Mass for Shut-Outs

I didn't know exactly what to expect from this going in, but I loved it. Rhyming spoken word poetry, singing, stand up comedy; all of these don’t sound like they mesh together, but they absolutely do at the hands of this performer. The topic of the "mass" was meandering, which can kind of be a red flag when you go to see theatre, but I felt it actually worked in their favour and didn't meander without direction or meaning. Instead this meandering felt gentle, welcoming, and warm while still making space for humor, blasphemy, and politics. Likewise, the framing of a radically inclusive mass for everyone can sound trite, but it worked out here because of the artist's deftness of poetry. I was blown away by their memorization and delivery; it obviously must have been rehearsed, as the poems are very long and even rhyme, yet it sounded almost off-the-cuff as only very talented and practiced public speakers are can be. Very glad I didn’t miss this touring show and I hope it can return to Edmonton someday to a wider audience.