Burlington actor Vince Carlin is on the road with “There Goes the Bride”, a four-alarm farce
Even in the time of COVID-19, some local actors take to the road.
Burlington performer Vince Carlin is one.
He's off and running in the hilarious Ray Cooney-John Chapman farce, There Goes the Bride."
Former ombudsman for the CBC from 2006-2010, Carlin held other high-powered jobs as well, such as Time magazine's foreign correspondent to Canada.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Carlin has been a journalist by profession since 1965. He lives in Burlington with his wife Kathy.
On retirement from his day job, he somehow found his way into the theatre.
You might know him for playing serious dramatic roles locally in plays by such heavyweight dramatists as Arthur Miller and Edward Albee.
These days however, he's lobbing off hilarious one-liners in a British farce predicated on absolute nonsense.
And why not," he says.
With COVID still hanging around, theatregoers want a chance to laugh their troubles away. They want to go to a theatre and be entertained.
There Goes the Bride' is just that sort of play. There's not a serious thing about it."
We're talking mistaken identities, banging doors and dropped trousers.
Carlin admits it's not the sort of play he usually does.
I like plays that are powerful with something to say. But that's not to denigrate this sort. Farces are tough to do. You need a lot of energy. Timing and pacing are everything and you've got to make the laughs work. Being silly isn't necessarily easy."
Carlin admits there's lots of silliness in There Goes the Bride."
It's never meant to be taken seriously. There are a whole lot of these types of plays and they were hugely popular in the 1970s. Now that people are desperate to laugh again, they are coming back."
In a world filled with darkness and frightening issues, a farce can be a terrific way to let loose, to laugh yourself silly, to suspend disbelief and just go with the nonsense.
These plays don't deal with dark issues," Carlin says. They take something that might be serious and they turn it upside down."
Carlin plays Dr. Gerald Drimmond.
He's an older gentleman whose memory isn't so sharp and whose hearing is shot."
At a big wedding, things start to get out of hand when the father of the bride hits his head and starts to see Polly, a sexy fantasy creature who fascinates him and threatens to take over his life.
I'm part of the crowd that don't know what in the world is going on," Carlin says.
The challenge, of course, is carrying the character right through the play. He has to be believable no matter what crazy things are happening to him. And you've got to play everything fast. You can't give the audience time to think about how silly it all is."
For all that, nothing is more important than the actors taking things seriously in this sort of comedy.
The laughs come from that," Carlin says. The characters don't know they are funny. The audience of course does. That's the fine line you have to walk."
Carlin, who has his own theatre company called Act of Faith," worked last summer in Nova Scotia in the pla,y Outside Mullingar." At Christmas, he produced A Christmas Carol," a production that raised funds for charity. He now has plans for another show in the spring.
Work is not easy to come by in the acting business," Carlin says. There are so many actors vying for every role available. It was difficult before COVID, but it's much worse now. I'm lucky that I don't have to count on theatre for my living."
If you're looking for a night out that doesn't mention COVID and seldom takes itself seriously, There Goes the Bride" may be for you.
If you're a fan of farces you might remember that There Goes the Bride" was a 1980 film starring Twiggy, Tom Smothers and Phil Silvers.
Gary Smith has written about theatre and dance for The Hamilton Spectator for 40 years. gsmith1@cogeco.ca
Vince Carlin
What: There Goes the Bride
Where: Secret Garden-Kings Court Estate Winery, 2083 7th St. St. Catharine's
When: Aug. 19-20, 26-27 at 6.30 pm Buffet Dinner and Wine included. Aug. 21 and 28 Buffet Lunch Matinee at 12.30pm Lunch and Wine included
Tickets: $100 including wine and buffet. Reservations Call 1-905-977-7364 or go to theatrebacchus.com