If you were active on the internet in 2017, then you likely hear about the failed event The Fyre Festival; supposed to be a luxury music festival in the Bahamas, it quickly turned into an episode of “Survivor.” This failed festival, along with the creators and attendees, are the subject of Theatre Ya Knowww’s latest production, FYRE: a thirty-minute performance which comes down to little more than an attempt at a lengthy sketch comedy bit. Though the seeds of a potential new work are there, what’s currently on stage is very clearly a rough draft.

The actual construction of the story was a bit confusing; it essentially starts at the end of the story, when folks are fed up with not getting what they were promised and are looking for answers. We’re then transported to the beginning of the story, without much indication of that being the case. The scene which we witness off the top of the show is then later performed again in full, creating an odd and unnecessary sense of deja vu. And then the facts about the Fyre Festival which we’re told essentially amount to the same few things: no villas, no tents, only cheese sandwiches, water at a premium, and unkempt washrooms. These were brought up over and over, without any kind of progression or understanding as to why these were the only things on offer, when the attendees had been promised so much more. One gets the sense that the folks making this show read the intro to the Wikipedia article and not much else, and ran with the idea.

Though Theatre Ya Knowww does admit to a rather short three-week creation process before staging FYRE for the public, a much longer process is going to be required before this is truly ready for a full-blown production. It was evident that there was plenty of improvisation which helped create the piece, as that feeling is still retained in what’s being presented. There’s a dream sequence, which takes up almost half of the runtime, or at least it certainly feels that way, which truly has nothing to do with the story itself. And while it does create some of the only laugh-worthy moments on stage, you’re left puzzled as to why you’ve witnessed it.

Unfortunately, the way in which the cast has been listed in the program doesn’t correspond clearly to the roles which they were playing on stage nor the names by which we come to know the characters through the text, making it difficult to comment on individual performances. However, they were certainly doing their best with what they were given. Although there were several times when the antics of the ensemble were highly distracting compared to the main action which was occurring elsewhere on stage.

As mentioned previously, there’s a seed of a story here, however what FYRE lacks is a clear perspective: who’s story is being told and how? Is it Billy, the organizer who’s had everything fall down around him? Or Billy the accountant, who has to deal with the mess? Or the attendees who never received what they paid for (and never got their money back). What’s currently on stage feels like the product of a fun night of improv gone awry, which they’ve then cut back to thirty minutes. Hopefully, this will be workshopped again before Theatre Ya Knowww decides to bring it back to audiences.

FYRE runs at the Gallanough Park Amphitheatre until August 30. For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.eventbrite.ca/o/theatre-ya-knowww-111184433871

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Cover Photo: The Cast of FYRE. Photo by Jasmine Wu.

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