bANGER Didn't Bang

I wish I could say that bANGER banged. But for me it kinda just poked me in the belly, you know in that place where you feel like the yogurt was three weeks past date. That place where you feel the discomfort of watching, and equally the discomfort of empathy for the performer. Not that Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg was a bad performer or anything or that she wasn't entirely successful in what she wanted to portray. Hell, maybe she was just too good at conveying an exaggerated angry-awkward teen angst. But when it came down to it, I just couldn't handle it. Please note: while I may find this performance obnoxious and a tad painful to watch, other people love it, including my date for the night. But boy o boy, I'm glad I'm not one of those looozers!

bANGER is a collage of dance pieces and monologues which all focus on a male teen's experience of being a (self)imposed outcast. Yes, you get pushed around and even beaten up at school. No, the teacher's don't respect your insight or breadth of knowledge. All that part of bANGER is good and fine, but could we please just take it in without all the over-exaggerated posturing?

Ok, teenage bangers might strike a lot of heavy metal poses and thrash their heads around a lot. Index fingers and pinkies thrust out of fists, it's true. Maybe a lot of teens do say "dude" all the bloody time. But by the play's end these tricks all just seemd so played out that they reached the point of superfluity.

Still Friedenberg is talented, there's no question about it. She skillfully portrays in a solo performance a teenage boy getting pushed around in the halls, or getting the shit kicked out of her in the bathroom. This is way better than someone miming a shrinking box. She pulls off the whole male character thing quite well too. Maybe the thing is just that I'm not into this satirical metal-head stuff. And sure, it's clear that she's poking fun at it the whole time she embodies it (doing so with affection too), but apparently it's just not a genre I can appreciate. While I can recognize Friedenberg's techincal expertise in her dancing, the choreography just doesn't do it for me: I'd rather just go and see a Gwar concert.

I don't know. To be generous, I'd say the play actually succeeds at being what it wants to be. To be plain, I'm just not the "dude" it was intended for. Maybe this is what I get for beating up all those metal-head kids when I was in junior high.

bANGER
Firehall Arts Centre
280 East Cordova Street
September 27-30, 8pm
$24/$20