DUH-BULL FEE-CHURR: OLDER GIRLZ & SMOKE SHOW

A cautiously gray sky above a park bustling with background chatter and dogs barking may not be the ideal setting for a pair of new works, and yet isn’t that what makes Found Festival special?

This was the setting I found myself in as I settled in for DUH-BULL FEE-CHURR, a collection of two distinct poetry showcases presented in the style of a drive-in theatre: OLDER GIRLZ by playwright Big Al, and SMOKE SHOW created and performed by Unkl Stiv as part of Found Festival– a charming local festival which places performance works in unconventional venues. Wandering through the windy pathways of Paul Kane park, the dark background meshed well with the experimental nature of the two pieces: both individual, yet they seemed to be in conversation with each other as they took turns to expand on their stories, switching frequently and playing with each other as they did. Both conceptual pieces which quickly flew between topics and different tangents, you’d be hard-set to grasp every concept introduced, yet the playwrights never leave you behind for too long, eagerly carrying you onboard an ever-moving train of thought.

Unkl Stiv (you may have caught his Unkl Stiv’s Looping Machine at Fringes prior) starts off the show, though it isn’t long before the shows begin to weave within each other and trade off. Unkl Stiv’s contribution is SMOKE SHOW, a rhapsody of semi-musical verse contemplating on modern politics and life, a showcase of storytelling that continues seamlessly, picking up different concepts along the way. The performance is a work-in-progress, a mini collection of a show that yearns to be longer. Still, as it is, the show captures you. Despite a few missteps in memorization, Unkl Stiv shows a world of experience as a storyteller, letting the audience know they’re in capable hands and all you have to do is watch. He comfortably roams around the park as he performs, showing an ease and confidence throughout. His stories go by quickly, and if you look away for a moment, you might find yourself lost. However, Unkl Stiv’s worldbuilding and captivating performance ensures that you’ll rarely find yourself looking away.

Following SMOKE SHOW is the tonally different OLDER GIRLZ– a sort of poetic birth by playwright Big Al. Acted passionately by “Cherubim Catholic school girls”, (as Big Al so succinctly puts it) Autumn Strom and Sophie May Healey, OLDER GIRLZ is a meta presentation of youthful tales. Big Al narrates, acting in the role of a director, as Strom and May Healey perform a variety of poetry inspired by schoolyard tales. OLDER GIRLZ is a conceptual exploring of innocence and adolescence, with a crack in it, adding in the role of “Director” who the actors occasionally break character to speak directly to. With a complex yet interesting concept, even the most experimental of theatre-goers might find the execution a tad enigmatic, though the committed performances ensure you never give up trying to understand. Despite the frequently ambiguous nature of the performance, the core themes still come through, and you will leave intrigued to find out more.

Found Festival is a festival that often homes works-in-progress, and there is a gift in witnessing projects that have not reached their final form yet. Both works of poetry in DUH-BULL FEE-CHURR feel essentially experimental, in a way that may not be the most accessible to an audience, yet is especially rich artistically. OLDER GIRLZ & SMOKE SHOW offer different experiences– OLDER GIRLZ more traditionally poetic while SMOKE SHOW mixes in musicality and ongoing storytelling. Still the pair contrast each other well, offering an entertaining mix between the two showcases. While they may not be completely finished pieces, they are very, very intriguing beginnings.

“The more things stay the same, the more things stay the same”; A seemingly blunt, weightless phrase brought so much depth by the poetic storytelling of DUH-BULL FEE-CHUR: OLDER GIRLZ & SMOKE SHOW. Written and performed by the outstandingly artistic duo of UNKL STIV and BIG AL alongside talented Sophie and Autumn, this act combined theater of the mind alongside an incredibly effective and respectful use of their stage to create a show-- or two--like no other.

Even before the performance began, its eccentricity was made apparent simply through the setting of its stage; Paul Kane Park. As a part of the Found Fest, this public, unusual setting should be of no surprise, however the incorporation of the park into the land acknowledgment and beyond set this act apart from most others. The land acknowledgment itself was deliberate and in character while still addressing the historical damages done to the Indigenous peoples of Canada with respect. Paul Kane himself and his history concerning Indigenous rights was touched upon then seamlessly shifted into the performance by UNCL STIV. Still, the themes present in the land acknowledgement remained relevant throughout both of the features, undoubtedly adding to the already spectacular act.

UNCL STIV kicked off the show with SMOKE SHOW. Beginning with the theatrical imagery of a prairie on fire, and ending with the appearance of prairie Moses-- a hearty western mixed with the happenings of a religious epic. From climate change to capitalism to religion, endless incredibly relevant topics were critiqued and commented on through artful poetry and rhythm. In the context of the entire show, SMOKE SHOW is the past. Tradition is stagnation in this feature and ignorance is stability. Ultimately, these ideas and themes are pointed towards the audience to ruminate and absorb as UNCL STIV calls for deeper thought through his selective and deliberate poetry. A description does this performance no justice, and only through a rigorous, active study of the quickly moving words will one truly uncover what SMOKE SHOW means to them.

As for BIG AL, her portion was no less intense and poetic as UNCL STIV’s. The tone of OLDER GIRLZ is immediately set with BIG AL’s description of the performance as an “arthouse film”; a total understatement for the boundless eccentricity present throughout the feature. Sophie and Autumn’s first appearance established their incredible stage chemistry. Without a word, you could tell the two were undoubtedly excited and passionate about this act. We were brought from atop a cathedral to the depths of the ocean in seconds, shifting from college to middle school, all in a world of make believe. Slipping from setting to setting, BIG AL observed topics of youth, their future, and the patriarchy, pollution and submission, all culminating to a single point of intersection with UNCL STIV’s SMOKE SHOW; the present.

If you were to go see DUH-BULL FEE-CHURR: OLDER GIRLZ & SMOKE SHOW, you might leave Paul Kane Park as I had; speechless and frankly a little confused. However, this show is a modern, timely, artful masterpiece that I would highly recommend to anyone up for a little real-time poetic annotation. Every word in this show was intentional, existing wholly to tell you: The more things stay the same, the more things stay the same-- so be the change.