I LOVE YOU, JUDY MERRIL
Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace
See show info here
Rating: N
This is ostensibly a biographical tribute to influential American sci-fi author, critic, anthologist – and longtime Toronto resident – Judith Merril, but ridiculously little information about Merril is contained in the show.
Instead, we get long, rambling tangents from Jim Smith, who once briefly served as Merril’s assistant in the 80s, and here unintentionally comes off like a bad Bob Newhart impression. Merril’s membership in foundational U.S. sci-fi group The Futurians her move to Toronto in the 60s in protest of the Vietnam War her tumultuous relationship with genre titans like Harlan Ellison her involvement in the storied experimental hippie university Rochdale College her creation of the Spaced Out Library (now the TPL’s wonderful Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy) at College and Spadina – literally none of this is covered in any depth in the show.
With inexplicably jarring sound cues, this show is just astronomically bad. Merril’s life merits a substantial look. This is light years from that.
