Theatre Review: My Granny the Goldfish

There is a classic expression about theatrical comedy which purportedly arose from a true story: a famous actor was on his deathbed, when a friend leaned over him and asked, with heartfelt emotion, “Is dying hard?” The performer rolled over on his bed, looked up and whispered, “Comedy is harder.”

It is with this frame of mind that I turn to Anosh Irani’s My Granny the Goldfish, playing until April 15 at the usually trustworthy Factory Theatre. And I’m sad to say this new production proves the point entirely.

I was eager to see My Granny the Goldish because it has been playing in Vancouver over the past two years and received a very positive response. Let Irani comment on the immigrant experience, I thought; let us thrill to every view and insight of this always-changing nation. And comically, too!

Alas, that didn’t happen.

It was undeniably promising at first: on a nearly bare stage, the major character, Nico, played by a handsome and competent Kawa Ada, stands before us, his hospital bed behind him, and gives an often humorous monologue.

Then, his “granny” steps on stage, fresh from India, and the play truly begins.

There is some sweet, even spot-on mocking of Canadians (Nico refuses to take a swig from his grandmother’s whisky flask, claiming, “There are rules in hospitals, Granny! Rules are like oxygen to these people!”). It’s a cute and inarguable truth, which is the core of all worthwhile comedy.

But I hardly laughed, or smiled, after that point.

In scenes centred around Nico’s parents — back in India and unaware that their son is sick overseas — the jokes come frequently but are rarely successful. “It just occurred to me,” complains the father (played by the excellent Stratford and Dream in High Park performer Sanjay Talwar), “The word ‘marriage’ sounds so much like ‘mirage.’”

That’s just not very funny.

Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst St., 416-504-4473. To April 15.
 

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