FIRE IN THE METH LAB by Jon Bennett. St. Vladimir’s Theatre. July 2 at 11 pm, July 3 at 3:30 pm, July 5 at 6:15 pm, July 7 at noon, July 8 at 2:15 pm, July 9 at 5:15 pm. Buy tickets. Rating: NNN
In his humorous solo show, affable performer Jon Bennett dissects his black-sheep brother Tim’s numerous addictions to try to figure out what led his sibling to land in jail and to gain insight into their strained relationship.
Making use of letters they wrote and old family photos, Bennett paints a colourful picture of growing up in a dysfunctional, deeply religious family in Australia. The script, which includes relatable pop-culture references to TV’s The Wonder Years and minor music star Jason Donovan, is well structured with an intriguing final twist.
Bennett relies heavily on the shock value of his stories and could dig deeper into the material for a greater emotional impact, but he’s a highly engaging storyteller.
