Welcome, Brothers! It’s been a long five years since you were last able to visit this Spanish monastery, but now that you’re here, the brothers are thrilled to have you for a visit! MONKS, created and performed by Veronica Hortigüela and Annie Luján, is a clown show unlike anything you’ve experienced. Showing a day in the life of two Spanish monks, where anything and everything can happen, MONKS is so funny that your stomach hurts from laughing and you can scarce catch your breath. For those of us who saw it at 2024’s Toronto Fringe Festival, it comes as no shock that this run at The Theatre Centre sold out before the show even opened.
Photo by Audrianna Martin Del Campo
You enter the chamber of the BMO Incubator to the sound of monastic chants. Candles are scattered about the room, and a barrel sit centre stage surrounded by books, counting materials, and two stools. One of the brothers, with a hood drawn over his face, welcomes you into the space, though he also seems to be searching for something amongst the crowd. The ambiance of these first moments immediately bring us into where and when we are, which is confirmed by the voiceover which begins the play itself.
Photo by Audrianna Martin Del Campo
Every five years, there’s a delegation of monks (that’s us, the audience) who travel the country visiting the other monasteries, and it’s finally time for them to visit the rural monastery where our characters reside. They tell us that we’re going to have a marvellous day of doing nothing: watching the donkey graze, spotting shapes in the passing clouds. They just have a few chores to do and then the rest of the day is ours! Of course, hijinks ensue: lentil counting is far more messy than anticipated, there’s a massive storm, a relentlessly looming crow, and the donkey goes missing! By the time even some of those things have been dealt with, the Abbot is headed back to the monastery and there’s no time left for doing nothing, much to the sadness of the brothers.
Photo by Audrianna Martin Del Campo
In true Fringe fashion, Hortigüela and Luján have done it all for this show: written, directed, set and costume designs, even the sound design, as well as being the two characters on stage. The whole thing has popped out of their brains, which is beyond impressive. Hortigüela’s brother is naive and eager to please, literally throwing themselves on the floor to help “clean” the room. Luján loosing her scalp cap and moustache throughout the course of the show will have me laughing to myself for days. Their performances make this show what it is, and are why it’s a sold out run right off the bat. Their improvisation skills, which they use frequently throughout MONKS, are top notch, making each viewing a unique one. Being able to expand the scope of their chaos thanks to the size of the BMO Incubator does wonders for this show, as it allows the players far more room to explore and to fully be amongst the audience as well. And when I say chaos, I mean unhinged, delightful, manic, hysterical chaos that leaves you short of breath and potentially a little moist in the best possible way.
Photo by Audrianna Martin Del Campo
In the final moments of MONKS, Hortigüela and Luján drop the facades of their characters and speak as themselves; we’ve seen hints of this vulnerability in their characters before this, but now the real heart of the play is exposed. It’s made me cry both times I’ve been fortunate enough to witness this show. To be brought from such extreme laughter to deep contemplation seems to be the specialty of clown shows, so you leave feeling seen and heard, and with sore cheeks from laughing and smiling so much.
MONKS runs in the BMO Incubator at The Theatre Centre until March 2. There is a wait list for every performance which you can get on in person at The Theatre Centre Box Office an hour before the show. For more information and tickets, visit: https://theatrecentre.org/event/monks/
Cover Photo: Annie Luján and Veronica Hortigüela. Photo by Audrianna Martin Del Campo.
Thank you to my Patrons:
N. Bushnik, S. Fisher, B. Kinnon, D. Moyes
And to my supporters who’ve bought me a coffee:
Angelica and Paul, Anonymous, Adrianna, and Caitlin
Would you like to become a Patron? Check out my Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox
Or, you can buy me a coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/aviewfromthebox
A View from the Box 