Ottawa Fringe : Not: A Bev ODa Memoir is a creative political parody with depth
Not: A Bev Oda Memoir Photo thanks to the Ottawa Fringe Festival
Clara Madrenas’s one-woman production of Not: A Bev Oda Memoir is easily one of the most inventive and genuinely funny parody skits on offer at the Fringe this season. The London, ON-based performer duly entertains at singing, guitar playing and acting, making for a thoroughly enjoyable performance. The focus is not simply on humour, however, as the land acknowledgment and encouragement to the audience to think about what they can do to further Indigenous reconciliation by Madrenas at the beginning provides a serious undertone to the show. Such an acknowledgement is important, Madrenas says, since “this play is about Canada.” That it certainly is, and much more too, in its insightful remarks on contemporary political culture in North America.
Set in a dystopian world in the 2050s where the Canadian empire has total dominance under Ben Mulroney (Stephen Harper’s heir apparent) Madrenas’s show conceives of a teenage Bev Oda who can travel through time and rebels against the future oppressive regime. Facing exile from the planet for exercising civil disobedience at a government-sponsored press conference for the TV show Degrassi, Oda uses her power of time travel to go into the 2000s in order to prevent Mulroney from ever taking power. She does this by assuming the persona of the politician who we all know, as an MP in Harper’s caucus, and instigating internal sabotage through such unpopular choices as the infamous $16 billing for orange juice. Hilarious cartoons shown on a projection screen to the side of Madrenas are delightful to view as the action unfolds.
Throughout Oda’s quest, concerns about the state of society in the future which seem eerily similar to those in the present are expressed, such as the blurring of fact and fiction and the place of art in reclaiming lived experience. Madrenas rightfully calls our attention to how the line between story and reality has become less definite through certain narratives promoted by various politicians (on this count, Trudeau, Harper and Trump are equally singled out). The play notably includes a call to action to tell our own stories, lest they be manipulated for the purposes of others.
A thoughtful political and cultural satire, Not: A Bev Oda Memoir is a play well-worth both seeing and heeding.
Not: A Bev Oda Memoir continues until June 23 at Studio 1201 in the OAG as part of the Ottawa Fringe Festival. For information and tickets, see https://ottawafringe.com/shows/not-a-bev-oda-memoir/