and Jasp: Go Bake Yourself, I once again chose to ignore the audience participation warning. Was I spared this time? Yes and no. Intrigued? Read on!

The premise of MAJ:GBY is straightforward, the clown sisters have a live cooking show, and is driven by their established dynamic. Jasp, the more responsible of the pair, attempts to keep them focused and on-track as they work through several recipes and Morro, the sweet-but-simple chaotic force, tests her sisters' patience with her nonstop antics. There is nothing subtle about the way these two interact with each other or the audience but fortunately these two have the comedic chops and timing to ensure that the silly never gets too over-the-top. That being said, it's two clowns in a kitchen. Things get pretty zany. Cooking ingredients are messy props and much mess is made on stage. But much like the cliché about having to crack eggs to make an omelette, Morro and Jasp know that sometimes you have to make a mess to make laughs happen.

The audience's laughter began immediately and even with a few quiet moments it never receded completely. Morro and Jasp began the show by making two pies, which were baked on stage as the rest of the show took place (the pies' progress could be viewed by the audience via their "pie-cam", a nice touch). They passed out "fancy hors d'oeuvres" (crackers and cheese) to the audience complete with a recipe so we could make them for ourselves at home. They then proceeded to make several other dishes, with varying degrees of success. And yes, there was audience participation. There was a carrot-peeling contest for a small group of willing participants, and a longer audience participation segment where a man was plucked from the audience to taste a truly horrific looking recipe (containing everything from pickles to oysters to cocoa powder to whipped cream). Fortunately my back-row seat ensured I was passed-over for these tasks.

The final act, however, got everyone involved. And I mean everyone. Beginning with the back-row, we were called to the stage and given a plastic fork and napkin. Then, like a sort of demented communion, we were given a small forkful of a freshly-baked pie and "blessed" by Morro. It took some time to work through the entire audience, but Morro made the process hilarious by ad-libbing a tailor-made wish for each of us (mine: "May your ringlets grow long and prosper!"). A show-specific highlight was Morro's wish for audience member and CBC host Jian Ghomeshi: "May you be blessed with a voice that is heard across the nation!". A great show to end my Fringe with. Until next year!